BIODIVERSITY JOURNAL

2013,4 (3): 385-440

Allium commutatum Guss. and the « small islands specialist » plants species of the Western Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is a veiy large sea

famous for its numerous small islands. Even if the western basin is mostly known for its big and beautiful islands, it contains more than 1000 small

islands, often less than 1000 ha wide. Current enthusiasm in exploring very small islands (sometimes rocks no more than one hectare) is particularly

supported by the “PIM initiative” of French “Conservatoire du Littoral”. By boat, swimming or sometimes by feet, most of them were scientifically

explored for the first time and a lot are still to be explored. One of the major surprises was the recurrent discovery of some plant species considered

extremely rare or not yet known on the continent. Allium commutatum Guss., a steno-Mediterranean rare Amaryllidaceae, was recently discovered as

new for Tunisia and Algeria thanks to its presence on very small islands, and recent explorations led to confirm its presence also on the continent

(Africa), on inaccessible rocks with few vegetation cover. In SW-Sardinia, out of the six known localities, five are on peripheric small islands and one on

a Cape of the main island. Around Corsica, more than twenty islets are concerned. In Corsica and mainland France, the species is rarely pure and most

often hybridised with A. polyanthum Schult. & Schult. f., a common ruderal plant. Even within the small islands archipelago of La Galite or Zernbra in

Tunisia, A. commutatum is located on the smallest islets, while A. polyanthum is growing on the main island. Among its special properties, A.

commutatum is known to have some bulblets resistant to seawater. Nananthea perpusilla (Loisel.) DC., an extremely rare Corso-Sardinian endemism

and monotypic genus of Asteraceae, is the most famous and best studied small islands specialist plant species. Stachys brachyclada De Noe, a western

Mediterranean rare Lamiaceae, is distributed from France (three islets near Marseille) until Chafarinas archipelago (opposite to Moroccan coast) and is

very limited on the mainland. Fumaria munbyi Boiss. & Reut., a south-western Mediterranean rare Papaveracecae, was indicated in the past on the

continental littoral but is currently known mainly on Habibas archipelago (Algeria) and Columbretes archipelago (Spain). Hymenolobus procumbens

subsp. revelieri (Jord.) Greuter & Burdet, a western Mediterranean rare Brassicaceae, may be a good candidate but, because of taxonomical difficulties,

its exact distribution is still not known. Of course, a lot of narrow endemic species restricted on one or a few islands are de facto small islands specialist,

but for the species with relatively large distribution, this phenomenon is still poorly known and understudied. Avoiding concurrence of species from

mainland is probably a major cause, not only competition from species with the same ecological niche but also genetic aggressiveness of parent species.

Furthermore, Humans artificialise the mainland littoral more easily than inaccessible islets. Dispersal capacities of small islands specialist should be

explored in light of those species preferring the mainland. Genetic pattern and historical relations between populations from such remote small islands

are misunderstood and represent a challenge.

Errol Vela, Universite Montpellier-2, UMR AMAP « Botanique et bio-informatique de 1' Architecture des Plantes », France; e-mail: eiTol.vela@cirad.fr

Daniel Pavon, Aix-Marseille Universites, UMR IMBE « Institut Mediterraneen de Biodiversite et d'Ecologie marine et continental e », France; e-mail:

daniel.pavon@imbe.fr

Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 387-394

Plant trees species for restoration program in Ranupani,

BromoTengger Semeru National Park Indonesia

Luchman Hakim '* & Hideki Miyakawa 2

'Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Brawijaya University, Malang 65145, Indonesia; email:

luchman@ub.ac.id; lufehakim@yahoo.com

2 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Manggala Wana Bakti, Jakarta 10270, Indonesia; e-mail: Miyakawahi@aol.com

Corresponding author

ABSTRACT Restoration programs in conservation areas need a basis data regarding plant species di-

versity which is indigenous for the restoration area target. The availability of such data is use-

ful for selecting appropriate plant species for reintroduction programs as a crucial part in

restoration programs. The aim of this paper is to identify potential plant trees species for

a restoration program in tropical highland ecosystem. There are potential plant trees species for

Ranupani area, including Acer laurinum, Acmena acuminatissima, Casuarina junghuhniana,

Dacrycarpus imbricatus, Engelhcirdtia spicata, Myrsine korthalsii , Lithocarpus sundaicus,

Lithocarpus korthalsii , Macropanax dispermum, Trema orientals, Turpinia sphaerocarpa,

Omalanthus giganteus, and Astronia spectabilis. Some of them, i.e. Engelhardtia spicata ,

Omalanthus giganteus, Astronia spectabilis, Trema orientalis and Casuarina junghuhniana

play an important role as pioneer species. In the first step of restoration program implemen-

tation, these species can be planted with some pioneer native shrubs and herbs to initiate and

accelerate the succession process in the restoration areas.

KEY WORDS Mountain biodiversity; degradation; restoration; native species; lakes ecosystem; succession.

Received 24.02.2013; accepted 29.06.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

Recently, problems related to the habitat degra-

dation in national parks became one of the crucial

issues in the world. As a mega biodiversity country,

the role of national parks in Indonesia was consid-

ered important. While the objective of national

parks has been addressed to conserve biodiversity,

threats to the Indonesian national parks increase sig-

nificantly (MoE, 2005).

Habitat degradation in Indonesian national

parks has been reported by many authors. Several

significant causes of degradation, however, come

from the anthropogenic factor. Scholars point out

that forest fire, illegal logging, mining and unsus-

tainable uses of resources inside the national parks

have been the causes of rapid degradation of many

habitats (Salim, 2002; Miyakawa, 2010; Hakim et

al., 2012).

Attempts to recover habitats that have been de-

graded became the focus of restoration projects. In

Europe and America, restoration has been devel-

oped and implemented since past decades as an in-

tegral part of biodiversity conservation strategy

(Phillips, 1996; Lowry, 2009). In Indonesia, how-

ever, restoration could be considered as a new con-

cept and, therefore, it becomes crucial agendas in

biodiversity management (Miyakawa, 2010). It is

particularly crucial in Indonesian protected areas

such as its national parks. Previously, in order to

improve degraded areas, there were national pro-

grams called National Movement of Land Reha-

388

Luchman Hakim & Hideki Miyakawa

bilitation, which were intensively carried out in

degraded water catchment areas, but not in pro-

tected areas system. There are many guidelines for

degraded land recovery beyond protected areas,

but are not available for protected areas. Absence

of guidelines will lead to poor understanding of

the basic philosophy and techniques for restora-

tion. Since the objectives of management of wa-

tershed areas and national parks are different, as

well as the biodiversity content, the recovery of

disturbed habitats in these areas will differ both in

philosophy and implementation.

Scholars stressed that the basic principle of

restoration is creating original ecosystem before

the area degrades (Aronson et al., 2007). In such

a case, reintroduction of native plants into the de-

graded area is one of the main activities in restora-

tion project (Falk et al., 1996). Efforts to recognize

and identify native species become crucial in restora-

tion programs. Plant trees species are one of the

crucial components in tropical forest structure and

function. Plant trees provide significant habitat for

fauna and epiphytes flora, provide food and shelter

for wildlife and are beneficial to water cycle in

forest ecosystems. In other perspectives, trees are

the ultimate resources for people surrounding for-

est and, for a long time, trees have been targets for

exploitation (Salim, 2002; Miyakawa, 2010).

Reintroduction of trees species has become the

focus of many restoration projects in the world,

reflecting its significance in ecosystem recovery

efforts (Falk et al., 1996).

The development of restoration activities using

particular demo plot is rarefy done in Indonesia.

One of the efforts, however, was promoted by

JICA through the project entitled Project on Ca-

pacity Building for Restoration of Ecosystems in

Conservation Areas. The objective of the project

is to support the highland biodiversity conserva-

tion through the recovery of degraded ecosystem

(restoration). In this paper, we describe the restora-

tion planning and management of a degraded forest

area surrounding two lakes in highland ecosystem.

In particular, we report the first step in restoration

programs in line with the attempt to provide basic

data for native trees species of the study area. It is

particularly important in developing countries due

to the fact that people in such countries lack of

experience regarding protected areas restoration

programs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was set up in Ranupani area at

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (50,276.2

hectares), East Java, Indonesia. The national park

is characterized by highland ecosystem with two ac-

tive volcanoes, Mt. Bromo (2,329 m) and Mt. Se-

meru (3,666 m). The park is famous with its huge

sand sea caldera (called Tengger Caldera) and sev-

eral mountain fresh water lakes in the southern

slope of Mt. Semeru.

The vegetation of the park is composed of low-

land to upper mountain forest types. In the lower

mountain forest (about 1,200 to 1,800 m asl.) the

forest species encompass Ficus spp., Erythrina sp.,

and Artocarpus spp. Understorey plants include

Brugmansia sp., Costus speciosus (J. Koenig) Sm.

(Costaceae), Datura metel L. ( Solanaceae), Musa

spp., Colocasia sp., Alocasia sp., Pandanus sp.,

palm and bamboo. The best ecosystem of lower

mountain forest is located at the southern part of the

park which is known as the richest habitat for or-

chid species. In the upper mountain forest (from

1,800 to 3,000 m asl.), the dominant tree species in-

clude Casuarina junghuhniana Miq (Casuari-

naceae) and Acacia decurrens Willd. (Fabaceae).

Shrubs and herbs encompass Vaccinium sp., Myrica

javanica Blume (Myricaceae), Myrsine sp., Lan-

tana camara L. (Verbenaceae), Pimpinella sp.,

Veronica sp., Widelia sp., Dahlia sp., Anaphalis

longifolia (Bl.) DC (Asteraceae), A. vise ids. (Bl.) DC

(Asteraceae ) and numerous grasses. The sub alpine

forest (above 3,000 m asl.) is dominated by shrubs

and grasses, including Anaphalis longifolia , A. vi-

se ida, Imperata cylindrica (L.) P.Beauv. (Poaceae)

and other dwarf shrubs (Hakim, 2011).

Ranupani area consists of several ecosystems,

namely Pani Lake (locally called Ranu Pani), Reg-

ulo Lake (Ranu Regulo), Ranupani Village and

tropical mountainous forest (Fig. 1). Geographi-

cally, this area is located at 2,000 to 2,200 m asl, in

the southern slope of Mt. Semeru. In this area, the

two lakes ecosystem and its surrounding areas be-

came the targets for restoration project by Japan In-

ternational Cooperation Agency (JICA) through the

project entitled Capacity Building for Restoration

of Ecosystems in Conservation Areas. Recently,

Pani Lake (8 ha.) has been degraded which led it to

its extinction due to rapid sedimentation, eutrophi-

cation and exotic plants invasion. The Regulo Lake

Plant trees species for restoration program in Ranupani, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Indonesia

389

(4 ha.) is relatively less disturbed, but abandoned

lands in an area surrounding lake are potential threats

to lake ecosystem in the near future. Illegal logging,

forest clearing and forest fire in the past seem to be

the responsible factors leading to forest disturbance

near lakes. Nowadays, many exotic shrubs species

are identified to grow strives in such areas (van

Steenis, 1972; Hakim, 2011).

Field survey was carried out in mountainous for-

est at southern slopes of Mt. Semeru and two vil-

lages at Tengger highland, namely, Ngadas and

Ranupani Villages. Related information regarding

the study sites was collected and analyzed compre-

hensively. There were encompassed the First-year

Ranupani Restoration Project Report (Hakim et al.,

2011), some official documents of the national park,

and the demography report of Lumajang Regency.

The plant trees species diversity of the Ranupani

forest area was identified through floristic surveys

from July to September 2011. Prior to the field sur-

vey, several textbooks of Malesian plants diversity

and phytogeography were examined, including the

main literature of Javan flora, such as The Mountain

Flora of Java by van Steenis (1972), Flora of Java

by Backer & van den Brink (1965), and Flora Male-

siana series (van Steenis, 1972). In this study, the

primary focus was woody plant trees species. In the

floristic survey, firstly, four hectare observation plots

in two locations were set up as the sites for plants

inventory. Such plots were set up in relatively

undisturbed mountainous tropical forest in southern

slopes of Mt. Semeru at 1,500 -2,500 m asl. In

every observation plot, kinds of tree species were

identified based on the morphological character-

istics. Experts from Purwodadi Botanical Garden

(East Java) and local people were invited during the

identification process, particularly with regard to

the species’ scientific names and the verification of

714500

1 _

715000

’Jm

Contour

A Ranu Pan! (Lake)

B Ranu Regulo (Lake)

C Settlement

D Agncultiral Field

E Restoratio n Target Area

714500

715000

87.5

175

350

525

H Meters

700

1:5,000

Figure 1. Restoration target area. A. Pani Lake (Ranu Pani), B. Regulo Lake (Ranu Regulo), C-D, Local settlement and

intensive agriculture field in steppes land, E. Restoration target area.

390

Luchman Hakim & Hideki Miyakawa

their local name. Some parts of the plants were col-

lected as herbarium samples for a detailed study in

Purwodadi Botanical Garden and Plant Taxonomy

Laboratory, University of Brawijaya in Malang,

East Java. In the field, some important features of

the tree species were recorded and documented

using a digital camera. Interviews with the local

people were conducted in order to get the species’

economic value and characters. Ten local people

which were identified as frequently entering to the

forest and able to provide information were selected

as informants. During the interviews, the experts

from Purwodadi Botanical Garden gave some ad-

vice that the authors needed to collect information

through interactive interviews. Then the data and

information were analyzed descriptively.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The profile of restoration target areas

Two lakes and their surrounding area have been

heavily threatened due to anthropogenic factors.

According to the informants, the area surrounding

Pani Lake in the past was the centre of human ac-

tivities. In 1908, Pani-Regulo and Kumbulo Lakes

were declared as a protected area by Dutch colonial

government. In the beginning of 1920, a Dutchman

family had a concession to rent land surrounding

Pani Lake. The family introduced European vegeta-

bles and employed local people from Probolinggo

and Malang. After Indonesia held its independence

in 1 945 and many Westerns went out from Indone-

sia, the area surrounding Pani Lake was occupied

by local people. In 1960, Ranupani Village was

opened with ten Tenggerese families from Argosari

Village as a pioneer group to open new Tenggerese

settlement in Tengger highland. During 1970-1990,

the population in Ranupani increased significantly.

There was also a fast-growing, intensive agriculture

in Ranupani Village. The growth of settlement and

agriculture in Ranupani Village has given negative

impacts to the lakes and forest area. Valuable woods

were extracted to provide raw materials for tradi-

tional buildings and infrastructure of the village.

There were also increases in fuel wood consump-

tion. All informants argue that Casuarina junghuh-

niana and Acacia decurrens became the target of

exploitation to provide fuel wood.

