Collembola in Southland beech litter and soil

Abstract

Collembola were sampled from litter and soil in two regrowth Lophozonia menziesii (silver beech) forests situated 25 km apart in Southland, New Zealand, as part of a larger study investigating the ecological effects of selective timber harvesting. Over 2000 specimens were collected, representing three orders, 10 families, ≥ 20 genera and ≥ 23 species. Seventeen taxa were morphologically identified at least to genus. Sequencing within the barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene provided diagnostic sequences for many of the taxa, which will assist future identifications. Species belonging to the genera Quatacanthella Salmon and Spinotheca Stach, which are rarely collected in New Zealand, were present in the samples, as was the introduced species Hypogastrura purpurescens (Lubbock). The genus Vitronura Yosii is recorded in New Zealand for the first time.