Acridomorpha (Orthoptera) species associated with the protected wetlands of Santa Lucía, Montevideo, Uruguay

Abstract

The diversity of Acridomorpha in protected areas of Uruguay has been little studied to date. In the protected wetlands of Humedales de Santa Lucía in the Montevideo Department, we made monthly surveys from December 2012 to March 2013. Sampling was conducted with entomological nets and by hand. We collected 1216 individuals of 26 different species belonging to seven subfamilies. Gomphocerinae and Melanoplinae were the most abundant, accounting for 71% and 16% of the individuals respectively. The Shannon index showed a medium diversity, but the Berger-Parker dominance index and Pielou equitativity index indicate a slight dominance of the acridomorph community studied. This is probably because five species accounted for 87% of the individuals collected. Although our results are similar to previous studies of acridomorph communities in grasslands of the region, our study, the first of this kind for this ecosystem in Uruguay, will be important for the conservation of this protected area.