Scorpion at 'Evolution gorge'

Scorpions are resistant to high temperatures and retain water for a long time, and therefore they proliferate in the barren and hot areas of the world. However, does this global distribution occur in the region?

Shmeul Raz and colleagues at the University of Haifa, Israel, the answer is yes, even if the European-like environment and African-like habitat are only about 100 meters apart.

Shmuel Raz and colleagues studied the scorpion community in the valley near Mount Carmel, Israel, called 'Evolutionary Gorge'. This area has steep slopes and runs east-west, which means that the slopes towards the south receive 8 times more solar radiation than the mountains towards the north. Therefore, despite the ecological and rainfall similarities, one side has a desert desert climate while the other has a cool climate, dense forests, separated by canyon terraces that most animals can pass. past and certainly not a hindrance to scorpions.

Scorpio maurus, a North American and Middle Eastern scorpion, is known as the Big Claw scorpion or the Israeli gold scorpion. (Photo: Guy Haimovitch)

The researchers collected nearly 200 specimens of 6 different scorpion species at the 'Evolutionary Gorge'. While four species are found on both sides of the mountain, two species are found only in the more arid part of the 'African' slopes . Similarly, the slopes of 'Europe' have scorpion numbers equal to one third of that of 'Africa'. Although it is easy to move back and forth between two parts of the canyon, special adaptability to drought conditions makes scorpions grow stronger in a drier area.

Differences in species diversity between the northern and southern slopes of the 'Evolutionary Gorge' have been observed in other groups of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, and with research. new about scorpions, showing environmental pressure formed by factors such as sunlight, temperature, drought, which can be very local.

Refer:
Raz et al.Scorpion Biodiversity and Interslope Divergence at 'Evolution Canyon', Lower Nahal Oren Microsite, Mt.Carmel, Israel.PLoS ONE, 2009;4 (4): e5214 DOI: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0005214