Somogyi Múzeumok Közleményei 16. (2004)

Vadkerti Edit: A Dél-Baranyai-dombság Isophya faunája (Orthoptera)

Isophya (Orthoptera) fauna of South-Baranya-Hills (South-Hungary, Transdanubian region) VADKERTI EDIT Department of Zootaxonomy and Synzoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs H-7624 Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., HUNGARY, E-mail: vadkerti@ttk.pte.hu E. VADKERTI: Isophya (Orthoptera) fauna of South-BaranyaHills (South-Hungary, Transdanubian region) Abstract: In the South-Baranya-Hills two Isophya species were found: /. costata and /. modestior. I. costata under special legal protection occurred in 16 locations from 6 different grassland habitats: meadows with false oat-grassland, marshy meadows in hilly regions, marshy meadows in plain regions, high weed associations along brooks and marshes, weedy, dry grasslands of hilly areas, weedy, moist grasslands of hilly areas. The protected /. modestior occurred in 2 locations from 2 different bushy habitats: in forested areas with spontaneous bushy growth and in moist forest edge. Keywords: Isophya fauna, South-Baranya-Hills, habitat, SWHungary. Introduction There are 4 Isophya species occurring in Mecsek Hills and Villányi Hills (VADKERTI et al. 2003): /. costata, which is endemic to the Carpathian basin and is under special legal protection, whereas /. brevipennis, I. modesta and /. modestior are protected. They were found in forest clearings, forest ecotone habitats, bushy and grassland habitats (VADKERTI et al. 2003). The aim of our research was to study the Isophya fauna of South-Baranya-Hills, witch is bordered with Mecsek Hills and Villányi Hills. There is no published Isophya data from the studied area. Material and methods Only 11.5 % of South-Baranya-Hills are covered with forest (predominantly locust tree forest). The percentage of plough-lands is 77,7 % but reaches 100 % in two areas: one is located South, Southwest from Villányi Hills, the other is between Pécsi watercourse and Bükkösdi watercourse (MAROSI and SOMOGYI 1990). The percentage of grassland habitats is maximum 1%. Since the proportion of forest habitats and semi-natural habitats are low in South-Baranya-Hills it was expected that at the eastern part of the studied area, where there is less cultivated area, more localities of Isophya species would be found. Samplings were done by sweeping-net, by searching after individuals, or by acoustic detection between 9 am and 6 pm in 2001 and 2002. During the sampling period it was mostly sunny, warm weather, temperature often rising above 30°C in the afternoon. Therefore in the morning the sweeping-net method could be applied effectively unlike during the afternoon the searching after individuals was useful together with acoustic detection. The sampling was not productive during midday hours. Habitats of the various species were categorised according to the Hungarian General Habitat Classification System (HGHCS) (FEKETE er al. 1997); E1: meadows of hills, with false oat-grassland, D3: marshy meadows in hills, D4: marshy meadows in plain, D5: high herbaceous habitat along brooks and marshes, 07: weedy, arid grasslands in hills, 08: weedy, moist grasslands in hills, P2: woodlands spontaneously under growing with shrub. It has been necessary to establish one new category; M9: moist forest edge, which is used as a true coenological category in the Red Data Book by BORHIDI and SÁNTA (1999). Results Faunistical data of Isophya Species name is followed by collection site (Fig. 1.), abbreviation of HGHCS category, date of collection (yyyy-mm-dd). S: detection by sound. Isophya costata Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1878 — Máriakéménd, D3, 2001. 05. 30.; Pécs-Hird, 07, 2001. 06. 09. S; Szellő, E1, 2002. 05. 14.; Székelyszabar 1, 08, 2002. 05. 15. S; Székelyszabar 2, D3, 2002. 05. 15. S; Székelyszabar 3, E1, 2002. 05. 15.; Keszű, D4, D5, 2002. 05. 16.; Nagyárpád, D3, 2002. 05. 16.; Túrony, 08, 2002. 05. 20., S, Erzsébet 1, 07, 2002. 05. 24.; Erzsébet 2, D3.D4, 2002. 05. 24.; Kékesd, 07, 2002. 05. 24.; Apátvarasd, 07, 2002. 05. 28.; Vokány, 07, 2002. 06. 04., S; Szalánta, 2002. 06. 09., S; Pusztakisfalu, 07,08, 2002. 06. 13. S. Isophya modestior Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1882 — Nagyárpád, P2, 2002. 05. 16., S; Pusztakisfalu, M9, 2002. 06. 13. S. Discussion There are four Isophya species in Mecsek Hills and Villányi Hills (VADKERTI et al. 2003) two of them, /. costata and /. modestior occurring in South-BaranyaHills. /. costata was found also in grassland habitats but in less habitat categories then in Mecsek Hills and Villányi Hills where the species occurred in closed xeric and meso-xeric grasslands, in semi-natural vegetation of embankments, in abandoned wine yards and orchards and in forested areas with spontaneous bushy growth. In addition /. costata was found in the South-BaranyaHills in marshy meadows in plain habitat, and high herbaceous habitat along brooks and marshes.