Barren lands in Ranupani area have been in-

vaded by numerous exotic plants species. The abun-

dance of many exotic species in open canopy is an

ecological consequence of the ecosystem degrada-

tion. Recently, among the important exotic species

is Eupatorium odoratum L. (Asteraceae). This species

is considered native to South America and spread

everywhere. The ability of such species to produce

seeds and grow fast supports its invasion in barren

lands. In Ranupani, however, local people collect

old bark as fuel wood for daily purposes.

The loss of vegetation surrounding lakes has de-

creased the riparian structure and its function to pro-

tect the lakes. Recently, such a structure is

insufficient to overcome sedimentation and pollu-

tion problems in the aquatic ecosystems. According

to the respondents, in the past Casuarina junghuh-

niana and Acacia decurrens were abundant, but

later slightly decreased due to the fact that the peo-

ple cut and collected the trees as fuel wood. The

water quality of Pani and Regulo Lakes has been

affected heavily by pollution leading to eutrophica-

tion. This situation occurs due to the addition of

exogenous substances, such as nitrates and phos-

phates, through fertilizers or sewage to the aquatic

system. According to the respondents, most farmers

in Ranupani Villages use pesticide intensively in

order to improve crops and vegetables production.

Trees Species for Restoration Programs

Trees are the main component of tropical forest

and their functions in hydrological and mechanical

protection for lakes are considered significant. In

the restoration of degraded ecosystems, trees are the

plants categories which receive special attention.

Identifying plant trees species is one of the crucial

steps in any restoration program. Lack of such in-

formation will prevent the success of the restora-

tion. The benefits of such information are

numerous, one of which is providing the basic in-

formation regarding the native trees species and

their status in the vegetation succession process.

Through the field survey, several tree species no-

table for the restoration purposes are given below.

Acer laurinum Hassk.

Aceraceae. Local people call this species Putih

Dada. This species is native to Assam (India),

Plant trees species for restoration program in Ranupani, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Indonesia

391

Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,

Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Phytogeo-

graphically, there are about 200 Acer species on

earth with the northern hemisphere as the hot spot

area of Aceraceae. Acer laurinum is one of the

members of Aceraceae which is found in Malesian

Region. In Bromo Tengger Semeru forest area, this

species is easily known due to the color of its whitish

leaves. Acer laurinum grows scattered in mountain

forest from Ngadas to Ireng-Ireng forest at 800-

2,250 m asl. An individual tree can reach 20-30 m

in height. The quality of the wood is not very high

(Sosef et al., 1998), but local people in Tengger

highland use Acer wood for limited civil constmction.

Acmena acuminatissima (BI.) Merr et Perry

Myrtaceae. Geographically, this species is dis-

tributed in the Malesian Region and Solomon Is-

land. It is also found in Myanmar, Thailand and

southern China as native species (Sosef et al., 1998).

Local people call this species Jambon/Tinggan.

According to Backer & van den Brink (1965), this

species grows at 25 - 1,800 m asl in West, Central

and East Java. In Bromo Tengger Semeru forest, A.

acuminatissima can grow up to 25 m in height. A.

acuminatissima grows patchly in Ranu Pani and its

sumounding area at 2,000-2,200 m asl. They grow

mixed with some secondary forest trees along Ngadas

to Jemplang. According to the respondents, this spe-

cies is rarely used as civil material due to the low

quality of the wood.

Casuarina junghuhniana Miq.

Casuarinaceae. C. junghuhniana is considered

native to Eastern Java and Lesser Sundas Islands

(Nusa Tenggara). This species is naturally found in

mountain volcanic slopes at 1,500 -3,100 m asl.

(Hanum & van der Maesen, 1997). According to

van Steenis (1972), it plays an important role in

mountain forest succession. It is known as a fire re-

sistant plant and considered a pioneer species in de-

graded lands and volcanic ash and sand. In Tengger,

C. junghuhniana is one of the species which is in-

tensively used by the local people and considered a

multipurpose tree species. C. junghuhniana pro-

vides good wood for civil construction. People also

prefer to collect C. junghuhniana as charcoal and

fuel wood (Heyne, 1987). In an area surrounding the

restoration sites, this species is abundant in Ngadas,

Jemplang, Ranupani and northern slopes of Mt. Se-

meru. According to the informants, it is one of the

fuel wood sources for people in Tengger Highland.

Wood heat is common among Tenggerese in Tengger

Highland. Biologically, C. junghuhniana is one of

the fast-growing trees species in Tengger and, there-

fore, plays an important role in the initial stages of

restoration program in Ranupani Area.

Dacry carpus imbricatus (Blume) de Laub

Podocarpaceae. Geographically, D. imbricatus is

distributed across Java, Lesser Sundas and central

Celebes. This species grows at altitude of 1,000-

2,500 m asl (De Laubenfels, 1 972). In Bromo Tengger

Semeru, D. imbricatus (locally called Jamuju) is

very rare and difficult to find in primary and sec-

ondary forest. There were only small populations in

Ngadas and Ranupani mostly in secondary forest.

Some individuals grow solitary and there are no

seedling and juvenile individuals found. According

to the respondents, in the past there were many in-

dividuals of Jamuju in forest area, but nowadays the

population is decreasing. The wood of Jamuju has

been known as one of the high-quality wood for many

purposes. Therefore, it is easy to understand that in

the past it became the target for illegal logging.

Engelhardtia spicata Blume

Juglandaceae. This species is distributed in

India, China, and Southeast Asia regions (Thailand,

Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sumatra, Java, Ka-

limantan, Lesser Sundas Islands). Local people

call it Danglu/Kukrup. Backer & van den Brink

(1965) consider E. spicata as one of the pioneer

species in mountainous ecosystem. In two observed

plots, these trees grow up to 25 m. According to the

respondents, the quality of the wood is weak and,

therefore, is rarely used for civil construction. The

reproduction rate of E. spicata in the field is con-

sidered high. It is veiy easy to find seedling in the

wild, particularly in the forest area where E. spicata

is abundant. In Bromo Tengger Semeru, this species

can be found everywhere, particularly in sub-climax

forest in Ngadas and Ranupani. The characteri-

stics of its reproduction makes this species impor-

tant in the initial steps of reintroduction program

in restoration areas.

392

Luchman Hakim & Hideki Miyakawa

Myrsine korthalsii Miq.

Myrsinaceae. Local people call it Irengan. Backer

& van den Brink (1965) report that this species

grows in Mt. Slamet (central Java) and Mt. Arjuno

(East Java) at mountain forest less than 3,090 m asl.

Only a few papers have reported this species, mak-

ing the information about M. korthalsii rare. In

Bromo Tengger Semeru, it grows at 1,500-2,200 m

asl. Trees of this species grow patchy mostly in

secondary forest. Many of them grow solitary and

some form small populations. There are no economic

benefits generated from this species.

Lithocarpus sundaicus (Blume) Rehder

Fagaceae. L. sundaicus is native to the tropical

parts of Asia, particularly Thailand, Malaysia, the

Philippines and western Indonesia (Sumatra, Java

and Kalimantan Islands). The species grows in pri-

mary forest in Malesia region at 1,000-1,500 m asl.

In Java, it is commonly found in West Java, but

scattered in East Java (Soepadmo, 1972). Teng-

gerese people call L. sundaicus Pasang Putih. It has

been recognized as one of the species with high-

quality wood for many purposes, particularly for

civil construction. The respondents state that the

good quality of such wood leads to L. sundaicus ex-

ploitation in the wild. Heyne (1987) states that the

wood of L. sundaicus is one of the good wood for

civil constructions (houses, bridges, ...).

Lithocarpus korthalsii (Endl.) Soepadmo

Fagaceae. Local people call this species Pasang

Merah, Pasang Susu, or Pasang Kapur. Soepadmo

(1972) notes that the species is distributed in Ma-

lesia region. Lemmens et al. (1995) report that this

species grows in lowland to mountain forest in Su-

matra and Java Islands. In Java it could be found in

west to east parts. In Bromo Tengger Semeru, this

species is found from 1,800 to 2,200 m asl, as big

trees. This species is considered important as

material for civil construction (Heyne, 1987).

Macropanax dispermum (Bl.) Kuntze.

Araliaceae. In Malesia this species grows at Suma-

tra, Malay Peninsula and Java, particularly central

and eastern parts of Java. Beyond Malesian phyto-

geographic region, this species is found in India,

Burma and southern China (Philipson, 1979). Nat-

urally it is able to grow at 1,000-2,300 m asl. In

Java, it is distributed at west, central and east parts,

particularly in mountainous areas. This species is

reported to prefer humid environments (Backer &

van den Brink, 1965) and can be found everywhere

in humid forest areas in the northern slopes of Mt.

Semeru at 1,500-2,200 m asl. Local people call it

Pampung or Endog-endogan. According to the

informants, the species is abundant in the forest and

relatively undisturbed by local people. This species

is very easy to propagate through vegetative

propagation by stem cuttings techniques. Individual

trees can reach 1 8 m in height. It is not mentioned

as useful plant (Heyne, 1987).

Omalanthus giganteus Z. & M.

Euphorbiaceae. This species is reported by van

Steenis (1972) to be distributed in Java mountain, par-

ticularly in the eastern part of the island. Interestingly,

it is considered rare and absent in the western part of

Java. Ecologically, this species is a pioneer species

in tropical mountainous forest. It is one of the fast-

growing trees. In the study area it is able to survive

under pressure of its competitors such as Eupatorium

odoratum L. and E. riparium Regel (Asteraceae). The

respondents argue that the wood cannot be used for

civil construction and other purposes.

Astronia spectabilis Bl.

Melastomataceae. Locally called Kayu Ampet or

Gembirung, in Indonesia this species is distributed

from west to east Java. It is also found in Bali Island

in humid tropical forest. Naturally, it is found at

1,300-2,500 m asl. In Bromo Tengger Semeru, this

species is found in some areas, particularly in humid

tropical forest at 1,500 to 2,200 m asl. Individual trees

can reach 20 m in height (Backer & van den Brink,

1965), but in Ranupani it can reach 25-30 m. The

respondents state that the wood of A. spectabilis can

be used for houses and civil constmction.

Trema orientalis (L.) Blume

Ulmaceae. This species is native to Africa, Asia

Temperate, Asia Tropical and Australasia (Soepadmo,

1977). Local people call it Angrung. It grows below

Plant trees species for restoration program in Ranupani, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Indonesia

393

2,400 m asl, and is considered as a fast-growing

tree species in tropical forest. According to the re-

spondents, there are still abundant Angrung popu-

lations in the national park area. Although the wood

durability is considered low, the wood of Angrung

still is the most important material for civil con-

structions in some villages around Mt. Semeru.

Heyne (1987) points out that there are many eth-

nobotanical applications of Trema orientalis. How-

ever, the ethnobotanical application of T. orientalis

is not recorded in this study, indicating that the peo-

ple in Tengger do not use such species for any cul-

tural puiposes.

Tuvpinia sphaerocarpa Hassk.

Staphyleaceae. This species is distributed in

Malesia region, particularly in the rainy forests (van der

Linden, 1960 ). T. sphaerocarpa is distributed in West,

Central and East Java at 20-2,200 m asl (Backer &

van den Brink, 1965). Interestingly, there are no po-

pulations reported from New Guinea. Local people

call it Kayu Bangkong. T. sphaerocarpa produces

soft wood. In Java, the wood of T. sphaerocarpa is

used for furniture, but is not durable for civil

construction (Heyne, 1987). In Tengger highland, it

grows as shrubs and trees.

Other species found and mentioned by the

respondents are Albizia montana (Jungh.) Benth.

(Fabaceae), Helicia sp., Saurauia pendula Bl.

(Actinidiaceae), Manglietia glauca Blume

(Magnoliaceae), and Litsea diversifolia Blume.

(Lauraceae). Albizia montana is rarely found in

Ranupani and rarely collected by local people as

fuel wood. However, two informants state that in

the past A. montana was also cut and collected as

fuel wood. In Ranupani area A. montana grows in

small populations and mixes into the shrubby areas

which are dominated by exotic species such as

Eupatorium odoratum. A. montana is one of the

significant species in early succession stages and,

therefore, should be considered to be planned in the

first step of restoration program in Ranupani.

Some of the trees mentioned above play an

important role as pioneer species, i.e. Engelhardia

spicata Lesch. ex Blume (Juglandaceae), Omalanthus

giganteus Z. & M. (Euphorbiaceae ), Astronia

spectabilis Blume (Melastomataceae), Trema

orientalis (L.) Blume (Cannabaceae) and Casuarina

junghuhniana. In many degraded places in the

national park area, some seedling and juvenile

individuals of such species grow under high

pressure of Eupatorium odoratum and some grass

species. They can be a potential candidate for assisting

the natural succession programs in Ranupani area.

In the first step of the restoration program, these

species can be planted with some pioneer

shrubs and herbs such as Dodonaea viscosa

Jacq. (Sapindaceae), Myrica javanica Blume

(Myricaceae), Pittosporum moluccanum (Lam.)

Miq. (Pittosporaceae) and Buddleja asiatica Lour.

(Scrophulariaceae). This could be an effective

combination design for the beginning of restoration

program in degraded lands in Ranupani area. Other

potential plant species for the restoration program

in Ranupani area include Acer laurinum, Acmena

acuminatissima, Dacrycarpus imbricatus , Myrsine

korthalsii , Lithocarpus sundaicus, L. korthalsii,

Macropanax dispermu and Turpinia sphaerocarpa.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research project was funded by Japan

International Cooperation Agency under the project

entitled “Capacity Building for Restoration of

Ecosystems in Conservation Areas”. We gratefully

thank Emy E. Suwarni, Fariana Prabandari, and

Desitarani. We would like to thank Toni Artaka,

Sarmin, Kiswoyo, Pumomo, M. Qomaruddin and

Jehan Ramdani for their valuable support during

field survey.

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Backer C.A. & van den Brink R.C.B., 1965. Flora of

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Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 395-398

New distribution record of Boucerosia diffusa Wight (Gen-

tianales Apocynaceae) in the Southern Western Ghats, India

Selvamony Sukumaran 1 , Subbiah Karuppusamy 2 ,Thankappan Sarasabai Shynin Brintha 3

'Department of Botany, Nesamony Memorial Christian College, Marthandam, Tamil Nadu, 629 165 - India

department of Botany, The Madura College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 625 0 1 1 - India

department of Botany, Scott Christian College, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, 629 165 - India; e-mail: solomonjeeva@gmail.com

■"Corresponding author

ABSTRACT The presence of Boucerosia diffusa Wight (Gentianales Apocynaceae) in the foothills of South-

ern Western Ghats at Pechiparai, Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary (India) is reported. This

succulent asclepiad is frequently treated as Caralluma diffusa (Wight) N.E.Br. by many re-

searchers. Present paper is the first record of the occurrence of this species in Kanyakumari

Wildlife Sanctuary and the second in the southern Western Ghats.

KEY WORDS Apocynaceae; Boucerosia diffusa', Caralluma diffusa', Kanyakumari; Wildlife Sanctuary.

