Monitoring arthropods under the scope of LIFE SNAILS project -Part II

Martha Vounatsi1, Sébastien Lhoumeau2, Nelson B. Moura3, Mauro Ponte4, Ricardo Abreu4, Paulo A. V. Borges2, Paulo A. V. Borges5

1 Azorean Biodiversity Group, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, [Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze], 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal; 2 Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c)/Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, [School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze], 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal; 3 Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Alterações Climáticas, Project LIFE SNAILS (LIFE20 NAT/PT/001377), [Rua Dr. Teófilo Braga nº 10/12/14], 9580 – 535, Vila do Porto, Portugal; 4 Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Alterações Climáticas, Project LIFE SNAILS (LIFE20 NAT/PT/001377), [Rua do Galo nº 118], 9700-040, Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal; 5 Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c)/Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, [School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze], Angra do Heroísmo

Corresponding author(s): Martha Vounatsi (boumartha@gmail.com)Sébastien Lhoumeau (seb.lhoumeau@gmail.com)Nelson B. Moura (Nelson.B.Moura@azores.gov.pt)Mauro Ponte (pontemauro@gmail.com)Ricardo Abreu (Ricardo.JF.Abreu@azores.gov.pt)Paulo A. V. Borges (paulo.av.borges@uac.pt), Paulo A. V. Borges

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Vounatsi M, Lhoumeau S, Moura N B, Ponte M, Abreu R, Borges P A V (2026). Monitoring arthropods under the scope of LIFE SNAILS project -Part II. Version 1.0. Universidade dos Açores. Samplingevent dataset. https://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=life_snails_part2&v=1.0

Abstract

<para>The present data were collected under the project LIFE SNAILS. The project’s purpose is to protect the endemic terrestrial snails of Santa Maria, (Oxychilus agostinhoi and Leptaxis minor) and endemic semislug Plutonia angulosa and their habitats. In this study, we collected samples from SLAM (Sea, Land, Air, Malaise) traps from 11 sites of mixed forest of Santa Maria from June 2024 to December 2025. In the last season, (Autumnn 2025) there were added two more sites which are considered of high value to Azorina brevispira, which even though it is not part of the initially included endemic mollusks, is nonetheless a very important endemic species of Santa Maria.While collecting samples from various habitats every season, we enhanced the baseline data of the project that was collected in 2022. In this study, we sampled 55 times. Each sample represents one season, meaning that the trap was collected every three months. In total, we retrieved 20273 specimens that we were able to identify to a level of Order, Family, Genus, Species or Subspecies, 15046 out of those assigned to Species or Subspecies (74.21%). We made 1928 observations that were assigned to morphospecies codes, 1705 out of those were assigned to species or subspecies (88,4%). We were able to identify 172 unique species and subspecies. 27 species were endemic, 48 were native non-endemic, 77 were introduced and 20 were of indeterminate colonization status. Moreover, we calculated the Biotic Integrity Index (Tsafack et al., 2023) to assess the habitat quality of the sampled sites, which directly contributes to the goals of the LIFE SNAILS project and achieves one of the most important purposes of this sampling</para>

Keywords: Occurrence, Azores, Index of Biotic Integrity, native forest, SLAM, endemic species, Macaronesia, Specimen

Project details

Project title: Arthropod monitoring for IBI calculation under the scope of LIFE SNAILS 
Personnel: Paulo Borges, Sébastien Lhoumeau, Nelson B. Moura, Mauro Ponte, Ricardo Abreu
Funding: Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Alterações Climáticas, Project LIFE SNAILS (LIFE20 NAT/PT/001377) and Funding was obtained for the project “Upgrading the Azorean Biodiversity Portal Infrastructure (AZORES BIOPORTAL- PORBIOTA) to Boost Biodiversity Research, Management, and Education -PORBIOTA” (DRCID, ACORES2030-FEDER-03420600)
Study area descriptions/descriptor: Santa Maria is a small volcanic island located in the oriental group of the Azores archipelago (together with São Miguel), covering an area of 97.2 km2 and reaching a maximum elevation of 590m above sea level. The island exhibits a temperate oceanic climate, associated with frequent and substantial rainfall, consistently high relative humidity, and persistent winds, particularly during autumn and winter. The sampling areas are characterized mostly by mixed forests composed of endemic, native and introduced plant species. Among the dominant native and endemic flora are Morella faya, Erica azorica, Picconia azorica, Vaccinium cylindraceum, and Laurus azorica. Exotic vegetation is represented by species such as Pittosporum undulatum and Hedychium gardnerianum, as well as forestry plantations of Cryptomeria japonica
Design description: We deployed passive flight interception SLAM traps (Sea, Land and Air Malaise) in 13 sites of Santa Maria Island described mostly by mixed forest vegetation. 11 sample sites were sampled throughout the sampling period. Two sites were added in the last sampling season of this sampling time frame. The trap is composed of a 110x110x110 cm structure that guides arthropods upward along a mesh surface, after which they drop into a collecting container positioned inside the device (Borges et al. 2017). Each container is filled with propylene glycol (pure 1,2-propanediol), which both kills the captured arthropods and preserves the specimens. The trap collects flying insects but also non-flying species as it functions as an artificial extension of the tree, allowing organisms such as spiders to climb into it as well (Borges et al. 2017). As a result, this technique broadens the diversity of arthropod groups sampled.

