Abstract
In order to assess the species richness and diversi ty of ants in a xerophitic scrubland, a total of th ree areas were monitored in the Southeast of Durango within t he municipalities of Nombre de Dios and Durango. Specific richness, relative abundance as well as Sh annon’s, Simpson’s and Pielou’s indices of the ant community were obtained. A total of 19 species from 15 genera within four subfamilies were collected: Myrmicinae, Formicinae, Pseudomyrmicinae and Dolichoderinae. The subfamily with the greatest species richness was Myrmicinae (seven species), while Pseudomyrmicinae had the lowest richness with only two species. Dolichoderinae showed the highest relative abundance (76.5% of the total sample). Four new records of two genera were obtained for the State: Carebara and Linepithema and two species: Atta texana and Myrmecocystus mendax . Shannon’s diversity index reached H’ = 1.36, Piel ou’s evenness index was J’ = 0.46 and Simpson’s index was λ = 0.38. Further targeted studies are required with different sampling techniques in order to obtain a more detailed listi ng of ants and increase our knowledge on this group of insects in the study region, which shows high diver sity potential.
Highlights
Studied groups, since it is a high-interest group in terms of its biodiversity and due to the functions they carry out Insects are the most diverse and evolved group within ecosystems
It has been shown that within these environments there is a surprising level of diversity and abundance of ants and that it is possible to recognize a large variety of trophic interactions and habits that can vary throughout time (Mackay, 1991; Rojas and Fragoso, 2000)
Species inventories are carried out as a way to gain knowledge on the number of them in a specific habitat, the objective of this study was to contribute to the information known on ants within a xerophitic scrubland plant community in Southeast Durango in terms of species richness, abundance and diversity as a basis for future mid- and long-term diversity assessments
Summary
Studied groups, since it is a high-interest group in terms of its biodiversity and due to the functions they carry out Insects are the most diverse and evolved group within ecosystems. Ants are grouped within the Formicidae family which ecosystems, with some studies showing their sensitivity is placed within the Vespoidea superfamily of the Order to environmental changes caused by anthropogenic Hymenoptera (Rojas, 2001). It has been shown that within these environments there is a surprising level of diversity and abundance of ants and that it is possible to recognize a large variety of trophic interactions and habits that can vary throughout time (Mackay, 1991; Rojas and Fragoso, 2000) Ants reach their highest diversity and abundance within the tropics where there are more species, genera and endemism that in any other region (Bolton, 1995; Fisher et al, 2010). Formicids are one of the least known families of the North-Central part of the country
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