The diversity of carabid beetles (coleoptera: carabidae) in the Udzungwa Mountains national park, Tanzania.
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Date
2002
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Between March 1999 and July 2000 an inventory of carabid beetles took place at three sites in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park (UMNP), Tanzania. The sampling protocol was designed to be quick, affordable and to produce standardized data that could be used in estimation of species richness. Three collectors with varying experience in invertebrate sampling applied four collecting methods at the three sites during the dry and wet seasons, thus yielding a total of six replicates for analysis. A total of 1202 samples were collected. These yielded 3264 specimens of carabid beetles belonging to 68 morpho-species in 46 genera and 18 subfamilies. Out of the 68, 19 were identified to species, 34 to genus level, 15 were new to science, and one was a new subspecies of a described species. The data was used to calculate complementarity, to assess the completeness of sampling and in estimation of the true species richness of the study sites. Differences in the relative abundance and species richness between collecting methods and collectors were analyzed statistically. Spatial and seasonal variation of relative abundance and species richness of carabid beetles was investigated. Implications of the results in invertebrate biodiversity surveys are discussed. Areas for further study are suggested.
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, Class mark (THS EAF QL571.T34N98)
Keywords
Udzungwa, Mountains
Citation
Nyundo, B.A (2002) The diversity of carabid beetles (coleoptera: carabidae) in the Udzungwa Mountains national park, Tanzania, Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam.