A comparison of relict versus dynamic models for tenebrionid beetles (Coleoptera : Tenebrionidae) of Aegean Islands (Greece)

This paper analyses the species-area relationship in the Aegean tenebrionids in order to discriminate between relict and dynamic models, Using different statistical approaches, the following eco-geographic variables were tested as predictors of the tenebrionid richness on 32 Aegean Islands: latitude, longitude, area, maximum elevation, distance to the mainland, and distance to the nearest island. Area was identified as an important predictor, while neither distance to the mainland nor distance to the nearest island was identified as of any statistical importance in affecting tenebrionid richness. Thus, as proposed for other very sedentary animals inhabiting this archipelago such as land snails, a relict model is postulated. As most tenebrionids have extremely limited ability to actively disperse over the sea, ancestral species have probably colonised the Aegean Islands by means of land-bridges during Pleistocene falls in the sea level.