Received 21.06.2013; accepted 09.08.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

Stapeliads are an attractive group of succulent

asclepiads lending aesthetic beauty to rocky crevices

and dry hills with assorted and delightfully orna-

mented flowers (Karuppusamy et al., 2013). They

are represented by ca. 30 genera with 400 species

of fleshy succulent plants, including several genera

among which Boucerosia Wight & Walker- Amott

and Caralluma Brown. The genus Caralluma, com-

monly known as antiobesity plants was first named

by Brown R. (1810) to describe an Indian species,

Caralluma adscendens, with very characteristic

elongated flowering succulent stem. Wight &

Walker- Arnott (1834) split the genus and described

two new genera Boucerosia and Hutchinia. In 1 892,

Brown N.E. compiled all related genera under the

genus Caralluma. Schuman (1895) tried to divide

the genus Caralluma into three sections: Eucaral-

luma K. Schum (= Caralluma), Lalacruma K.

Schum and Boucerosia. Plowes (1995) believed

that the taxonomy of the genus Caralluma had full

of species in dust-bin and it could not be fitted into

other existing genera. He segregated the genus Ca-

ralluma into 17 different genera. According to Plowes

(1995), Indian species of Caralluma fall into 4 cat-

egories ( Caralluma , CTyptolluma Plowes, Bouce-

rosia and Borealluma Plowes). Meve & Liede

(2002) tried to solve the taxonomic problem of the

tribe Ceropegiae using modem tools of molecular

phylogeny. They suggested clearly that the Indian

genus Caralluma can be segregated into four

groups: Boucerosia, Caralluma, Caudanthera

Meve et Liede and Apteranthes Meve et Liede.

However, the genus Boucerosia has been comple-

tely ignored and it has been treated as synonym of

Caralluma by taxonomists, since the genus is re-

stricted to Southern India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

Boucerosia include succulent plants with leaf-

less erect, trailing or decumbent stems, with/with-

out ephemeral vestigial leaves. This genus is

different from the genus Caralluma mainly due to

the presence of umbellate terminal cymes. The

genus is represented by 8 species in India. Of these,

396

S. Sukumaran, S. Karuppusamy, T.S.S. Brintha & S.Jeeva

Boucerosia crenulata (Wall.) Wight et Am., B. dif-

fusa Wight, B. indica (Wight et Arn.) Plowes, B.

pauciflora Wight, B. procumbens (Gravely et

Mayur.) Plowes, and B. truncato-coronata (Sedgw.)

Gravely et Mayur) have been reported from Tamil

Nadu state with the exception of B. lasiantha ,

which has been reported only from some localities

of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala states, India. While

reviewing the literature, the genus Boucerosia has

been reported to have two species {B. procumbens

and B. umbellata ) from Kanyakumari district.

During a floristic exploration of Kanyakumari

Wildlife Sanctuary at Pechiparai (N 08° 24.364', E

077° 17.960'; altitude 497 ft/151.49 m), we collected

a succulent plant with flowers in the terminal umbel

belonging to the genus Boucerosia (tribe Cerope-

giae, subfamily Asclepiadoideae and family Apoc-

ynaceae). After critical study and matching with

available herbarium specimens, it was identified as

B. diffusa (Fig. 1). Even after repeated explorations

we could locate only one population of this species

in the study area. The population has only 5 patches

and the total area of occurrence was approximately

0.2 ha. As far as we are aware, none of the published

literature (Sukumaran & Jeeva, 2008; Samuel et ah,

2008; Sukumaran et al., 2008; Karuppusamy,

2011; Brintha et al., 2012) on the plant diversity

of Kanyakumari district reported the occurrence of

this species. Therefore, it is reported here with de-

tails such as distribution, brief description, habitat,

phenological data, specimens examined in other

Herbaria and biotic association. The voucher spec-

imens are deposited at the Herbarium of Scott

Christian College, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India.

Boucerosia diffusa Wight

Boucerosia diffusa Wight, Icon. PI. Ind. Orient. 4: 14,

1599, 1850. Hooker f. FI. Brit. India, 4: 78, 1885. Plowes in

Haseltonia, 3: 59, 1995. Meve & Liede in Plant Syst. Evol.,

234: 200, 2002. Karuppusamy et ah, Caralluma, 79-85,

2013. Caralluma diffusa (Wight) N. E. Br. in Gard. Chron.,

12: 369, 1892. Gamble & Fischer, FI. Pres. Madras, 2: 862,

1923. Gravely & Mayuranathan in Bull. Madr. Govt. Mus.

n.s. N.H., 4: 25-26, 1931. S.R. Srinivasan in Henry et ah,

FI. Tamil Nadu Analy, 2: 81, 1987. Gilbert in Bradleya, 8: 16,

1990. Jagtap & Singh in Fasc. FI. India, 24: 200, 1999. Ra-

machandran et ah, in J. Threatened Taxa, 3: 1622, 2011.

Kumar et ah, 2013 in Ind. Forester, 139: 425-428.

Examined material. India, Tamil Nadu, Kanya-

kumari district, Pechiparai forest, 12.IV.201 3, coll.

S. Sukumaran and S. Jeeva #1220 (SCCH - Herba-

rium of Scott Christian College, Nagercoil). Speci-

men consulted. The collected succulent was

matched with authentic herbarium specimens avai-

lable at CAL, Kolkata, C.E.C. Fischer 2258, Coim-

batore district, Kalpatti Atamalai slope, 1850 ft,

28.IX.1910; MH, Coimbatore, C.P. Sreemadhavan

1 36, slope of Anamalai, 650 m, 3 1 .VIII. 1 962; Slope

of Karupparayan Hills near Coimbatore, 3 1 .X. 1963,

C.P. Sreemadhavan 957 m (MH); SKU, Ananthapur.

Ugraiah (31752), Thiruvamiamalai district, Arthanaa-

reeswarar Sacred Hill, 4.VIII.2008.

Description. Stems fleshy, branched; branches

erect, stout, 75 cm tall, four-angled, nearly equal

thickness throughout; intemodes 6-12 mm long and

5-15 mm in thickness, glabrous. Leaves absent, leaf

scars present, appendage like growth at nodes on

angle portions. Flowers many, terminal, in umbellate

cymes, usually 30-35-flowered; bracts ca. 1.5 mm

long and 1.0- 1.5 mm in diam., glabrous. Calyx 5-

lobed, divided up to base, surface of the lobes hair-

less, but the dark streaks are minutely papillose, lobes

ca 3 x 1 mm, lanceolate, apex acute, glabrous. Co-

rolla campanulate, ca 2.5 mm dia.; corolla tube ca 5

mm long; lobes 5, ca 3 x 2 cm, ovate, apex acute,

margin ciliate, glabrous. Corona staminal, biseriate;

outer annular, arising from the base of stamens,

closely intact, five lobed, ca 2.5 x 1.5 mm, with two

hom-like appendages widely separated from each

other; inner variable, ca 1 mm long, linear, arising

from the inner side of outer corona, overlapping

anther-lobes. Stamens 5, ca. 2.5 mm long; pollinia

masses solitary in each anther cell, yellow, waxy,

with pellucid layer attached by a light-brown caudi-

cles and dark-brown corpuscle. Gynostegium ca 1.5

mm long. Follicles paired, linear- lanceolate, tapering

towards apex, glabrous. Seeds glabrous, 7-10 x 3-3.5

mm, oblong, base rounded, margin dark brown,

coma silky, 3-5 cm long.

Distribution. In India, Boucerosia diffusa has

so far been reported from the southern state of

Tamil Nadu alone. It is distributed in Madukkarai

Hills of Coimbatore (Ramachandran et al., 2011)

and Thiruvannamalai districts of Tamil Nadu (Ka-

ruppusamy et al., 2013). Recently, Kumar et al.

(2013) reported this species from the Chinnar Wild-

life Sanctuary in the Western Ghats of Kerala. Our

collections record its presence for the first time in

the southern Western Ghats of Kanyakumari dis-

trict. These findings imply that our knowledge of a

New distribution record of Boucerosia diffusa Wight (Gentianales Apocynaceae) in the Southern Western Ghats, India 397

plant’s distribution, i.e. ‘endemism’ is prone to

change when more and more botanical explorations

are undertaken at the regional/national level. So far,

this species had been known to be endemic in

Coimbatore and Thiruvannamalai district; because

of its recent report from the Chinnar Wildlife Sanc-

tuary, Kerala and also from the far end of southern

Western Ghats, i.e. Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanc-

tuary, the species may be stated as endemic to Tamil

Nadu and Kerala states of south India.

Biology. B. diffusa is found to grow as litho-

phyte on the rocky slopes of fragmented hillocks

situated inside forest patches converted into rubber

plantation. Biotic association: B. diffusa is associa-

ted with species such as Catharanthus pusillus

(Murray) G. Don., Cissus quadrangularis L., Dry-

naria quercifolia (L.) J. Sm., Eulophia graminifolia

Lindl., Sansevieria roxburghiana Schult. et

Schult.f., etc. Pollination: this species is generally

pollinated by small scadophagous, dipterans and

perhaps also by beetles (Stevens, 1976). Flowering

and fruiting: April- September.

Etymology. The species was first collected by

Robert Wight, and named by him as Boucerosia dif-

fusa , from Coimbatore in 1850. In Latin ‘ diffusa ’

means loosely spreading; the branches of the plants

are found to be loosely spreading on the ground.

The vernacular name is: Paarai Kalli (Rock growing

cactus) in Tamil.

Remarks. Conservation: Gamble & Fischer

(1923) gave the distribution of Caralluma diffusa

as Deccan, arid rocky hills near Coimbatore at an

elevation of about 600 m. Henry et al. (1979) stated

that ‘No specimens of Caralluma diffusa had been

deposited in MH’. It is one of the endemic species

occurring in Coimbatore district. Srinivasan

(1987) also indicated in Flora of Tamil Nadu

that its distribution is only from Coimbatore district

in Tamil Nadu and its status mentioned as ‘rare and

threatened’. Nadu et al. (1999) considered this

species to be endemic to Tamil Nadu. Rao et al.

(2003) indicated its status to be ‘indeterminate’. This

species is now under heavy biotic pressure, since it

is present in a hillock situated in the forest area

converted into rubber plantation; it is doubtful

whether the existing population will survive, as the

species possesses economic and ethnobotanical

importance too. Ex situ conservation of this vulnerable

endemic taxon in rockery, greenhouses and gardens,

besides its re-introduction into the wild in similar

Figure 1. Boucerosia diffusa Wight.

habitats is the need of the hour. The other issues to

be prioritized are inventorying and monitoring of

plant diversity in unexplored areas, assessment of

conservation status of species and roles of species

in ecosystems.

Economic importance: the succulent stem of

this species is used as sustenance of an indigenous

community. It is often eaten in many different forms:

cooked with salt and spices as an everyday vegetable,

utilized in preserves like pickles and chutneys and

eaten raw. The local people of Madukkarai hills use

the sap of young stems to treat obesity. Moreover, the

genus is medicinally important as it shows diverse

medicinal properties like analgesic, anthelmintic,

antiarthritic, antigastric ulcer, antiatherosclerotic,

antibacterial, antihyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory,

antinociceptive, antitrypanosomal, antirheumatic,

antitumour, appetite suppressant, antiobesity,

antioxidant, cytoprotective, immunostimulating.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are thankful to the Head, Department

of Botany, Scott Christian College, Nagercoil for

facility and encouragement; authorities of Forest

Department of Tamil Nadu state for permission,

guidance and facilities during field survey; Dr. A.

398

S. Sukumaran, S. Karuppusamy, T.S.S. Brintha & S.Jeeva

Deva Sobhana Raj, Former Principal and Head,

Department of Botany, Scott Christian College,

Nagercoil for comments on the manuscript; Mrs.

Sabitha Mol, Research Scholar, Department of

Botany, Nesamony Memorial Christian College, for

help in field survey at Pechiparai hills and one of

the author SJ is thankful to Tamil Nadu State Coun-

cil for Science and Technology (TNSCST) for finan-

cial support under ‘Young Scientist Fellowship’.

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Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 399-406

Diversity of freshwater benthos in the ecotourism area at

Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

Pongpan Leelahakriengkrai

Biology Section, Department of Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University, Thailand; email:

bank_2 52 5 @hotmail . com

ABSTRACT The diversity of benthic diatoms and aquatic insects in the ecotourism areas of Mea Lu and

Tong Ta Streams at Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province in the north of Thailand

were investigated during the months of July and September 2012 and January 2013, from

the upper, middle and lower parts of each stream. A total of 53 taxa of benthic diatoms and

46 families of aquatic insects were found. Forty-seven and thirty-one taxa of benthic diatoms

were found from the Mea Lu and Tong Ta Streams, respectively. Thirty-eight and twenty-

eight families of aquatic insects were found from the Mea Lu and Tong Ta Streams, respec-

tively. The diversity index of benthic diatoms ranged from 1.17 to 2.66, while the aquatic

insects ranged from 0 to 2.14. In the upstream sites of this study, a high abundance of benthic

diatoms, such as Navicula cryptotenella , Planothidium rostratum and Planothidium lanceo-

latum, and aquatic insects, such as Caenidae and Elmidae, were found. At the downstream

sites, a high abundance of benthic diatoms, such as Nitzschia palea and Mayamaea atornus

and aquatic insects, such as Corixidae, Baetidae, Chironomidae, Simuliidae and Hydropsy-

chidae, were found.

KEY WORDS Benthic diatoms; Aquatic insects; Diversity index; Ping River.

Received 12.07.2013; accepted 21.08.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

At present, ecotourism has become popular in

many countries. Nevertheless, no further detailed

studies have been conducted on the biodiversity of

freshwater benthos in the ecotourism areas around

the world. This is true for Thailand too, with the ex-

ception of several studies dealing with a few groups

of animals and plants (Hvenegaard & Dearden,

1998; Chettamart & Emphandhu, 2002; Lyndon &

Yongvanit, 2005; Chayamarit & Puff, 2007a, b;

Jaroensutasinee et al., 2011; Krailas et al., 2012).

Thailand has many ecotourism areas, such as

Doi Inthanon National Park, Phukradung National

Park, Khao Yai National Park and Kaeng Krachen

National Park, as well as Doi Chiang Dao National

Park (also called Doi Luang) at Chiang Dao District

in Chiang Mai Province. This district comprises the

area in which Ping River originates, which is the

main river of Thailand and was first awarded with

the title of “ecotourism district” in the Northern

Thailand in the year 2011.

The aim of the study was to determine the di-

versity of freshwater benthos in the ecotourism area

at Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province,

comprising Mea Lu (ML) and Tong Ta (TT) Streams.

In addition, this research study presents the first re-

port of diversity of freshwater benthos, including

benthic diatoms and aquatic insects, in the eco-

tourism area in the north of Thailand.

