The ground-dwelling arthropod community of Península Valdés in Patagonia, Argentina

CHELI, G. H.; CORLEY, J. C.; BRUZZONE, O.; DEL BRÍO, M.; MARTÍNEZ, F. J.; MARTÍNEZ ROMÁN, N.; RÍOS, I.

JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE

UNIV ARIZONA

Lugar: Arizona; Año: 2010 vol. 10 p. 1 - 16

1536-2442

This is the first study based on a planned and intensive sampling effort that describes thecommunity composition and structure of the ground-dwelling arthropod assemblage of PenínsulaValdés (Patagonia). It was carried out using pitfall traps, opened for two weeks during thesummers of 2005, 2006 and 2007. A total of 28,111 individuals were caught. Ants(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) dominated this community, followed by beetles (Coleoptera) andspiders (Araneae). The most abundant species were Pheidole bergi Mayr (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) and Blapstinus punctulatus Solier (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Two new specieswere very recently described as new based on specimens collected during this study: Valdesianacuriosa Carpintero, Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Miridae) and Anomaloptera patagonica Dellapé& Cheli (Hemiptera, Oxycarenidae). The order Coleoptera was the most diverse taxa. Thedistribution of abundance data was best described by the logarithmic series model both at thefamily and species levels, suggesting that ecological relationships in this community could becontrolled by a few factors. The community was dominated by predators from a trophicperspective. This suggests that predation acts as an important factor driving the distribution andabundances of surface-dwelling arthropods in this habitat and as such serves as a key element inunderstanding desert, above-ground community structure. These findings may also be useful formanagement and conservation purposes in arid Patagonia.