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=life_snails_part2

Taxonomic coverage

Taxonomic ranks
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida, Diplopoda, Chilopoda, Insecta
Order: Hemiptera, Opiliones, Phasmida, Polydesmida, Julida, Blattodea, Thysanoptera, Neuroptera, Dermaptera, Archaeognatha, Araneae, Chordeumatida, Diptera, Geophilomorpha, Pseudoscorpiones, Lithobiomorpha, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Psocodea
Family: Delphacidae, Triozidae, Zopheridae, Acrididae, Thomisidae, Aeolothripidae, Lygaeidae, Machilidae, Mycetophagidae, Linyphiidae, Lithobiidae, Leiobunidae, Liviidae, Curculionidae, Scraptiidae, Ptiliidae, Miridae, Anthocoridae, Epipsocidae, Dysderidae, Throscidae, Phasmatidae, Psyllidae, Ptinidae, Hydrophilidae, Geophilidae, Silvanidae, Mimetidae, Pentatomidae, Cixiidae, Reduviidae, Dictynidae, Nabidae, Coccidae, Araneidae, Ectopsocidae, Phalacridae, Microphysidae, Aphididae, Blaniulidae, Cryptophagidae, Psocidae, Agelenidae, Theridiidae, Rhyparochromidae, Chthoniidae, Tetragnathidae, Stratiomyidae, Cheiracanthiidae, Tettigoniidae, Corydiidae, Phlaeothripidae, Caeciliusidae, Latridiidae, Salticidae, Staphylinidae, Elateridae, Thripidae, Pisauridae, Haplobainosomatidae, Anisolabididae, Paradoxosomatidae, Forficulidae, Polydesmidae, Corylophidae, Trigonidiidae, Cicadellidae, Aleyrodidae, Trogiidae, Coccinellidae, Leiodidae, Apionidae, Neobisiidae, Hemerobiidae, Chrysomelidae, Trichopsocidae, Flatidae, Cerambycidae, Tenebrionidae, Julidae, Elipsocidae, Nitidulidae, Clubionidae, Laemophloeidae, Formicidae

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: S. Maria Island in Azores (Portugal)
Coordinates: 36°57'47.76''N and 36°59'4.27''N Latitude; 25°5'45.11''W and 25°3'0.8''W Longitude 

Temporal coverage: June 16, 2024 - December 15, 2025

Natural collections description

Collection name: Entomoteca Dalberto Teixeira Pombo (DTP)
Collection identifier: DTP
Specimen preservation method: Alcohol

Methods

Method step description: Species nomenclature and colonization status were assigned according to the most recent checklist of Azorean arthropods (Borges et al., 2022)
Study extent description: There were 11 selected locations sampled on Santa Maria Island, except for the last sampling season where two more sites were sampled. More specifically, the sampling sites are composed of mixed forests containing endemic, native, and introduced plant species. The predominant native and endemic species include Morella faya, Erica azorica, Picconia azorica, Vaccinium cylindraceum, and Laurus azorica. Introduced vegetation is represented by species such as Pittosporum undulatum and Hedychium gardnerianum, together with forestry plantations of Cryptomeria japonica. Information on vegetation composition, particularly the dominant plant species in the surrounding area, was also recorded
Sampling description: Passive flight interception SLAM traps (Sea, Land and Air Malaise trap) were deployed to sample each of 13 selected sites on Santa Maria Island, between June 2024 and December of 2025. Samples that were filled with propylene glycol stayed in the field for approximately 3 months and they were renewed every three months with new sampling recipients filled with propylene glycol. This way, we ensured to capture the seasonality of the species abundance and diversity
Quality control description: Sorted specimens were identified by taxonomist, Paulo A. V. Borges. Preservation and correct storage of specimens was ensured by Martha Vounatsi

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Monitoring arthropods under the scope of LIFE SNAILS project -Part II
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/archive.do?r=life_snails_part2
Publication date of data: 2026-04-17
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2026-04-17
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Borges, P.A.V., Pimentel, R., Carvalho, R., Nunes, R., Wallon, S. & Ros Prieto, A. (2017). Seasonal dynamics of arthropods in the humid native forests of Terceira Island (Azores). Arquipelago Life and Marine Sciences, 34: 105-122
Borges, P.A.V., Lamelas-Lopez, L., Andrade, R., Lhoumeau, S., Vieira, V., Soares, A.O., Borges, I., Boieiro, M., Cardoso, P., Crespo, L.C.F., Karsholt, O., Schülke, M., Serrano, A.R.M., Quartau, J.A. & Assing, V. (2022). An updated checklist of Azorean arthropods (Arthropoda). Biodiversity Data Journal, 10: e97682 https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e97682
Tsafack, N., Lhoumeau, S., Ros-Prieto, A., Navarro, L., Kocsis, T., Manso, S., Figueiredo, S., Ferreira, M. T., Borges, P. A. V. (2023). Arthropod-based biotic integrity indices: A novel tool for evaluating the ecological condition of native forests in the Azores archipelago.  Ecological Indicators, 154:110592 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110592