400

PONGPAN LEELAHAKRIENGKRAI

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The samples were collected from two streams at

the ecotourism areas, including Mea Lu (ML) and

Tong Ta (TT) Streams, which are located in the up-

stream area of Ping River at Chiang Dao District in

Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The benthos sam-

ples, including benthic diatoms and aquatic insects,

were collected in July and September 2012 and Jan-

uary 2013 from the upper, middle and lower parts

of each stream (Fig. 1 and Table 1).

Benthic diatom samples were scraped off from 5

stones (or other hard substrates) at each site. In the

laboratory, the samples were cleaned by the concen-

trated acid digestion method and prepared on perma-

nent slides (Renberg, 1990; Kelly et al., 1998;

Leelahakriengkrai & Peerapornpisal, 2011). The

samples were identified and counted according to

Krammer & Lange-Bertalot (1986, 1988, 1991a, b),

Lange-Bertalot (2001), and Kelly & Haworth (2002).

Aquatic insects samples were collected by the

kick sampling method with a D-frame net (800 pm

meshes) and preserved in 70% ethanol (Furse et al.,

1981; Arimoro & Ikomi, 2009). In the laboratory,

only the aquatic insects were separated, identified

and counted according to McCafferty (1983), Merritt

et al. (2009), Stehr (1991), Dudgeon (1992), Wiggins

(1996) and Sangpradub & Boonsoong (2006).

Sampling site

GPS (Lat-Long)

Altitude (m)

ML1

N 19°25’31.178”

E 098°56’48.618”

489

ML2

N 19°25’07.819”

E098°56’53.287”

478

ML3

N 19°24’36.048”

E 098°57’07.377”

463

TT1

N 19°5’31.261”

E 098°56’49.058”

491

TT2

N 19°24’56.805”

E 098°57’06.718”

460

TT3

N 19°24’42.124”

E 098°57 , 15.150”

452

Table 1 . Sampling sites and their topography.

Figure 1. Map showing location of the six sampling sites in Mea Lu (ML) and Tong Ta (TT) streams at Chiang Dao

district, Chiang Mai province, Thailand.

Diversity of freshwater benthos in the ecotourism area at Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand 40 1

The species diversity index (H') and evenness

(E) of benthic diatoms and aquatic insects were cal-

culated following the Shannon Diversity Index

(Odum, 2005).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A total of nineteen families and fifty-three taxa

of benthic diatoms from the Mea Lu and Tong Ta

Streams were classified into 2 classes, according

to Round et al. (1990), Coscinodiscophyceae, and

Bacillariophyceae in Division Bacillariophyta.

Forty- seven taxa of benthic diatoms were found

from the Mea Lu Stream and thirty-one species

were collected from the Tong Ta Stream (Table 2).

In the upstream sites of this study, a high abundance

of Navicula cryptotenella , Planothidium rostratum

and Planothidium lanceolatum was found, similarly

to what reported in Asia by Tien (2004), Atazadeh

et al. (2007) and Suphan & Peerapompisal (2010),

who found the same dominant species in Erh-Jen

River (China), Gharasou River (Iran) and Mekong

River and its tributaries. It appears that the species

Family

Species

ML1

ML2

ML3

TT1

TT2

TT3

Stephanodiscaceae

Cyclotella meneghiniana

-1-1+

Cyclotella pseudostelligera

-1-1+

Achnanthaceae

Achnanthes oblongella

-/+/+

+1-1+

+1-1-

+/+/+

+1+1+

Achnanthes brevipes

+1-1-

+1-1+

+1+1-

Planothidium lanceolata

+/+*/+*

+1+1+

+/+/+*

+*/-/+

+/+/+*

+1+1+

Planothidium rostratum

+/+/+*

+1+1+

+/-/+

+*/-/-

-1-1+

-1+1+

Planothidium sp.

-1-1+

Cocconeidaceae

Cocconeis placentula

+1+1+

+1-1+

+/-/+

-1-1+

-1+1+

Cymbellaceae

Cymbella turgidula

-/+/+

+1+1+

+1-1-

Cymbella tumida

+1-1-

-/+/-

+1-1-

+1-1+

+1-1-

Encyonema sp.

+1-1-

-1-1+

Eunotiaceae

Eunotia bilunaris

+1-1-

-/+/-

Gomphonemataceae

Gomphonema gracile

+1-1-

Gomphonema lagenula

+*/-/+

+1+1+

+1-1+

+1+1+

+1-1+

Gomphonema parvulum

+1-1+

-1-1+

-1+1+

Diadesmidaceae

Luticola goeppertiana

-/-/+*

+1+1+

Amphipleuraceae

Frustulia vulgaris

-1-1+

Brachysiraceae

Brachysira neoexilis

-1-1+

Sellaphoraceae

Sellaphora pupula

-1-1+

+1-1+

Pinnulariaceae

Pinnularia divergens

-1-1+

-/+/-

Pinnularia mesolepta

-/+/-

Pinnularia sp. 1

+1+1-

Pinnularia sp.2

-/+/-

Diploneidaceae

Diploneis oblongella

+1+1+

-1+1+

+1+1+

-1-1+

+1-1+

Table 2. Species list of benthic diatoms in the Mea Lu and Tong Ta streams

(+ = present; - = absent in July 2012/September 2012/January 2013/ respectively; * = dominant).

402

PONGPAN LEELAHAKRIENGKRAI

FAMILY

SPECIES

ML1

ML2

ML3

TT1

TT2

TT3

Naviculaceae

Adlafia sp.

-1+1+

-/+/+

Mayamaea atomus

-/+/+

+*/+*/+*

Navicula viridula

-1-1+

+1+1+

+/+/+

+/-/+

-/+/-

Navicula ayptocephala

+1-1-

+/+/+*

+1+1-

Navicula ciyptotenella

+*/+/+*

+/+*/-

+*/+*/-

+/+/+*

+/+*/+

Navicula germainii

-/+/-

+/+*/+*

-1-1+

-1+1+

Navicula phyllepta

+1+1-

+1-1+

-1+1+

-1-1+

-1+1+

Navicula capitatoradiata

+1-1+

-1-1+

-/+*/+*

+1-1-

-1-1+

-1+1+

Navicula symmetrica

-1-1+

-/+/-

Navicula rostellata

+1-1+

+/+/+*

-1-1+

Navicula tridentula

+1-1-

-/+/-

Navicula erifuga

-1-1+

-/+/+

Neidiaceae

Neidium binodis

-1-1+

Pleurosigmataceae

Gyrosigma spencerii

-1+1+

+1+1+

-1-1+

-1+1+

Gyrosigma scalproides

-1+1+

-/+/-

-1-1+

-1+1+

Stauroneidaceae

Craticula molestiformis

+1+1-

+1-1+

-1+1+

Stauroneis smithii

-1-1+

+1+1-

Stauroneis kriegeri

+1-1-

-1+1+

-1-1+

Catenulaceae

Amphora montana

-/+/-

+1-1+

-/+/-

Bacillariaceae

Nitzschia amphibia

-1-1+

+1-1-

Nitzschia clausii

-1-1+

-/+/-

Nitzschia coarctata

-1-1+

Nitzschia levidensis

-/+/-

+1-1-

Nitzschia palea

+1+1+

+*/+*/+*

+1-1+

+1+1+

+*/+*/+*

Nitzschia dissipata

+1-1-

+1-1+

-1-1+

Nitzschia sp.

-1-1+

+1-1-

-/+/-

Surirellaceae

Surirella angusta

-1-1+

+1-1-

-1-1+

Surirella splendida

+1-1-

Surirella sp.

-1-1+

+1-1-

Table 2 (continued). Species list of benthic diatoms in the Mea Lu and Tong Ta streams

(+ = present; - = absent in July 2012/September 2012/January 2013/ respectively; * = dominant).

in moderate water quality could be considered as

mesotrophic species. At the downstream sites,

Nitzschia palea and Mayamaea atomus were found

to be the dominant species, as in Juttner et al.

(2003), Stenger-Kovacs et al. (2007), Duong et al.

(2007) and Garcia et al. (2008). They all reported

the finding of these species in the downstream sites,

which indicates tolerance to organic pollution.

A total of forty-six families of aquatic insects

from the Mea Lu and Tong Ta Streams were classi-

Diversity of freshwater benthos in the ecotourism area at Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand 403

ORDER

FAMILY

ML1

ML2

ML3

TT1

TT2

TT3

Odonata

Gomphidae

+/+/-

+1-1-

Corduliidae

-/+/+

-1-1+

+1-1-

Coenagrioniidae

+1-1-

+/+/+

+1-1-

Macromiidae

+1-1-

Protoneuridae

+1-1-

-/+/-

+1-1-

-1-1+

Libellulidae

—

+1-1-

+1-1+

+1-1-

Aeshnidae

+1-1-

Chlorocyphidae

+1-1+

-1-1+

Platystictidae

-/+/-

-1-1+

Euphaeidae

-1-1+

Calopterygidae

+1-1+

Coleoptera

Elminthidae

+1-1-

-/+/-

Scirtidae

+1-1-

Dytiscidae

-1-1+

Dryopidae

+1-1-

Psephenidae

+1-1-

Elmidae

+*/+/+

-/+/-

+1-1-

Gyrinidae

+1-1-

Hydrophilidae

-/+/-

Diptera

Chironomidae

-/+/-

+/+*/+

+*/+/+

+1+1-

+1+1+

-/+/-

Athericidae

+1-1+

Simuliidae

-/+/-

-1-1+

+/+*/+

Tipulidae

-1+1+

-/+/-

Stratiomyidae

-/+/-

+1-1-

Ceratopogonidae

-/+/-

Ephemeroptera

Ephemeridae

+1-1-

-1-1+

+1-1+

-1-1+

Caenidae

+*/-/+

-1+1+

+/+/+*

+*/-/+

+1-1+

+1+1+

Beatidae

-1+1+

+*/+/+

-1-1+

+*/+*/+*

-/+*/+*

Leptophlebiidae

-1-1+

N eoephemeridae

+1-1-

-1-1+

Heptageniidae

-1-1+

Trichoptera

Odontoceridae

+1-1-

-/+/-

+1-1-

JTydropsychidae

+1+1+

-/+/-

-1-1+

-/+*/-

-1+1+

Elydroptilidae

-/+/-

Ecnomidae

-1-1+

Molannidae

+1-1-

Calamoceratidae

+1-1-

Brachycentridae

-1-1+

Leptoceridae

+1+1+

Limnephilidae

-/+/-

Hemiptera

Gerridae

+1-1+

-1-1+

-1+1+

+1-1-

+1+1-

Nepidae

+1-1-

Veliidae

-/+/+*

-1-1+

Mesoveliidae

-1-1+

Naucoridae

-/+/-

Corixidae

+*/-/+

+1+1-

Table 3. Families list of aquatic insects in the Mea Lu and Tong Ta streams

(+ = present; - = absent in July 2012/September 2012/January 2013/ respectively; * = dominant).

404

PONGPAN LEELAHAKRIENGKRAI

BENTHIC DIATOMS

AQUATIC INSECTS

Month

Sampling

site

Diversity

Index

Evenness

Species

number

Diversity

Index

Evenness

Family

number

July 2012

ML1

1.80

0.75

1.89

0.70

ML2

1.17

0.41

1.94

0.84

ML3

1.87

0.59

2.14

0.89

TT1

2.55

0.81

2.06

0.89

TT2

2.03

0.82

TT3

2.62

0.94

1.92

0.87

September 2012

ML1

2.14

0.77

0.15

0.07

ML2

1.53

0.73

1.78

0.72

ML3

2.14

0.69

1.56

0.71

TT1

1.54

0.86

1.35

0.65

TT2

1.93

0.78

0.92

0.52

TT3

2.54

0.76

1.25

0.6

January 2013

ML1

2.1

0.64

1.44

0.62

ML2

2.12

0.68

1.75

0.80

ML3

2.15

0.76

0.99

0.45

TT1

2.63

0.93

1.3

0.67

TT2

2.66

0.78

0.92

0.51

TT3

2.53

0.79

1.66

0.67

Table 4. Shannon’s diversity index, evenness and the number of benthic diatoms in Mea Lu (ML) and

Tong Ta (TT) streams.

fied into 6 orders; Ephemeroptera, Hemiptera,

Diptera, Coleoptera, Odonata and Trichoptera.

Thirty-eight families of aquatic insects were col-

lected from the Mea Lu Stream and twenty- eight

families from the Tong Ta Stream (Table 3). In the

upstream sites, a high abundance of Caenidae and

Elmidae was found, which are known to be sensi-

tive to organic pollution and commonly found in lo-

cations under high dissolved oxygen conditions.

Moreover, at the downstream sites, Corixidae, Baeti-

dae, Chironomidae, Simuliidae and Hydropsychidae

were found, which are known to possess tolerance

to organic pollution and are commonly found in lo-

cations under low dissolved oxygen conditions

(Mustow, 2002; Sharma et al, 2005; Mary & Mac-

rina, 2012).

Shannon’s diversity index, evenness and the

number of benthic diatoms and aquatic insects in

the Mea Lu and Tong Ta Streams are shown in

Table 4. The diversity index of benthic diatoms

ranged from 1.17 to 2.66 and the evenness ranged

from 0.4 lto 0.94 and number of species varied from

6 to 31. In TT2, where a total of 31 species were

present, the highest diversity index of 2.66 (even-

ness 0.78) was recorded on January 2013. Also in

other sampling sites a high diversity rate was

recorded in January 2013, during the cool dry sea-

son. The sampling sites which reflected a low rate

of diversity index were mostly found in the ML2.

The diversity index of aquatic insects ranged from

0 to 2.14 and the evenness ranged from 0 to 0.89,

while the number of families varied from 1 to 15.

In ML3, where a total of 1 1 families were present,

the highest diversity index of 2.14 (evenness 0.89)

was recorded on July 2012; in TT1, a high rate of

the diversity index was recorded on July 2012 (di-

versity index 2.06, evenness 0.89).

Diversity of freshwater benthos in the ecotourism area at Chiang Dao District in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand 405

In conclusion, the diversity of benthos in the eco-

tourism area including the Mea Lu and Tong Ta

Streams, revealed very little difference compared to

the diversity reports from Europe and Asia. In addi-

tion, this study revealed the sensitivity and tolerance

of benthos to organic pollution in the upstream and

downstream areas, respectively. Finally, this research

study represents the first report of the diversity of

freshwater benthos, including benthic diatoms and

aquatic insects, in the ecotourism areas in the north

of Thailand to produce the database collection that

can be used for other study areas.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Lecturer Wimon-

rat Phottraithip for helpful guidance and Research

and Development Institute, Chiang Mai Rajabhat

University for providing financial support.

