Abstract

CASTELLANOS-VARGAS, Iván; GARCIA-GARCIA, Patricia L.  and  CANO-SANTANA, Zenón. Orthopterological diversity in the southeastern of Ciudad Universitaria (UNAM). Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2015, vol.31, n.1, pp.97-108. ISSN 2448-8445.

The steady growth of human population causes that the urban area extends its limits to ecological reserves reducing the size of these, generating significant edge effects that accentuate the landscape fragmentation and increase the loss of continuity from vegetation cover. Ecological reserves and the urban green areas (represented by parks and gardens) are relict habitats for many species that survive in the urban matrix. The Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve at Ciudad Universitaria (PSAER-CU) is the most important in the southwest of Mexico City because it embodies 237.3 hectares and possesses 377 species of vascular plants, 180 species of native vertebrates and preserves at least 817 arthropod species, out of which 26 are orthopterans, the latter play an important role in the food chain and are determinants of ecosystem functioning. This study aimed to: 1. Elaborate a check list of the Orthoptera species that survive in the Southeastern Territorial Reserve from Ciudad Universitaria (SETR); 2. Compare the attributes (abundance, diversity and density) of the Orthoptera community that inhabit the SETR with respect to the Orthoptera species occurring at the Southeast Core Zone at PSAER; 3. Discuss the environmental value of the SETR as Environmental Buffer Zone for PSAER. The relative abundance of each species did not differ significantly between the SETR and the Core Zone. We found five Orthoptera species at SETR, the species with greatest abundance was Sphenarium purpurascens purpurascens Charpentier, 1842 Pyrgomorphidae, followed by Phoetaliotes nebrascensis (Thomas, 1872) Acrididae. The presence of Conocephalus (Xiphidion) ictus (Scudder, 1875) Tettigoniidae represents a new taxonomic record for the study area. We discuss that the SETR differs on orthopterological diversity from the Southeast Core Zone at PSAER and argue its importance for wildlife conservation; as well as the importance that the Orthoptera possess according to their position in the food chain and why they are determinants of ecosystem functioning.

Keywords : Conocephalus (Xiphidion) ictus; habitat fragmentation; Orthoptera; Pedregal de San Angel Ecological Reserve; Sphenarium purpurascens purpurascens; urbanization.

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