Abstract
Abstract: Membracidae are phytophagous insects that present different types of behavior, requiring a specific protocol for fast and efficient collection. This article evaluates the best methods for sampling these insects in Atlantic Forest areas. The protocol was applied in four areas of the Atlantic Forest in Paraíba state, Brazil, and involved a team of four people at a cost of US$180 per area. Each area contained 100 sampling units subdivided into 30 yellow sticky cards in the canopy and 30 yellow sticky cards in the lower stratum, 30 active collections and 10 light traps. In total, 2,678 specimens belonging to 91 species were sampled. The highest abundance and richness values were obtained using active collection (N = 1,517; S = 42) and cards in the canopy (N = 345; S = 53). All methods exhibited high complementarity, with more than half of the species (S = 50; 54.35%) recorded exclusively by only one of the methods applied. Similarity analysis revealed that active collection differs significantly from all other methods (R = 0.10, p = 0.0001) and that the sticky cards in the canopy differ from the collection in the lower stratum (p = 0.0001), whereas the other method pairs did not exhibit significant differences. In all areas, the active collection, the sticky cards in the canopy and the lower stratum had the best sample sufficiency, with at least 60% of the estimated values. To inventory Membracidae specimens in areas of the Atlantic Forest, a protocol that combines different collection methods is required, which in principle requires more time and expense. However, it is worth noting that it is possible to adjust this protocol according to the researcher’s need. For a faster survey that includes the largest number of species, we suggest a combination of active collection and a light trap.
Highlights
Extensive quantitative samplings are typically problematic because they require long periods of time, a large number of people and, significant resources (Cardoso 2009, Magurran2011)
Forest? In this context, considering that these insects inhabit different niches, such as the canopy, border and lower stratum of the forest, http://www.scielo.br/bn we aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different collection methods that allow capture of these insects in these locations, and to test the hypothesis that a combination of different methods is necessary to inventory the diversity of Membracidae in areas of the Atlantic Forest
The protocol was applied from May 2015 to April 2016 in four areas of the Atlantic Forest of Paraíba, which are subject to a mean annual temperature of 25°C, 80% relative humidity, approximately
Summary
Extensive quantitative samplings are typically problematic because they require long periods of time, a large number of people and, significant resources (Cardoso 2009, Magurran2011). Because increasingly fewer resources have been allocated for these purposes, rapid survey methods or protocols have become more popular (Oliver & Beattie 1996, Duelli 1997, Jones & Eggleton 2000, Muelelwa et al 2010). In this context, rapid biodiversity assessments (RBA) have been increasingly implemented in inventory and monitoring studies, being used for diverse taxa in different habitats and ecosystems Collection protocols are developed or adapted (Borisko et al 2007, Buss & Borges 2008, Cardoso et al 2008) using numerous collection methods to sample the largest possible number of representatives of the species that are part of a given assembly.
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