About My Research

Collembola, or springtails, play many crucial roles in the soil food web, such as microbial population control and dispersal, detritus comminution, and as prey for various soil predators (Rusek, 1998; Potapov et al., 2020). Furthermore, their relative abundance and diversity makes them a significant component in soil transformation. The position as a link between micro- and macro-scale communities means springtail communities may also indicate broader properties related to soil health. Although trophic levels are often conserved at higher taxonomic levels (Potapov, Scheu & Tiunov, 2019), species or communities may respond differently to disturbance. Thus, species identities are important for monitoring the effects of climate change and habitat transformation, especially in tropical regions.

Réunion, part of the Mascarene archipelago, is a volcanic island in the Indian Ocean with an area of 2,512 km² and peak elevation of 3,070 m. The island is made up of two volcanoes, Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise, the latter being active still. It experiences a humid tropical climate, but, due to a large elevational heterogeneity, contains various microclimates. Although numerous Collembola species have been described from Réunion and surveys have been undertaken, there is no recent checklist. The most extensive work has been on marine littoral species (Thibaud, 2010). For my masters, I present a checklist of Collembola of Réunion. Since April 2023, over 150 samples have been collected using various methods, including direct aspiration, beating, sifting, Tullgren-Berlese funnel extraction, and D-vac. Samples were collected from coastal, subalpine, and cloud forests; as well as wetlands, caves, plantations, and various agricultural types. In addition to morphological identification, DNA barcoding was also conducted. During this period we found 45 Collembola morphospecies, bringing the total number of species known from Réunion to at least 56 species. Moreover, this number is expected to increase with additional sampling and molecular analysis.

My research will form a baseline dataset of Réunion Collembola to be used for monitoring and ecological research. In addition to the checklist, I intend on reviewing literature pertaining to Collembola on tropical islands. I will provide a summary of the taxonomic and ecological studies from selected tropical islands. Furthermore, as islands are under stress due to anthropogenic pressures, I aim to investigate, from the literature, whether tropical island Collembola are responding to global change.

Reunion Island Fieldwork