Abstract

OCHOA-GARCIA, Daniel et al. Diversity of Coleoptera (Insecta) in two plant communities at the Teseachi Ranch, Chihuahua, Mexico. Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2019, vol.35, e3502213.  Epub Dec 30, 2019. ISSN 2448-8445.  https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.2019.3502213.

Coleoptera is one of the most diverse and studied order of insects. However, knowledge of its diversity in Chihuahua is scarce. In this study, the diversity of beetles in two plant communities (Navajita grass pasture and oak-pine forest) was compared. The collections were made monthly through a period of six months, from June to November of 2018. Transects were defined in both communities where two methods of collection were used (manual and pitfall traps). We determined the species richness and abundance for each plant community. To assess the diversity of Coleoptera species per vegetation type, a species effective method was performed. To evaluate the change in relative abundances, a range-abundance curve was graphed, and a non-metric multidimensional scaling was performed in order to evaluate the similarity between communities. 209 organisms were obtained, represented by 12 families, 29 genera and 42 morpho species and species. The largest number of individuals and species was found in the Oak-pine forest. However, the index showed that there is greater diversity in grasslands (16.6 effective species) than in the oak-pine forests (8.5 effective species). The similarity between communities was low, which may be determined by the presence of associated exclusive species for each type of forest community (20 for the pine-oak forest and 14 for the grassland) 13 species, seven genera and one family are listed as new records for the state of Chihuahua.

Keywords : Species diversity; rain season; northern Mexico; temperate forests.