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Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 407-410

New species of Agrilus Curtis, 1 825 belonging to the subgenus

Nigritius Curletti, 1 998 from Ethiopic Region (Coleoptera

Buprestidae Agrilini)

Gianfranco Curletti

Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, via S. Francesco di Sales, 188 - 10022 Carmagnola, Italy; e-mail: gianfranco.curletti@yahoo.it

ABSTRACT Four new W African species are described: Agrilus ( Nigritius ) massaronei n. sp. from Gabon,

Agrilus ( Nigritius ) yangambii n. sp. from Congo Democratic Republic, Agrilus ( Nigritius )

ivorianus n. sp. and Agrilus ( Nigritius ) bancoi n. sp. both from Ivory Coast.

KEY WORDS Buprestidae; Agrilus', Nigritius', new species; Africa.

Received 18.07.2013; accepted 26.08.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

The study of material obtained from an entomo-

logical expedition in Gabon in the February 2012

organized by the Museum of Calimera, Lecce, Italy

(abbreviation: MSNS), showed the presence of a

new species that is described here. On this occasion

a further three new species conserved for a long time

in the collections of the Museum of Carmagnola,

Turin, Italy (abbreviation: MCCI) are also described.

All species treated in this work belong to the

genus Agrilus Curtis, 1821 (Coleoptera Buprestidae)

subgenus Nigritius Curletti, 1988, including those

examined for comparison (Kerremans, 1903; Oben-

berger, 1831; Thery, 1947; Curletti, 1998). The spec-

imens are preserved dry, the pictures were obtained

with a Coolpix P6000 connected with a stereomi-

croscope Leica MZ6 and elaborated in stacking with

Adob Photoshop CS5 Extended vers. 12.0.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES

Agrilus ( Nigritius ) massaronei n. sp.

Examined material. Holotypus female (Figs.

1, 2): Gabon, Ogooue, Ivindo, 500 m, P.N. Ivindo,

Station de Recherche d'lpassa, 0°30'43"N-

12°48'12"E, 16-29.11.2012, C. Massarone leg.

(MSNS).

Description of Holotypus. Length 12.3 mm.

Dorsal color uniformly black. Vertex furrowed in

middle, 1/3 of the anterior edge of pronotum,

with obsolete and thin punctuation. Frons black,

glabrous, with exception of white, brilliant pubes-

cence at the base, covering also the clypeus. Two

wide superficial depressions in the upper part.

Clypeus without transverse carina. Antennae black,

serrate from fourth antennomere. Pronotum wider

in middle, with lateral edges few arcuate, subparal-

lel, but with posterior angles strongly sinuate and

acute. Disc convex, regular transversal striae. Pre-

marginal carinula brief but well evident. Yellow

gold pubescence covering the integument at the lat-

eral sides. Lateral carinae joined at the base. Proster-

nal plate rhomboidal. Scutellum wide and short,

with strong transverse carina. Elytra glabrous; apex

with a strong tip in middle. Lateroterga with uni-

form yellow gold pubescence, well visible from the

top. Abdominal sterna with the same pubescence of

the lateroterga. Legs black, with all claws dentate.

408

Gianfranco Curletti

Metatarsus shorter than metatibia; basal article

longer than the sum of the following three

(1 >2+3+4).

Etimology. After the name of the collector, the

colleague Carlo Massarone (Italy).

Remarks. Given that the majority of species be-

longing to the subgenus Nigritius Curletti, 1998 is

composed by species of big size, elongated, and

black dorsal color, A. massaronei n. sp. is charac-

terized by elytra glabrous, premarginal carinula not

entire, presence of apical tips, uniform yellow pu-

bescence on lateroterga and sterna. Among this

group, A. massaronei n. sp. is near to A. cernus

Obenberger, 1931 described from Cameroun. I

know two syntypes of this species, one male in Ter-

vuren Museum (Belgium) and one (sex not identi-

fied) in Prague Museum (Czech Republic), that

may be two distinct species, because the specimen

from Tervuren lacks of the tips at the elytral apex.

Anyway both A. cernus specimens differ for having

smaller dimensions (9.1 and 9.5 mm in length), yel-

low pubescence also on humeral callus and on mid-

dle of the frons, vertex sculpture composed by

striae and not punctiform, posterior angles of prono-

tum obtuse without sinuosity before these angles,

metatarsus long as the metafemur. The type speci-

men was found together with two specimens of

Agrilus ( Nigritius ) alluaudi Kerremans, 1903; this

species has the same pattern of yellow pubescence,

but differs principally for having premarginal carin-

ula entire and elytral apex acuminate, without tips.

Agrilus ( Nigritius ) ivorianus n. sp.

Examined material. Holotypus female (Figs.

3, 4): Cote d'Ivoire, foret de Banco, XII. 1986, Ture

leg. (MCCI).

Description of Holotypus. Length 11.8 mm.

Head black, pronotum green, elytra green in me-

dian anterior part, dark brown posteriorly. Vertex

width about 1/3 of anterior margin of pronotum,

flat, smooth, with obsolete punctiform sculpture.

Frons dark green, clypeus without carina. Antennae

bronze, serrate from 4th antennomere. Pronotum

wider anteriorly, with lateral margins regularly nar-

rowed behind, but with basal angles acute. Disc

with transverse thickened sculpture. Premarginal

carinula not entire, in bold relief. Lateral carinae

welded to the base. Anterior margin of prostemal

lobe widely sinuous. Scutellum wide and short,

strongly carinate. Elytra with pubescence gray,

short, but well visible, slightly thickened in middle.

Elytral apices with a median tip. Ventral side dark

bronze with red reflections: sternites with a spot of

yellow ocher pubescence on the sides. Lateroterga

with the same spots placed in correspondence of

those present on sternites. Green legs, all the claws

simply dentate. Metatarsus longer than metatibia,

with the basal metatarsomere longer than the sum

of the following four (l>2+3+4+5).

Etimology. After Ivory Coast, the country of

locus typicus.

Remarks. The sum of the characters of body

color, elytral pubescence, apical tips, ventral spots

is unique among the subgenus Nigritius.

Agrilus ( Nigritius ) yangambii n. sp.

Examined material. Holotypus male (Figs. 5-

7): Congo, Yangambi, 1953 (MCCI).

Description of Holotypus. Length 9 mm.

Head black, pronotum brown, elytra black. Vertex

protruding, similar to species belonging to sub-

genus Robertius Thery, 1947, furrowed in mid-

dle, with longitudinal sculpture. Frons green, flat,

hardly sculptured, glabrous with exception of a line

of brown coasts along the eyes. Clypeus separated

from frons by a transversal carina. Antennae green-

bronze, serrate from article 4. Pronotum wider an-

teriorly, then sinuate before the base, with anterior

angles obtuse. Disc with regular transverse sculp-

ture. Premarginal carinula entire. Lateral carinae

separated from the base. Anterior margin of proster-

nal lobe amply sinuate. Scutellum transversely car-

inate. Elytra with vertex rounded and denticulate.

White pubescence visible at 1/3 of apex only, along

the suture. Ventral side bronzed, scattered with uni-

form brief white pubescence not covering the in-

teguments. Apex of last visible sternite rounded.

Legs bronze, anterior claws bifid, median and pos-

terior simply dentate. Metatarsus shorter than metat-

ibia; basal metatarsomere little longer than the sum

of the following three (l>2+3+4). Aedeagus big,

sclerotized, long and parallel, with median lobe

acute (Fig. 6).

Etimology. After the name of the locus typicus.

New species of Agrilus belonging to the subgenus Nigritius from Ethiopic Region (Coleoptera Buprestidae Agrilini) 409

Figures 1, 2. Agrilus ( Nigritius ) massaronei n. sp., holotypus female, length 12.3 mm. Figures 3, 4. Agrilus ( Nigritius )

ivorianus n. sp., holotypus female, length 11.8 mm. Figures 5-7. Agrilus (Nigritius) yangambii n. sp., holotypus male,

length 9 mm, with aedeagus (Fig. 6). Figures 8-10. Agrilus (Nigritius) bancoi n. sp., holotypus male, length 6.9 mm, with

aedeagus (Fig. 9).

410

Gianfranco Curletti

Remarks. Among Nigritius species having head

remembering the subgenus Robertius and having

pubescence at elytral apex only, it is know A. lue-

banus Obenberger, 1931 only, described from

Congo (type in Narodni Muzeum, Prague). A. yan-

gambii n. sp. differs principally for having body less

elongate, frons glabrous with different sculpture,

premarginal carinula entire, basal metatarsomere

less elongate.

Agrilus (Nigritius) bancoi n. sp.

Examined material. Holotypus male (Figs. 8-

10): Cote d'Ivoire, foret de Banco, XII. 1986, Ture

leg. (MCCI).

Description of Holotypus. Length 6.9 mm.

Dorsal color brown, entirely covered of grey/yellow

pale pubescence more thickened along the elytral

suture. Vertex flat, 1/3 the width of anterior margin

of pronotum, with transverse hard sculpture. Frons

green, furrowed, regularly pubescent. Clypeus car-

inate. Antennae serrate from 4th article; anten-

nomeres 1-5 bronze, 6-11 green. Pronotum wider

anteriorly, then sinuate before the posterior angles

that are acute. Disc convex, with transverse regular

striae. Premarginal carinula sturdy, prominent, en-

tire. Marginal carinae joined before the base. Elytra

with apex hardly denticulate. Ventral side and lat-

eroterga uniformly pubescent: the pubescence not

covering the integuments. Legs dark bronze-grey.

Anterior and median claws bifid, posterior dentate.

Metatarsus longer than metatibia. First metatar-

somere shorter than the sum of the following three

(1 <2+3+4), but with the fifth longer than the sum

of the third and fourth (5>3+4). Aedeagus elongate,

little fusiform (Fig. 9).

Etimology. After the type locality.

Remarks. For the sum of dimensions added to

elytral pubescence and the entire premarginal car-

inula, A. bancoi n. sp. is unmistakable among the

subgenus Nigritius.

REFERENCES

Curletti G., 1998. Notes on metatarsal morphology in the

genus Agrilus and a proposed redefinition of its sub-

genera in the afrotropical region (Coleoptera Bupre-

stidae). Bollettino della Societa Entomologica

Italiana, 130: 124-134.

Kerremans C., 1903. Coleoptera Serricornia, Fam. Bu-

prestidae. In: P. Wytsman. (Ed.). Genera Insectorum,

Fasc. 12b; 12c; 1 2d. Verteneuil & Desmet, Bruxelles,

pp. 49-338.

Obenberger J., 1931. Agrilenstudien I. (Col. Bupr.). En-

tomologisches Nachrichtenblatt 5: 54-71.

Thery A., 1947. Buprestides nouveaux (2.me note). The

Annals and Magazine of Natural History (11) 13

(1946): 663-683.

Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 411-414

Two new records of cyprinid fish (Cypriniformes Cyprinidae)

from Thailand

Nidsaraporn Petsut 1 *, Sitthi Kulabtong 2,3 &Jirawaeth Petsut 1

'Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkok, Thailand; email:

nidsarapom@ru. ac . th

fisheries Program, Faculty of Agro-Industrial Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok Chantaburi Campus

Chantaburi, Thailand

3 Save wildlife volunteer Thailand, Wangnoi District, Ayuttaya Province, Thailand

‘Corresponding author

ABSTRACT In the present paper, two cyprinid fishes, Boraras urophthalmoides (Kottelat, 1991) and Ras-

bosoma spilocerca (Rainboth et Kottelat, 1987) are newly recorded from Bangpakong Basin,

Southeast Thailand. Description and distribution data of the two cyprinid fish are provided

here.

KEY WORDS Boraras urophthalmoides ; Rasbosoma spilocerca ; Cyprinidae; Thailand.

Received 06.08.2013; accepted 31.08.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

Freshwater cyprinid fish genera Boraras Kotte-

lat et Vidthayanon, 1993 and Rasbosoma Liao, Kul-

lander et Fang, 2010 are scarcely distributed in

Thailand. The genus Boraras has been reported for

Southeast Asia only (Kottelat & Vidthayanon, 1993;

Doi, 1997; Kottelat, 2001; Conway & Kottelat,

2011). According to the current taxonomic status of

this genus, it comprises 6 valid species, B. brigittae

(Vogt, 1978) and B. merah (Kottelat, 1991) from

Borneo, Indonesia; B. maculatus (Duncker, 1904)

from Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, In-

donesia; B. micros Kottelat et Vidthayanon, 1993

from Mekong Basin, Thailand and Laos; B. naevus

Conway et Kottelat, 2011 from peninsular Thailand

and B. urophthalmoides (Kottelat, 1991), from

Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Mekong Basin in In-

dochina, Lower Chao Phraya Basin and peninsular

Thailand (Kottelat & Vidthayanon, 1993; Kottelat

et al., 1993; Doi, 1997; Conway & Kottelat, 2011).

The genus Rasbosoma is distributed in Mekong

Basin only (Indochina). First record of R. spilocerca

(Rainboth et Kottelat, 1987) in Thailand was re-

ported by Rainboth & Kottelat (1987) under the

name Rasbora spilocerca from Mekong Basin at

Northeast Thailand (Ubon Province, Kalasin Prov-

ince and Udon Thani Province). Currently, this species

was considered a junior synonym of Rasbosoma spi-

locerca (Rainboth & Kottelat, 1987; Rainboth,

1996; Vidthayanon et al., 1997; Liao et al., 2010).

In a survey project of the authors in Upper

Bangpakong Basin, Southeast Thailand during Oc-

tober and November 2012, we found several speci-

mens of B. urophthalmoides and one specimen of

R. spilocerca from temporary peat-swamp of the

tributary of Bangpakong River, Pakpee District, Na-

khon Nayok Province, Southeast Thailand. This is

a new record of B. urophthalmoides and R. spilo-

cerca in Bangpakong Basin, Thailand. Currently,

the specimens of B. urophthalmoides and R. spilo-

cerca are deposited into the Reference Collection

of Aquatic Biology, Ramkhamhaeng University,

Bangkok, Thailand.

412

N. Petsut, S. Kulabtong & J. Petsut

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS. Reference

Collection of Aquatic Biology, Ramkhamhaeng

University, Bangkok, Thailand = RU; standard

length = SL; head length = HL.

RESULTS

Order Cypriniformes Bleeker, 1859

Family Cyprinidae Cuvier, 1817

Boraras urophthalmoides (Kottelat, 1991)

Examined material. RU 0093-0094, 35 speci-

mens, 15-19 mm SL, Temporary peatswamp of

Bangpakong Basin, Pakpee District, Nakhon Nay ok

Province, Southeastern Thailand (Fig. 1), X/XI.

2012, legit Nidsaraporn Petsut, Sitthi Kulabtong et

Jiraweath Petsut.

Descriptor This species (Fig. 2) is distinguished

from other species of genus Boraras by the combi-

nation of the following characters: large black prom-

inent lateral stripe on each side of the body, the

origin of which is behind the opercle and ending

near the caudal peduncle; large black spot on each

caudal fin base and anal fin base; the first dorsal-fin

ray is black.

