Estimating Biodiversity: A case study on True Bugs in Argentinian wetlands.

COSCARÓN M. DEL C.; DELLAPÉ P. M.; MELO M. C.; CODDINGTON J.

Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Jornada; 5tas Jornadas Multidisciplinarias de Biología; 2003

The knowledge of Heteroptera from Argentina is fragmentary and incomplete. Currently 1,244 species of terrestrial Heteroptera are known (Coscarón & Cuello, 2000). Checklists for Miridae, Thaumastocoridae, Pachynomidae (Carpintero, 1998a, b, c) and Reduviidae (Coscarón, 1998) have been published. In Corrientes Province recent inventories focused on termites (Isoptera) (Torales, 1998), kissing bugs (Reduviidae) (Bar et. al., 1999), aquatic (Estevez et al., 2003) and terrestrial true bugs (Coscarón, 2003). None of these quantified undersampling bias. Hodkinson & Casson (1991) did use figures for known and estimated global heteropteran richness to predict the global number of insect species. The species richness and relative abundance of faunas in defined areas are the raw materials in biodiversity science. The research methodology to acquire these data is inventory, and inventory quality depends on a number of parameters, for example collecting methods, season, and collector experience. To assess the ability of rapid inventory techniques to estimate local richness seven collectors sampled the fauna of true bugs in the Iberá watershed (Corrientes, Argentina) with seven methods during early spring, summer, and late summer (December, May, September) of one year. Sixteen families, 225 spp. and 4,688 adults were found. The lower bound of annual heteropteran species richness at Pellegrini was about 250-300 species. Among heteropteran families, the particular inventory methodology was especially efficient in sampling Miridae. 4,688 adults were found. The lower bound of annual heteropteran species richness at Pellegrini was about 250-300 species. Among heteropteran families, the particular inventory methodology was especially efficient in sampling Miridae.