Today, biodiversity is one of the most studied disciplines because it encompasses all species of plants, animals, and microorganisms that exist and act within an ecosystem. In recent decades, biodiversity has been degrading rapidly due to the simplification of agricultural systems, and the irrational use of pesticides that alter the normal function of ecosystems. Within nature, each insect population is attacked by one or more natural enemies. In this investigation, during a six month period from June to December 2006, the biodiversity of predatory insects from the syrphidae and carabidae families was determined in three ecological niches of three communities with two posed risks (Malaise and Pitfall) for the Carabidae family and one (Malaise) for the Syrphidae family. This investigation presents the differences in composition of morphospecies from three ecological niches in three communities of the yungas of La Paz. In total, we recorded 67 morphospecies from the Carabidae family in a population of 1107 individuals and 38 morphospecies from the Syrphidae family in a population of 1333 individuals. From the data above, it was found that the most diverse community was San Juan de la Miel with 33 morphospecies from the Syrphidae family and 42 morphospecies from the Carabidae family. However, in the case of the Syrphidae family, a smaller quantity of individuals found were related to the other communities whereas in the case of the Carabidae family, a larger quantity of individuals found were related. The similarity indices show only around 8-15% between the different ecological niches and communities which is relatively low and indicates that dominant species exist in these ecological niches, whether in the forest or in cultivated areas. The Carabids are insects similar to beetles, coming in varied sizes and colors, with dark and bright metallic colors being the most prominent. The family contains between 20,000 and 30,000 known species. The Syrphids are similar to dipterous insects, coming in different sizes and colors. Generally, black and yellow, or a combination of both similar to bees, are the most predominant colors. The family contains around 5,400 known species. The Carabids and Syrphids are very important in the biodiversity of ecosystems as well as in ecology because they regulate the pest populations through predation. In addition, when they are adults, they pollinate crops thus reducing the use of petrochemical insecticides. The area studied has a good diversity of species due to the geomorphology of the site. It has small patches of crops and fallow land surrounded by forests that allow the maintenance of its diversity, which is very important for the balance of ecosystems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-6326 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Creators | Alarcón, Eddy |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Coverage | Nor Yungas (Bolivia) |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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