B. urophthalmoides is compressed, body depth

is 26.6-29.3 %SL. Body width is 8.6-11.2 %SL.

Scales in lateral series are medium to large, lateral

series scales is made of 24-27 scales, predorsal

scales are 10-12. Head length is 26.8-31.1 %SL.

Figure 1. Temporary peatswamp of Bangpakong Basin,

Southeastern Thailand.

The eye is large, eye diameter is 35.7-37.9 %HL

(8.6-11.1 %SL). Post orbital length is 43.8-46.4

%HL (10.1-14.6 %SL), snout length is short, with

17.9-20.1 %HL (5.0-7. 1 %SL) and interorbital

width is 46.9-50.4 % HL (10.9-11.8 % SL). Dorsal

fin origin is anterior to the anal fin origin, predorsal

fin length is 57.7-62.8 %SL, prepectoral fm length

is 30.6-32.2 %SL, prepelvic fm length is 46.5-51.1

%SL and preanal fm length is 64.1-66.9 %SL. Cau-

dal peduncle depth is 10.0-10.9 %SL. Pectoral fm

is short not reaching beyond the anus, pectoral fm

length is 14.3-16.2 %SL with 8-9 branched fm rays.

Pelvic fin is short not reaching beyond the anus,

pelvic fin length is 8. 0-9. 2 %SL with 7 branched fm

rays. Anal fin base is longer than dorsal fin base,

anal fm base length is 10.6-13.4 %SL, dorsal fin

shows 2 unbranched rays and 7 branched rays and

anal fin 3 unbranched rays and 5 branched rays.

Dorsal fm base length is 8. 3-9. 5 %SL.

Coloration in fresh specimens is fade red, pur-

ple or orange along the body. On the side of body

is clearly silver or light black showing a prominent

lateral stripe from behind the opercle to pre-caudal

peduncle. The stripe has a small orange frame. The

spot on caudal fm base is silver or light black, with

a small orange frame. The black spot on anal fin

base is not clear. Anterior of dorsal fm is fade black

and red, anal fin is transparent with fade black on

the anterior part, caudal fm is transparent with red

or orange on caudal fm base, pectoral fin and pelvic

fm are transparent. Coloration in preserved speci-

mens lost all of red, orange and purple on the body,

caudal peduncle and all fins. On the side is clearly

black with a prominent lateral stripe from behind

the opercle to pre-caudal peduncle, large black

spots on the caudal fm base and anal fin base.

Distribution. This species is known from Suma-

tra, Malay Peninsula, Mekong Basin in Indochina,

Lower Chao Phraya Basin and peninsular Thailand.

New record for Bangpakong Basin.

Rasbosoma spilocerca (Rainboth et Kottelat, 1987)

Examined material. RU 0090, 1 specimens,

24 mm SL, Temporary peatswamp of Bangpakong

Basin, Pakpee District, Nakhon Nayok Province,

Southeast Thailand, X/XI. 2012, legit Nidsaraporn

Petsut, Sitthi Kulabtong et Jiraweath Petsut (Fig. 1).

Descriptor R. spilocerca is distinguished from

Two new records of cyprinid fish (Cypriniformes Cyprinidae) fromThailand

413

Figure 2. Boraras urophthalmoides, 15 mm SL from Bangpakong Basin, Thailand. Figure 3. Rasbosoma spilocerca,

24 mm SL from Bangpakong Basin, Thailand.

other species of rasborins by the tip of the outer arm

of suspensorium bent inward, forming a short hori-

zontal process (Kottelat & Vidthayanon, 1993).

Lateraline scales incomplete and 9-10 circumpe-

duncular scales. Clearly black spot on dorsal fin,

anal fin and caudal fin base.

R. spilocerca (Fig. 3) is compressed, body depth

is 25.4 %SL. Body width is 10.8 %SL. Scales in lat-

eral series are large, lateral series scales are 28, pre-

dorsal scales 12. Head length is 24.6 %SL. The eye

is large, eye diameter is 31.4 %HL (7.8 %SL). Post

orbital length is 45.4 %HL (1 1 .5 %SL), snout length

is short, with 22.9 %HL (5.6 %SL) and interorbital

width is 48.6 % HL. Dorsal fin origin is posterior

to the pelvic fin origin, predorsal fin length is 54.2

%SL, prepectoral fin length is 24.7 %SL, prepelvic

fin length is 50.7 %SL and preanal fin length is 67.6

%SL. Caudal peduncle depth is 11.3 %SL. Pectoral

fin is short not reaching beyond the anus, pectoral

fin length is 15.5 %SL with 8 branched fin rays.

Pelvic fin is short not reaching beyond the anus,

pelvic fin length is 16.9 %SL bearing 7 branched

fin rays. Anal fin base length is 9.9 %SL, dorsal fin

with 3 unbranched rays and 7 branched rays. Dorsal

fin base length is 12.1 %SL.

Coloration in fresh specimens is transparent

along the body. On the side of body is clearly black

with a lateral stripe from behind the opercle to pre-

caudal peduncle and black spots on dorsal fin, anal

fin and caudal fin base.

414

N. Petsut, S. Kulabtong & J. Petsut

Distribution. This species is recorded only in

Mekong Basin, Indochina. New record for Bang-

pakong Basin.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to the Research and Develop-

ment Institute Ramkhamhaeng University for fi-

nancial support. We also wish to thank the

reviewers for the invaluable editorial advice and

Mr. Thanachai Pangkhamraeng for assistance with

the field work.

REFERENCES

Conway K.W. & Kottelat M., 2011. Boraras naevus, a

new species of miniature and sexually dichromatic

freshwater fish from peninsular Thailand (Ostario-

physi: Cyprinidae). Zootaxa, 3002: 45-51.

Doi A., 1997. A review of taxonomic studies of cyprini-

form fishes in Southeast Asia. Japanese Journal of

Ichthyology, 44: 1-33.

Kottelat M., 2001. Fishes of Laos. Wildlife Heritage

Trust, Colombo, 198 pp.

Kottelat M. & Vidthayanon C., 1993. Boraras micros, a

new genus and species of minute freshwater fish

from Thailand (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological

Exploration of Freshwaters, 4: 161-176.

Kottelat M., Whitten A.J., Kartikasari S.N. & Wirjoat-

modjo S., 1993. Freshwater fishes of Western In-

donesia and Sulawesi. Periplus Editions, Hong Kong,

259 pp.

Liao T.Y., Kullander S.O. & Fang F., 2010. Phylogenetic

analysis of the genus Rasbora (Teleostei: Cyprinidae).

Zoologica Scripta, 39: 155-176.

Rainboth W.J. & Kottelat M., 1987. Rasbora spilocerca,

a new cyprinid from the Mekong River. Copeia, 2:

417-423.

Rainboth W.J., 1996. FAO species identification field

guide for fishery purposes. Fishes of the Cambodian

Mekong. Rome, FAO, 265 pp.

Vidthayanon C., Kamasuta J. & Nabhitabhata J., 1997. Di-

versity of freshwater fishes in Thailand. Office of En-

vironmental Policy and Planning, Bangkok, 102 pp.

Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 415-418

New report of Aperiovula juanjosensii Perez et Gomez, 1 987

(Gastropoda Ovutidae) for the Sicilian coast

Pasquale Micali Walter Renda 2 & Salvatore Ventimiglia 3

'via Papiria, 17 - 61032 Fano, Pesaro-Urbino, Italy; e-mail: lino.micali@virgilio.it

2 via Bologna, 18/A - 87032 Amantea, Cosenza, Italy

3 via Zanghi, 10 - 98164 Torre Faro, Messina, Italy

* Corresponding author

ABSTRACT One living specimen of Aperiovula juanjosensii Perez et Gomez, 1987 (Gastropoda Ovulidae)

was found in the Strait of Messina (North-East Sicily), at Punta Faro at a depth of about 90

m. The specimen was found in the fishing rest, in a sample rich of Myriapora truncata (Pallas,

1776), but with presence of Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) and Eunicella cavolinii (Esper,

1791). The gorgonian Villogorgia bebiycoides (Koch, 1887), indicated as host in literature,

even if should be present in the area, has not been found. A. juanjosensii was described for

the area of Canary Islands and Atlantic Marocco and, up to now, only shown for a location of

the Italian coast, without additional data.

KEY WORDS Aperiovula juanjosensii; recent; Mediterranean Sea.

Received 08.08.2013; accepted 01.09.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

One specimen of Aperiovula juanjosensii Perez

et Gomez, 1987 (Gastropoda Ovulidae) was found

in June 2013 in the rest of fishing material taken

with trammel net laid down at a depth of about 90

m, at Punta Faro also called Capo Peloro (Strait of

Messina, North-East Sicily).

The sample was rich of Myriapora truncata

(Pallas, 1776), but were also present Paramuricea

clavata (Risso, 1826) and Eunicella cavolinii

(Esper, 1791). The specimen, complete of soft

parts, is 7.8 mm high and 4.5 mm wide. The gor-

gonian Villogorgia bebrycoides (Koch, 1887), in-

dicated as host in literature, even if should be

present in the area, has not been found. This species

was described for the area of Canary Islands and

Atlantic Marocco, and, up to now, only shown for

a location of the Italian coast, without additional

data.

Aperiovula juanjosensii Perez et Gomez, 1987

Original description (Perez & Gomez, 1987).

The general shape. The shell is pyriform in shape,

not very solid, with extremely small apertures,

slightly translucent, and small in size. The base is

convex. The aperture is rather narrow with the col-

umella and the lip being practically parallel. The

latter has hardly accentuated denticles in the inter-

nal border, which terminate toward the anterior ex-

tremity. The funiculus is well marked. The posterior

extremity is enlarged and pointed, with the sinus

open and slightly curved toward the dorsal part. The

lip border is clearly marked. The columella is

416

P. Micali.W. Renda & S.Ventimiglia

curved with an evident small depression and dim-

ple. The syphon canal terminates obliquely (the ex-

ternal lip is shorter than the internal one).

The external surface. It is sculptured by trans-

versal striae localized at both extremities, particu-

larly on the posterior where they are more

numerous and dense. The globular area of the final

whorl has no spiral sculpture, except for some so

fine that they are visible only upon microscopic

examination.

Colouring. The colouring is bright white, al-

most translucent. On the lip borders at the extrem-

ities it takes on an opaque ivory shade. An exact

description of the mollusc itself is not yet possible,

but local fishermen have referred that it has a red-

dish tint.

Biology. The Ovulidae is a family of carnivo-

rous and ectoparasites molluscs, with a wide geo-

graphical distribution in tropical and temperate

belt. The species Xandarovula patula (Pennant,

1777) is a northern one, reaching the latitude of

England. The Ovulidae are host specific in the

sense that the colour of the mollusc mantle, cov-

ering the shell, copies the host both in colour and

geometry of the papillae as in the host polyps.

They live on Anthozoa, and well known (Schiapa-

relli et al., 2005; Fehse, 2007) is the association,

inside the Mediterranean, of Neosimnia spelta

(Linnaeus, 1758) with Eunicella cavolinii (Koch,

1887) and E. singularis (Esper, 1791), and of 57 m-

nia illyrica Schilder, 1927 with Leptogorgia sar-

mentosa (Esper, 1791). More specimens of ovulid

may live and predate on the same host, but this

seems not to cause the death of the host.

Villogorgia bebrycoides has been reported at

70-130 m depth in the gulf of St. Eufemia (Cal-

abria, South Tyrrhenian Sea) by Bo et al. (2012)

and also in the Sicily channel, always in deep wa-

ters, therefore could occur in deep water at Punta

Faro. In the rest of material found in the boat to-

gether with A.juanjosensii there were no pieces of

V bebrycoides , therefore the association with this

gorgonians cannot be confirmed, at the same time

there is the possibility that A. juanjosensii may live

associated to any of the other gorgonians present

in the sample. As above indicated, this multi-host

preference has been reported by Schiaparelli et al.

(2005) for Neosimnia spelta.

Remarks. A. juanjosensii was described on five

specimens (3 living, 2 dead) from Tenerife and La

Palma islands. The species was found associated

with the gorgonians Villogorgia bebrycoides

(Koch, 1887) at a depth ranging from 100 to 250

m, catched with drag or shrimp net. Bouchet &

Waren (1993: 746) report A. juanjosensii “on the

seamounts between Madeira and Portugal in about

200-300 m”. Oliverio & Villa (1998: 56) in the

study on Ovulidae of the Canary islands figure a

paratype (Figs. 13, 14) from Tenerife, but do not add

anything to what known from previous literature.

Primovula ( Adamantia ) bellocqae Cardin,

1997 is described on four specimens trawled off

the Atlantic coast of Marocco, between Safi and

Agadir, at a depth of 50-60 m. Actually, the Author

(Cardin, 1997) used the generic name “ bellocqae ”

in the title and figure explanation, while in the text

there is and additional “m” and the name is written

“ bellocquae Similarly, also the name of the other

species is wrongly written: i juanjoseensis” or

“juanjoneensis ”. The Author states that the new

species is very similar to A. juanjosensii, but due

to the very schematic original drawing, a detailed

description of the discriminant characters was not

possible. Fehse (2003) put in synonymy the two

names. The mediterranean records are few and the

collecting locality are not detailed. One specimen

12 mm high, from Western Mediterranean, is fig-

ured by Ardovini & Cossignani (2004: 112) under

the name Primovula bellocque. Two specimens,

one from Marsala (Western Sicily) and one from

Alboran are figured by Cossignani & Ardovini

(2011: 234). Another specimen labelled from Tra-

pani (West Sicily) is present in the collection of the

Museo Malacologico of Cupra Marittima. The

above records indicate a distribution in the Western

Mediterranean, which is confirmed and extended

up to the Eastern Sicily by our discovery.

The original description fails to indicate the

marked dorsal gibbosity, well visible in lateral view.

In addition the colour of our specimen clearly

shows the two yellowish bands at the extremities,

at the beginning of the callus, interconnected by a

yellow band running behind the thickening of the

outer lip. A. juanjosensii clearly differs from A.

adriatica (Sowerby G. B. I, 1828) for the dorsal

gibbosity, the angulated profile in frontal view, the

elongated posterior extremity and the narrower

aperture. The denticles on the external lip are present

in both species. Same differences apply also to

Pseudosimnia carnea (Poiret, 1789).

New report of Aperiovula juanjosensii Perez et Gomez, 1 987 (Gastropoda Ovulidae) for the Sicilian coast

417

Figures 1-4. Aperiovula juanjosensii Perez et Gomez, 1987, Punta Faro, Messina, Italy, -90 m, height 7.8 mm.

Fig. 1: dorsal view. Fig. 2: ventral view. Figs. 3, 4: lateral view.

