Hexapod decomposers of Serra de Santa Catarina, Paraíba, Brazil: an area with high potential for conservation of Caatinga biodiversity

Abstract

In detritus-based trophic systems, springtails, dung beetles, saprophagous calyptrate flies and termites consume and fragment organic matter and control populations of decomposer microorganisms, exerting a strong influence on energy and nutrient fluxes. A faunal inventory of these four groups of hexapods was performed in Serra de Santa Catarina (SSC), an area of arboreal-shrub caatinga located in the state of Paraíba, with the purpose of characterizing the assemblages of these taxa, and highlighting their unique links to the local ecosystem. Samplings were performed in May, 2014, and April, 2015, both during the rainy season. Standard sampling protocols for biodiversity inventory of the various taxa were used, including both active and passive sampling methods. In general, 114 species of hexapods were captured, with 26 species of springtails, 20 dung beetles, 30 saprophagous calyptrate flies and 38 termites, with sampling sufficiency varying from 69.5 to 96.8% of total estimated richness. Species richness of the groups are among the highest recorded for a single area of Caatinga, with some taxa being recorded for the first time for the domain. Several morphospecies had indeterminate taxonomic status, especially springtails and termites, and are quite likely new species to science. The structure of the assemblages of springtails, dung beetles, saprophagous calyptrate flies and termites recorded in SSC, suggest that this conserved area is unique within the highly impacted landscape of Caatinga, and has great potential for the conservation of biodiversity of this domain in the Northeast Region of Brazil.

Nest Population Structure and Wood Litter Consumption by Microcerotermes indistinctus (Isoptera) in a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest, Northeastern Brazil

“…The participation of M. indistinctus in the consumption of vegetal necromass produced may seem relatively low, but in other Caatinga areas within the same ecoregion, there may be up to 15 species (39 to 57% of all the species) of wood consuming termites [ 15 , 33 ], including H. sulcatus and C. cyphergaster , substantially increasing the participation of termites in the removal of the annual production of vegetal necromass. In savanna ecosystems, termites can consume 5% to more than 80% of the primary production, with intense participation of species of Macrotermitinae [ 3 , 34 ].…”

Treehopper (Membracidae, Auchenorrhyncha) assemblages in four semi-arid areas of caatinga of Northeast Brazil

“…& Gaussen 1963). Seasonal deciduous caatinga occurs in areas at higher elevations, and possess high aerial biomass and great potential for conservation of Caatinga biodiversity (Giulietti et al 2003, Ernesto et al 2018. (iii) Parque Ecológico Engenheiro Ávidos (PEEA) (6°59'12"S, 38°27'22"W): this area is located in the municipality of Cajazeiras, has area of 181.98 ha and a maximum elevation of 290 m. The mean annual precipitation is 870 mm, and the climate is classified as Aw (Köppen).…”

“…The rhetoric that prevailed in the past, that the Caatinga harbored few species and therefore had low conservation priority, no longer finds support among the scientific community. The high number of endemic species described each year is a testament to their differentiated diversity and, at the same time, to the lack of knowledge about them (Bellini 2014, Mariano & Costa 2014, Carvalho & Bravo 2014, Lecci et al 2014, Vasconcellos & Moura 2014, Creão-Duarte et al 2017, Ernesto et al 2018.…”