Project : Monitoring the recovery of the Upper Delta wetland of the Paraná River after the 2020 fires. Abundance and diversity of epigeal arthropods on the soil surface.

Introduction:

Due to their small size, their great diversity, and their high sensitivity to environmental variations, arthropods can be good indicators of habitat heterogeneity, ecosystem biodiversity, and the state of stress to which the environment is subjected. Consequently, certain species or taxa of arthropods can be used as indicator species of the general state of the ecosystem. Among the most studied groups are: Araneae, Carabidae, Coccinellidae, Staphilinidae, Diptera and Syrphidae among others.

Objectives:

The specific composition, trophic structure, richness, abundance, diversity and equitability of the epigeal arthropod communities of the soil surface will then be established.

very abbreviated methodology

Sampling will be conducted in two island environments dominated by mature willow groves. One of these environments experienced a fire in 2020, while the other did not. Within each environment, sampling areas will be selected for arthropod collection. Each area will consist of twenty 11-cm diameter pitfall traps containing 200 cm³ ^of preservative solution (5% acetic acid and 2,5% formalin), arranged in a straight line. Sampling will take place over seven consecutive days in November, February, May, and August. The spring-summer and autumn-winter seasonal communities will be studied separately.

Related

Director: Guillermo Montero

Members: Ana Paula Carrizo; Clara Mitchell and Gastón Zubarán.

Spaces/Institutions/Academic Units: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (UNR), Faculty of Exact Sciences, Engineering and Surveying (UNR) and Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences “Bernardino Rivadavia”.

Contact

Email gmontero@unr.edu.ar