Species Composition and Diversity of Insects of the Kogyae Strict Nature Reserve in Ghana

Abstract

Kogyae Strict Nature Reserve, the only one in Ghana, was established to promote scientific research, particularly on how nature revitalizes itself after major disasters, and also to check the southward drift of the savannah grassland. This study presents the first comprehensive inventory of species composition and diversity of insects of the Reserve. Insects were surveyed between September 2011 and June 2012 to capture the end of the rainy season, the dry season and the peak of the wet season. Samples were taken from two sites within the Reserve, Dagomba and Oku using various sampling techniques including pitfall traps, malaise traps and sweep nets. Insect communities were characterized in terms of, 1) species richness estimators, 2) species richness, 3) Shannon-Weiner Index of Diversity, 4) Pielou's evenness and 5) Bray-Curtis similarity. A total of 8147 individuals representing 135 families from 21 orders were recorded. This included 107 species of butterflies from 9 families and 20 species of dragonflies from 3 families. Oku recorded the highest species numbers (S = 63) and richness (d = 12.16) with a high evenness of species (J = 0.9377) during the peak of the wet season; and the lowest species numbers (S = 58) and Margalef's index of (d = 10.14) in January. The highest Shannon diversity index of (H = 3.927) was recorded at Dagomba in January.

Butterfly Assemblages of Two Wetlands: Response of Biodiversity to Different Environmental Stressors in Sierra Leone

“…MMWS recorded less species during the rainy season, whereas SLRE recorded less species in the dry season. A similar distribution of species was recorded by Kyerematen et al[50] in a transitional vegetation zone, where more butterflies were recorded during the dry season within a riparian forest mosaic in Ghana. The reverse diversity was the case for butterfly records in neighbouring savanna woodlands in the wet season in Ghana.…”

Epigaeic ant diversity and distribution in the Sandstone Sourveld in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa

“…Ants' body temperature decreases with decreasing air temperature, this reduces ants foraging activities, which may explain the decline in ant diversity and richness in shaded environments (Porter & Tschinkel, ). Furthermore, ants prefer warm climatic conditions and forage in sites with low vegetation (Kyerematen, Owusu, Acquah‐Lamptey, Anderson, & Ntiamoa‐Baidu, ), which probably explains the high species richness in an intact grassland and disturbed grassland.…”

Butterfly Diversity: An Indicator for Environmental Health within Tarkwa Gold Mine, Ghana

“…Some other animal groups that can be used as biondicators within the concession are insects such as grasshoppers (Hao, Wang, Cease, & Kang, 2015;Adu-Acheampong, Bazelet, & Samways, 2016, Adu-Acheampong et al, 2017, dragonflies (Lee Foote & Rice, 2005;Acquah-Lamptey, Kyerematen, & Owusu, 2013), butterflies (Maes & Van Dyck, 2005;Bonfantti, Di Mare, & Giovenardi, 2009, Van Dyck, Van Strien, Maes, & Van Swaay, 2009Hiyama, Taira, Sakauchi, & Otaki, 2018) and ants (Majer, Orabi, & Bisevac, 2007, Coelho, Fernandes, Santos, & Delabie, 2009. Insects are mainly used as indicators of environmental degradation as well as bioindicators of the wellbeing of ecosystems (Acquah-Lamptey et al, 2013, Kyerematen, Owusu, Acquah-Lamptey, Anderson & Ntiamoa-Baidu, 2014aKyerematen, Kaiwa, Acquah-Lamptey, Adu-Acheampong & Andersen, 2018). They are critical natural resources in ecosystems, particularly those of forest origin (Raina, Chauhan, Tayal, Pande, & Mohan, 2011).…”

“…(Larsen, 1994(Larsen, , 2006. The butterflies of West Africa, especially that of Ghana are fairly well studied compared to other regions in Africa although there is still enormous untapped knowledge on this group in Africa (Larsen, 2005(Larsen, , 2006Nganso, Kyerematen, & Obeng-Ofori, 2012;Bossart & Antwi, 2013Kyerematen et al, 2014a;Kyerematen, Acquah-Lamptey, Owusu, Anderson, & Ntiamoa-Baidu, 2014b;Kyerematen, Akuamoah-Boateng, Acquah-Lamptey, & Anderson, 2014c;Maes & Van Dyck, 2005;Weisser & Siemann, 2008). Currently there are about 925 described butterfly species in Ghana, with thousands of undescribed ones (Larsen, 2006).…”