Additional note. When the work was ready for

publication, a second specimen has been found in the

same locality, by same fishing boat. The second spec-

imen is 8.2 mm high and 4.2 mm wide, very fresh.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Dr. Marco Taviani (ISMAR-CNR,

Bologna, Italy), Dr. Giorgio Bavestrello (University

of Genova, Italy) and Dr. Marzia Bo (University of

Genova, Italy) for the bibliographic support.

REFERENCES

Ardovini R. & Cossignani T., 2004. Conchiglie del-

L Africa occidental (incluse Azzorre, Madeira e

Canarie). L’lnformatore Piceno, Ancona, 320 pp.,

2180 figs.

Bo M., Canese S., Spaggiari C., Pusceddu A., Bertolino

M., Angiolillo M., Giusti M., Loreto M. F., Salvati

E., Greco S. & Bavestrello G., 2012. Deep Coral

Oases in the South Tyrrhenian Sea. PLoS One (pu-

blished via Internet), 7(11): e49870.

Bouchet P. & Waren A., 1993. Revision of the north-

east Atlantic bathyal and abyssal Mesogastropoda.

Bollettino Malacologico. Suplement 3: 579-840,

1953 figs.

Cardin C., 1997. Primovula ( Adamantia ) bellocqae n. sp.

La Conchiglia, 29 (285): 24-25.

Cossignani T. & Ardovini R., 201 1 . Malacologia Medi-

terranea. L’lnformatore Piceno, Ancona, 536 pp.

Fehse D., 2003. Beitrage zur kenntnis der Ovulidae. XIII.

Pseudosimnia flava, spec. nov. und Aperiovula juan-

josensii Perez & Gomez, 1987 aus dem Bathyal des

Zentralatlantiks (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Spixiana,

26: 269-275.

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P. Micali.W. Renda & S.Ventimiglia

Fehse D., 2007. Contributions to the knowledge of the

Ovulidae. XVI. The higher systematics. Spixiana, 30:

121-125.

Oliverio M. & Villa R., 1998. Notes on the Ovulidae of

Canary Islands (Prosobranchia, Eratoidea). Argo-

nauta, XI, 2: 49-58.

Perez G. & Gomez R., 1987. Aperiovula juanjosensii

spec. nov. (Mollusca Gastropoda): una nuova spe-

cie delle isole Canarie. Argonauta, III, 1-2(13-14):

231-235.

Schiaparelli S., Barucca M., Olmo E., Boyer M. & Ca-

napa A., 2005. Phylogenetic relationships within

Ovulidae (Gastropoda: Cypraeoidea) based on molec-

ular data from 16S rRNAgene. Marine Biology, 147:

411-420, figs. 1-2 + Suppl. (published via Internet):

1-22, text figs. 3-21.

Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 419-426

Contribution to the phenological knowledge of Aspilota-group

(Hymenoptera Braconidae Alysiinae) in Mediterranean land-

scapes

Francisco Javier Peris-Felipo & Ricardo Jimenez-Peydro

Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control, Institute Cavanilles of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, c/. Catedratico Jose

Beltran 2, 46980 Patema, Valencia, Spain

’Corresponding author: Francisco.peris@uv.es

ABSTRACT This work analyses the phenology of Aspilota-group in three Mediterranean Natural parks:

Natural Park of La Font Roja, Natural Park of Las Lagunas de la Mata-Torrevieja and Natural

Park of La Tinenga de Benifassa. Samples were carried out from April 2004 to December

2007. In total, 820 specimens of 53 different species were collected and analysed. The results

showed that there was a direct relationship between phenology and climatic conditions, as

the highest abundances of Aspilota Forster, 1862 were observed when temperatures were be-

tween 18-22°C and a few weeks after the rainy season. Phenological information at species

level is also provided.

KEY WORDS Hymenoptera; Braconidae; Aspilota- group; Phenology; Mediterranean; Natural parks; Spain.

Received 29.07.2013; accepted 16.09.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

Braconidae is the second largest family of Hy-

menoptera Apocrita, belonging to the superfamily

Ichneumonoidea with approximately 40,000 spe-

cies described around the World. The majority of

these species are primary parasitoids of immature

stages of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Diptera

(Sharkey, 1993).

The subfamily Alysiinae has a prominent posi-

tion in terms of diversity within the Braconidae

(Dolphin & Quicke, 2001), enclosing 1,500 species

divided among 2 tribes: Alysiini and Dacnusini

(Shenefelt, 1974). Alysiini interact with a wide va-

riety of Cyclorrhapha hosts mainly in humid habi-

tats and ephemeral substrata, laying their eggs in

the host’s larvae or eggs. Dacnusini, by contrast,

are almost exclusively specialised on leaf and stem

miners, such as Agromyzidae, Ephydridae and

Chloropidae. Furthermore, Alysiini are distributed

in all regions while Dacnusini are known only in

the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern

Hemisphere.

The Aspilota- group is rather well differentiated

inside the Alysiini tribe (van Achterberg, 1988) with

approximately 750 species described (Yu et al.,

2011). This group includes the following genera:

Adelphenaldis Fischer, 2003, Aspilota Forster,

1862, Carinthilota Fischer, 1975, Dinostigma Fi-

scher, 1966, Dinotrema Forster, 1862, Eudino-

stigma Tobias, 1986, Leptotrema van Achterberg,

1988, Orthostigma Ratzeburg, 1844, Panerema

Forster 1862, Pterusa Fischer, 1958 and Synaldis

Forster , 1862. However, this classification has been

changing over the last decades. For instance, van

Achterberg (1988) did not consider Synaldis as a

genus and included their species within Dinotrema

but Fischer (1993a;1993b), Belokobylskij (2002;

420

Francisco Javier Peris-Felipo & Ricardo Jimenez-Peydro

2004a; 2004b) and Tobias (2003a; 2003b; 2004a;

2004b; 2006) posteriorly published Synaldis as a dis-

tinctive genus due to the absence of the 2RS vein.

There are many faunal and diversity studies of

Braconidae worldwide, for example in Brazil (Ci-

relli & Penteado-Dias, 2003; Scatolini & Pen-

teado-Dias, 2003), Venezuela (Bricerio et al.,

2007; 2009) and the Iberian Peninsula (Andorra,

Spain and Portugal), (Nieves & del Castillo, 1991;

Pujade-Villar, 1996; Segade et al.,1997; Ros-Farre

& Pujade-Villar, 1998; Gonzalez et al., 2000; Mar-

tinez de Murguia et al., 2001; Tome et al., 2001;

Falco-Gari et al., 2006). Nevertheless, the phenol-

ogy of these species remains poorly investigated

due to the lack of extensive monitoring studies. A

few exceptions are Falco-Gari et al. (2006), Peris-

Felipo & Jimenez-Peydro (2011), Jimenez-Peydro

& Peris-Felipo (2011) and Perez-Rodriguez et al.

(20 13). The present study deals with data obtained

from extensive researches on phenology and on

the relationship between the Aspilota- group com-

munity and the environmental and climatic condi-

tions present on three protected Mediterranean

areas in Spain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Studied areas

The parks selected were Natural Park of La Font

Roja (Font Roja), Natural Park of Las Lagunas de la

Mata-Torrevieja (Torrevieja) and Natural Park of La

Tinenga de Benifassa (Tinenga); all located within

the Comunidad Valenciana and each with peculiar

microclimate conditions. Climatic and orographic

descriptions were given by Peris-Felipo & Jimenez-

Peydro (2012).

Sampling protocol

The sampling period ranged from April 2004 to

December 2007 and samples were taken with Malaise

traps. Each area was weekly visited to be sampled

with an entomological net and to replace the trap

drop. Exemplars captured were preserved in 70%

ethanol until final preparation.

Once separated, single specimens were deter-

mined by subfamily following the keys of Achter-

berg (1993) and only the Alysiinae were selected.

Subsequently, the identification to genera was car-

ried out according to Tobias keys (1986a; 1986b).

Finally, species identification was done based on

Fischer (1993b; 2003; 2008a; 2008b) and Tobias

(1986a; 1986b) keys. The studied exemplars are

now deposited with bar code labels in the Entomo-

logical Collection at the University of Valencia (Va-

lencia, Spain; ENV).

Information about all climatic conditions was

provided by AEMET (State agency of Metere-

ology) with the exception of the one from Font

Roja. Data about this area was taken from Bo-

cairent station, as there is no AEMET station in

Alcoi.

In the present study, the following simplifica-

tions of period extensions were adopted:

• Spring: period comprising between 23rd

March and 22nd June.

• Summer: period comprising between 23rd

June and 22nd September.

• Autumn: period comprising between 23rd Sep-

tember and 22nd December.

• Winter: period comprising between 23rd De-

cember and 22nd March.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In total, 820 specimens belonging to 53 species

of Aspilota- group were collected. The Natural

Park with more described species was Tinenga

with 39, followed by Font Roja and Torrevieja

with 23 and 21, respectively. Furthermore, the

number of captures differed between areas, having

collected 383 individuals in Tinenga (49.08%),

257 in Torrevieja (63.03%) and 182 in Font Roja

(65.93%). The most captured species in Font Roja

was Orthostigma laticeps (Thomson, 1895) fol-

lowed by Synaldis lacessiva Fischer, 1975 and

Dinotrema parapunctatum (Fischer, 1976). How-

ever, Dinotrema costulatum (Thomson, 1895) was

the most represented in Tinenga, followed by

Synaldis sp.2, Dinotrema crassicostum (Thomson,

1895), Aspilota valenciensis Fischer, 1996 and

Dinotrema castaneithorax (Fischer, 1973). Finally,

Synaldis sp.2, Dinotrema lagunasense Peris-

Felipo, 2013 dead Aspilota procreata Fischer, 1976

were the most dominant in Torrevieja.

The whole data (Fig. 1) showed that species be-

longing to Aspilota-group can be found throughout

Contribution to the phenological knowledge of Aspilota -group (Hymenoptera) in Mediterranean landscapes

421

the entire year.The highest abundance was found

between April and September (spring and sum-

mer), identifying two peaks corresponding to

spring-summer (March- July) and autumn (Septem-

ber-November).

The analysis of the Natural Park of La Font

Roja (Fig. 2) demonstrated that there were quite

more capture peaks. The activity period at this area

was extended from April till late September (spring

and summer), peaking at the end of May and with

a lack of captures between December and April

(winter and early spring).

However, Natural Park of La Tinenga of Beni-

fassa (Fig. 3) showed a different situation with two

peaks of activity, the first between April and June

(spring) and the second between September and

November (autumn). The highest abundances

were observed in May and June 2006, both with

18 specimens. Captures in the remaining months

were very sporadic, being virtually absent during

the winter.

Finally, two peaks of activity were determined

in the Natural Park of Las Lagunas de La Mata-Tor-

revieja (Fig. 4), one between April and June

(spring) and the other between October and Decem-

ber (autumn). The highest abundance was observed

on April 2005 with 19 specimens and a third peak

was observed in some years between December and

March (winter). However, no specimens were ever

captured between late July and early September.

The analysis of abundance (Figs. 2-4) clearly

shows that the peaks appear at different periods on

each site. Comparison between these peaks and cli-

matic data (temperature and rainfall) was done by

superimposing the first to the second.

It is possible to observe that in Font Roja (Fig.

5) the largest number of captures occurs between

June and September after the spring rainfall and

coinciding with temperate temperatures (15-25°C).

By contrast, there are no significative captures dur-

ing autumn and winter.

However, in Tinenga (Fig. 6) the maximum

peaks of abundance occur a few weeks after the

rainy season and Aspilota populations seem to de-

crease till disappearing when temperatures exceed

20°C (July- August). Therefore, the population

seems to be affected by the presence and abun-

dance of rainfall, probably due to their parasitoid

relationship with leaf-miner insects, mainly from

herbaceous.

In Torrevieja (Fig. 7) braconids are better cap-

tured when temperatures are temperate (15-20°C)

and they disappear when temperatures rise.

All these considered, it is possible to check the

relationships between the appearance of Aspilota-

group and rain. Table 1 shows the phenology of

each species per month, with most of the species

being present in spring. However, there are species

that appear in spring and autumn but not in warm

periods such as Aspilota procreata Fischer, 1976,

Dinotrema enanum Peris-Felipo, 2013, Dinotrema

fischerianum Peris-Felipo, 2013, Synaldis concolor

(Nees, 1812) and Synaldis distractum (Nees,

1834). Some other species appear during autumn

and winter, e.g., Dinotrema lagunasense Peris-

Felipo, 2013, Dinotrema pareum Peris-Felipo,

2013 and Synaldis sp.7 and many others appear in

every season, such as Aspilota propeminimam

Fischer, Tormos, Pardo et Asis, 2008, Aspilota va-

lenciensis Fischer, 1996, Dinotrema costulatum

(Thomson, 1895), Dinotrema paquitae Peris-

Felipo, 2013, Orthostigma laticeps (Thomson,

1895), Orthostigma maculipes (Haliday, 1838),

Orthostigma pumilum (Nees, 1834) or Synaldis

sp.2. Finally, three species: Dinotrema teresae

Peris-Felipo, 2013, Orthostigma beyarslani Fischer,

1995 and Orthostigma sculpturatum (Tobias,

1962), seem to be present only for a month.

Comparing the three different parks, it is pos-

sible to determine that the maximum peaks of

abundance occur when temperature ranges oscil-

late between 18 and 22°C. Similar observations

were found in the Artikutza (Navarra, Spain) when

studying the phenology of Alysiinae (Peris-Felipo

et al., 2011) and in the Andorran Pyrenees (Falco-

Gari et al., 2006) while analyzing the Braconidae.

Another fact to be highlighted is that maximum

abundances are always present few weeks after the

rainy periods. This is probably explained by tri-

trophic relationships between parasitoid-host-

plant, as the rain promotes the growth of

herbaceous whose leaves are mined by mining in-

sects and consequently increases the activity of the

Hymenoptera paras itoids.

In conclusion, this study was conducted to de-

termine the phenology of the Aspilota-group. How-

ever, further studies are recommended in different

areas to check the differences between Aspilota be-

haviors.

422

Francisco Javier Peris-Felipo & Ricardo Jimenez-Peydro

■ Numlw of specimen!

Phenology in Tincnga

Phenology in Font Roja

i » i J.i,

n in . jii i

J!3J33!!!3SSS!!»S5!SSS!S!Sf!SISISSSSo£sSSeSSS

iniinmminumunnmmmimnm

Phenology in Torrcvicja

■Number of specimens

Climatic conditions - Phenology in Tincnga

of specimens HfU.nfill |cm) Temperature (K|

Figure 1. Phenology of Aspilota-group.

Figure 2. Phenology of Aspilota-group in the Natural Park

of Carrascal de La Font Roja.

Figure 3. Phenology of Aspilota-group in the Natural Park

of Tinenga de Benifassa.

Figure 4. Phenology of Aspilota-group in the Natural Park

of las Lagunas de La Mata-Torrevieja.

