Abstract
Forests have many insect species that are unique to biodiversity and play a crucial role in the functioning of ecosystems. Forest cockroaches are the best example of forest litter insects, which also help decompose fallen leaves. The composition of the Blattoptera fauna can vary from one region to another, depending on the habitat and numerous biotic and abiotic factors In order to study the diversity, abundance, and distribution of forest cockroaches in different Algeria ecosystems, we have selected four sites from three Wilayas: Senalba (Djelfa), Ain achir (Annaba), Seraidi (Annaba), and Lehnaya (El-taref). These sites are classified into two distinct forest groups (Pinus halepensis and Quercus canariensis). In all areas, the samples were collected each month manually, starting from April 2019 until March 2020. We have collected 1231 individuals of cockroaches and describe eight species from all locations: Loboptera ovolobata (Bohn, 1991), Loboptera decipiens (Germar, 1817), Ectobius kervillei (Bolivar, 1907), Dziriblatta nigriventris (Chopard, 1936), Dziriblatta stenoptera (Chopard, 1937), Phyllodromica zebra (Rhen, 1903), Dziriblatta sp. (Chopard, 1936) and some Ectobius (Stephens, 1835) specimens have not yet been identified. With 51% L. decipiens was the most abundant species, followed by L. ovolobata with 27%. Despite that, the number of larvae was substantially higher than the number of adults in all forests examined. However, the abundance and biodiversity of cockroaches in the Djelfa forest were greater than those of the other woods. This study made it possible to characterize the diversity and dynamics of cockroach species populations in different Algerian ecosystems according to diverse Mediterranean forests.
Highlights
Biodiversity is proposed to be necessary for the rate of ecosystem functions (Gamfeldt, 2008)
The catches performed over 12 months from April 2019 to March 2020 resulted in a collection of 1231 individuals, including 140 adults, 692 young larvae, and 399 older larvae, as well as 27 oothecae (Table 2)
The abundance of all the studied areas shows that L. decipiens was the most abundant species with 49 % of the populating, followed by L. ovolobata (26 %) than E. kervillei with an abundance of 18 % (Figure 2)
Summary
Biodiversity is proposed to be necessary for the rate of ecosystem functions (Gamfeldt, 2008). A critical feature of biodiversity that regulates ecological processes and properties is the abundance of organisms, functional classes, and genotypes (Chapin et al, 1997). Forests have many insect species that are unique to biodiversity and play a crucial role in the functioning of ecosystems (Sekour et al, 2010). Insects living in the forest have ecological need, and a wide variety of organisms play a vital role in organic matter decomposition. They recycle dead organic matter and recreate the cycle of the material necessary for the forest's existence (Habbachi, 2013)
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