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Title:
Analysis of the time series of arthropods in the soil of the Azufaifar in Cabo de Gata-Níjar (Almería).
Author:
Mónica León Guirado
Publication date:
2020
Abstract:
The Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park is home to one of the largest and best preserved population of Ziziphus lotus (L.) Lam. in Europe. This paper evaluates the wealth of soil arthropods in the ruled ecosystem by this species, which has also been modified in some areas by the presence of two invasive species, the sisal (Agave sisalana Perr.) and the henequen (Agave fourcroydes Lem.) For this purpose, the jujube tree soil arthropod community was compared in May (last spring) for 4 consecutive years (2016 to 2019). The objective has been to detect those groups that are more abundant and sensitive to environmental changes. A capture, identification and count of the relative frequency of individuals of each order of arthropods as an indicator of abundance were carried out, in addition to the calculation of the main indices of biodiversity used in ecology. The results show a high similarity between the environment studied, which come changes in the representation of orders in the non-invasive environments vs the invasive ones. The importance of the Coleoptera order stands out because of its
abundance and as recognized and optimal indicator of environmental conditions. As a conclusion, it would be convenient to carry out a deeper study, at genus or species level, in order to detect a greater number of changes between years and environments.
Key words: Ziziphus lotus, arthropods, agaves, environments, biodiversity, Coleoptera.