The ground-dwelling arthropod community of Península Valdés in Patagonia, Argentina
1Unidad de Investigación Ecología Terrestre, CENPAT-CONICET, Bvd. Brown 2915 (9120), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
2Laboratorio de Ecología de Insectos, INTA EEA Bariloche, CC 277 (8400), Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
3Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Bvd. Brown 3700 (9120), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
Abstract
This is the first study based on a planned and intensive sampling effort that describes the community composition and structure of the ground-dwelling arthropod assemblage of Península Valdés (Patagonia). It was carried out using pitfall traps, opened for two weeks during the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2007. A total of 28,111 individuals were caught. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) dominated this community, followed by beetles (Coleoptera) and spiders (Araneae). The most abundant species were Pheidole bergi Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Blapstinus punctulatus Solier (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Two new species were very recently described as new based on specimens collected during this study: Valdesiana curiosa Carpintero, Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Miridae) and Anomaloptera patagonica Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Oxycarenidae). The order Coleoptera was the most diverse taxa. The distribution of abundance data was best described by the logarithmic series model both at the family and species levels, suggesting that ecological relationships in this community could be controlled by a few factors. The community was dominated by predators from a trophic perspective. This suggests that predation acts as an important factor driving the distribution and abundances of surface-dwelling arthropods in this habitat and as such serves as a key element in understanding desert, above-ground community structure. These findings may also be useful for management and conservation purposes in arid Patagonia.
Keywords: abundance, desert, diversity, epigeal arthropods, guild, pitfall trapping
Correspondence: a cheli@cenpat.edu.ar
Received: 21 December 2008 | Accepted: 29 June 2009 | Published: 17 May 2010
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 50
Cheli GH, Corley JC, Bruzzone O, Brío M, Martínez F, Roman NM, Ríos I. 2010. The ground-dwelling arthropod community of Península Valdés in Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Insect Science 10:50, available online: insectscience.org/10.50
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