Fauna de Arthropoda de la Reserva Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina

Abstract

The great variety of environments and interelationships that characterize the Iberá Province Reserve offer favorable conditions for the development of the arthropod diversity. In this study a checklist and general characteristics of the most representative taxa that comprise the fauna of arthropods in the area are included. The investigation was carried out in the forests and grasslands in Estancia Rincón (Departamento Mercedes) and Colonia Pellegrini (Departamento San Martín). The collecting methods employed were: sweep nets, light traps and pit falls settled along 150m transects. The aquatic vegetation was also sampled in Laguna Fernandez. Three replications of each sampling method were carried out. A total of 3348 specimens were captured with a dominance of Class Insecta and Class Arachnida, while Crustacea, Chilopoda and Diplopoda were scarce. The arthropod community was characterized by an association of dominant orders such as Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Hemiptera and Araneae coexisting in the landscape units. The higher taxa richness was an indicator of the arthropod diversity. This diversity is related with the spatial heterogeneity and the biotopes complexity with the great number of available microhabitats. Although preliminary, the reported list made possible a diagnosis of the ecosystem in relation to the Phylum Arthropoda and provided baseline knowledge of this taxa in the Ibera Reserve.