Figure 5. Relationship between climatic conditions and phe-

nology in the Natural Park of La Font Roja.

Figure 6. Relationship between climatic conditions and phe-

nology in the Natural Park of La Tin eng a de Benifassa.

Figure 7. Relationship between climatic conditions and phe-

nology in the Natural Park of Las Lagunas de La Mata-

i Torrevieja.

Contribution to the phenological knowledge of Aspilota -group (Hymenoptera) in Mediterranean landscapes

423

Species

Adelphenaldis maxfischeri

Aspilota anaphoretica

Aspilota delicata

Aspilota fl agim i l i s

Aspilota insolita

Aspilota procreata

Aspilota propedaemon

Aspilota propeminimam

Aspilota valenciensis

Aspilota spl

Aspilota sp2

Dinotrema achterbergi

Dinotrema amparoae

Dinotrema belokobylskiji

Dinotrema benifassaense

Dinotrema broadi

Dinotrema castaneithorax

Dinotrema costulatum

Dinotrema crassicostum

Dinotrema enanum

Dino trema fischerianum

Dinotrema jimenezi

Dinotrema lagunasense

Dinotrema mareum

Dinotrema munki

Dinotrema pappi

Dinotrema paquitae

Dinotrema parapunctatum

Dinotrema pareum

Dinotrema pilarae

Dinotrema robertoi

Dinotrema teresae

Dinotrema tinencaense

Dinotrema torreviejaense

Dinotrema vitobiasi

Dinotrema zimmermannae

Endinostigma latistigma

Orthostigma beyarslani

Dec

Table 1. Monthly occurrence for each species.

424

Francisco Javier Peris-Felipo & Ricardo Jimenez-Peydro

Table 1 (continued). Monthly occurrence for each species.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank Dr. Maximilian Fischer

(Naturhistorisches Museum Wien), Dr. Jeno Papp

(Hungarian Natural History Museum of Budapest),

Dr. Sergey A. Belokobylslcij (Zoological Institute

Russian Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg)

and Dr. Gavin Broad (Natural History Museum of

London). We are also thankful to the staff of Natural

Park of La Font Roja, Natural Park of Las Lagunas de

la Mata-Torrevieja, and Natural Park of La Tinenqa

de Benifassa for their help during this study.

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Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 427-434

Traditional agroforestry practices and woody species conser-

vation in the derived savanna ecosystem of Adamawa state,

Nigeria

David O. Oke 1 & Gail/son Y.Jamala 2

'Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria; e-mail:davoke2003@yahoo.com

2 Adamawa State College of Agriculture, Ganye, Nigeria

"■Corresponding author

ABSTRACT Agro forestry practices are known to contribute to food security, environmental protection and

biodiversity conservation. To determine the extent of contribution of some traditional agro-

forestry practices to woody species conservation, data were collected from the natural fallow

land, grazing land and natural forest in and around the Gumti sector of Gashaka-Gumti Na-

tional Park, covering Toungo and Jada local government areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria.

The area was sampled in a group of twelve 0.04 ha (20 m x 20 m) plots per land use type. All

woody plants with diameter at breast height greater than or equal to 5 cm were identified. A

total of 0.48 ha of natural fallow, grazing land and natural forest were surveyed. 361 indivi-

duals belonging to 27 taxa and 16 families were identified in the 0.48 ha of natural forest sur-

veyed. In the natural fallow, 314 individuals belonging to 32 taxa in 16 families were

encountered while the grazing land had 211 individuals belonging to 23 taxa in 16 families.

The natural forest had the highest density of woody species (752.08 plants/ha) while the lo-

west (439.58 plants/ha) was observed on the grazing land. The values of Shannon diversity

index differ significantly among the land use types with the natural forest having the highest

(0.85), while the grazing land the least (0.56). The rarefaction curves, however, indicated that

the grazing land had the highest species richness relative to the total number of individuals

encountered.

KEY WORDS Agroforestry; natural fallow; forest; grazing land; woody species conservation.

Received 23.08.2013; accepted 20.09.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

Among the major challenges facing the world

today are deforestation, land degradation, unsus-

tainable farming practices, loss of biodiversity, in-

creased risks of climate change and rising hunger,

poverty and malnutrition. Agroforestry has been

identified as a land-use option that can address

many of these global challenges. Deliberate inclu-

sion of trees in agricultural landscapes has been a

common practice among farmers for a very long

time and the farming communities have played im-

portant roles in conserving crop and tree diversity.

Although the traditional agroforestry practices

have contributed immensely to food security and

environmental protection, the need to meet the in-

creasing needs of the burgeoning population has led

to the development of modern agroforestry practi-

ces with simplified ecosystem structure and conse-

quent destruction of biological diversity. In recent

times, scientists have become interested in the en-

vironmental services that agroforestry practices

428

David O. Oke & Gailyson Y.Jamala

may provide to local and even global society by

maintaining watershed functions, retaining carbon

in the plant-soil system, and by supporting the con-

servation of biological diversity (McNeely &

Scherr, 2003; Schroth et al., 2004). Greater atten-

tion is now being paid to those complex tree-based

traditional practices that are so widespread in tradi-

tional tropical land use.

The natural environment in the savanna ecosy-

stem is characterized by a combination of trees and

grasses in different proportions. Farmers in the West

African savannas maintain valuable trees, which

also resist periodical fires in and around their fields

giving rise to distinct park like landscape (Boffa,

1999). Scattered trees on farmland/pasture and bush

fallowing are the common traditional agroforestry

practices in the savanna ecosystem of Nigeria

(Oboho & Anyia, 1992; Chup, 2004). Traditionally

farmers grow crops under scattered trees of diffe-

rent species and they sometimes incorporate animal

production with no special technique, species type

or density per unit area. The trees are allowed to

grow and they appear scattered over the farm. Many

farmers in these areas also practice shifting cultiva-

tion which is the alternation of cropping periods

with those of fallow.

Agroforestry systems in areas surrounding pro-

tected areas can reduce biodiversity loss, restore de-

graded areas, and integrate local cultural practices

and economic needs into biodiversity conservation

(Nair et al., 2005; Mcneely & Schroth, 2006;

Ashley et al., 2006; Bhagwat et al., 2008). Many

agroforestry systems have been studied for their

roles in biodiversity conservation. There have been

reports on biodiversity conservation in shade coffee

agroforestry system (Perfecto et al., 1996; Moguel

& Toledo, 1999), multistrata cocoa agroforestry

(Oke & Odebiyi, 2007; Harvey & Gonzalez- Villa-

lobos, 2007) and homegarden agroforests (Ewel,

1999). In a survey of floristic diversity of 402 home

gardens from six regions across southwestern Ban-

gladesh, Kabir & Webb (2009) reported 419 species

including six species of conservation concern.

A study conducted by Backes (2001) on the

contribution of agroforestry land use to the in-situ

conservation of indigenous trees within a typical

East African smallholder farming system in we-

stern Kenya shows how species diversity is ultima-

tely linked to the loss of habitat diversity and

landscape diversity. Fifanou et al. (2011) recorded

twenty-one tree species belonging to 14 botanical

families during the survey of traditional agrofore-

stry parkland systems around the Pendjari Bio-

sphere Reserve in Benin.

The present study seeks to evaluate the conserva-

tion values of the major traditional agroforestiy prac-

tices in a derived savanna ecosystem of Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study site

The study was carried out in and around Gumti

sector, in the northern half of Gashaka-Gumti Na-

tional Park, covering Toungo and Jada local gover-

nment areas of Adamawa State. Gashaka-Gumti

National Park (GGNP) is located on latitude 6°55'-

8 0 13'N and longitude 1 1 ° 1 3 '- 1 2°25 r E. The Park is

made up of the Gashaka sector in the southern half

of the park, and Gumti sector in the Northern half.

The Northern sector of the Gashaka-Gumti National

Park consists of derived Savannah with forest frin-

ging along streams, steep valleys and on mountain

line. The rugged terrain is characterized by steep,

thickly forested slopes, deep plunging valleys, pre-

cipitous escarpments and swiftly flowing rivers. Al-

titude is about 450 meters above sea level.

The area receives an annual rainfall of 1000-

1200 mm. Rainfall distribution is unimodal, with

much of the rain falling between April and Novem-

ber. Day time temperatures may drop below 1 8°C at

higher altitudes and gradually rise to 40°C. The rainy

season is followed by a dry season. During this pe-

riod, the area comes under the strong influence of

the hammattan (November and March), a dry dusty

wind blowing from Sahara Desert, and temperatures

may be significantly cooler (GGNP, 2010).

Experimental Design

Three land use types - undisturbed natural fo-

rest, grazing land, and abandoned natural fallow -

were identified around the Gumti side of the park.

Three transect lines were cut through the natural fo-

rest and grazing land at a minimum distance of 100

m apart. Four sampling plots of 20 m x 20 m in size

were laid in alternate pattern along each transect at

50 m intervals. Four abandoned fallow (8-10 years

of natural fallow) were selected from the encroa-

Traditional agro forestry practices and woody species conservation in the derived savanna ecosystem of Adamawa state, Nigeria 429

ched area very close to the Forest Reserve. Three

20 m x 20 m plot was demarcated within the centre

of each fallow land and data were collected from

each plot. Assessment of tree diversity was done in

sample plots demarcated within each land use type

and also on 20 m x 20 m demarcated within four

natural fallow lands in the fringe settlements

With the assistance of an experienced taxonomist,

all woody species (diameter at breast height, dbh > 5

cm) encountered in each of the demarcated sample

plots were identified and their frequency of occur-

rence recorded. For unknown tree species, leaves,

slash and bark of such trees were collected and taken

to the herbarium for identification. The total number

of each tree species encountered in the twelve sample

plots (0.48 ha) for each ecosystem was calculated

(frequency) and the figure was used in estimating

number of trees per hectare (tree density). Species di-

versity was calculated as FF = I (n j/N) 1 og e (n j/N ) } ,

where FF = Shannon index of general diversity, nj =

number of individuals of a species, N = total number

of individuals in the community.

Data Analysis

Values of Shannon diversity indices and tree den-

sity of the three types of plant communities were

compared using ANOVA. The rarefaction method

(Gotelli & Colwell, 2001) was used to generate the

expected number of species in natural fallow, gra-

zing land and natural forest. The free software

Estimates 8.0 (Gotelli, 2006) was used to generate

data for the construction of sample-based rarefaction

curves and confidence intervals for species richness

after re-scaling the x-axis to individuals.

RESULTS

Three hundred and sixty one individuals belon-

ging to 27 taxa and 16 families were identified in

the 0.48 ha of natural forest surveyed (Table 1). The

richest families were Fabaceae and Combretaceae

which had five species each. Families Rubiaceae,

Euphorbiaceae and Caeselpiniaceae had two spe-

cies each. The predominant 10 woody species pre-

sent in the natural forest accounted for 85% of total

population. They included Detarium microcarpum ,

Lophira lanceolata , Hymenocardia acida, Crossop-

teryx febrifuga , Burkea africana, Bridelia ferrugi-

nea , Terminalia glaucescens, Pros op is africana ,

Annona senegalensis and Daniella oliveri.

In the 0.48 ha of the natural fallow surveyed,

314 individuals belonging to 32 species in 16 fami-

lies were encountered (Table 2). The richest fami-

lies were Fabaceae (ten species) and Combretaceae

(six species). The dominant woody species were

Philiostigma thonningii, Acacia gourmaensis, Ano-

geissus leiocarpus, Pteleopsis habeensis, Strychnos

innocua, Combretum mode, Boswellia dalzielii and

Dichrostachys cinerea. In the 0.48 ha of the grazing

land surveyed, 211 individuals belonging to 23 taxa

in 16 families were encountered (Table 3). The ri-

chest family was Combretaceae which had five spe-

cies. Family Meliaceae had three species, Fabaceae

two species. The dominant woody species were

Anogeissus leiocarpus , Philiostigma thonningii ,

Combretum molle, and Vitellaria paradoxa.

The natural forest had the highest density of

woody species (752.08 plants/ha) while the lowest

(439.58 plants/ha) was observed on the grazing

land. Woody species diversity was also significantly

higher in the natural forest indicating a greater va-

riety of species (Table 4). The rarefaction curves

(Fig. 1) also indicate that the natural forest supports

a species richness relatively higher than floristically

and climatically similar sites of grazing land and

natural fallow.

DISCUSSION

This study reveals that a large number of woody

species occur in the traditional bush fallow system

and scattered trees on grazing land systems of the

derived guinea savanna ecosystem of Adamawa

State, Nigeria. However a modification of the spe-

cies composition was observed in both the grazing

land and natural fallow with more pioneer species

and different dominant species compared with the

natural forest. Anogeissus leiocarpus and Philio-

stigma thonningii were the dominant woody species

in both the natural fallow and the grazing land sy-

stems as opposed to Detarium microcarpum which

dominated the natural forest. The dominance of

Anogeissus leiocarpus in the natural fallow and the

grazing land systems may not be unconnected with

its attribute as a pioneer species which grows well

in open forest clearings. Moreover, farmers might

have deliberately retained the species because of its

430

David O. Oke & Gailyson Y.Jamala

SPECIES

FAMILY

FREQUENCY

DENSITY

(TREES/HA)

Detarium microcarpum Guill et Sperr

Caeselpiniaceae

181.25

Lophira lanceolata Tiegh. ex Keay

Ochnaceae

89.58

Hymenocardia acida Tul.

Euphorbiaceae

77.08

Crossopteryx febrifuga (Afzel. ex G.Don) Benth.

Rubiaceae

70.83

Burkea africana Hook.

Caeselpiniaceae

60.42

Bridelia ferruginea Benth.

Euphorbiaceae

47.92

Terminalia glaucescens Planch, ex Benth.

Combretaceae

41.67

Prosopis africana (Guill. et Perr.) Taub. 1893

Fabaceae

31.25

Annona senegalensis Pers.

Annonaceae

20.83

Daniella oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch et Dalziel

Fabaceae

18.75

Parinari excelsa Sabine

Chrysobalanaceae

14.58

Piliostigma thonningii (Schumach.) Milne-Redh.

Fabaceae

14.58

Maytenus senegalensis (Lam.) Exell

Celastraceae

12.50

Lannea acida A. Rich.

Anacardiaceae

10.42

Anogeissus leiocarpa (DC.) Guill. et Perr.

Combretaceae

8.33

Ficus sp.

Moraceae

8.33

Entada africana Guill. et Perr.

Fabaceae

6.25

Pericopsis laxiflora (Benth.) Meeuwen

Papilionaceae

4.17

Securidaca longipedunculata Fresen.

Polygalaceae

4.17

Bombax costatum Pellegr. et Vuill.

Malvaceae

2.08

Boswellia dalzielii Hutch.

Burseraceae

2.08

Combretum gabonense Exell

Combretaceae

2.08

Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC.

Combretaceae

2.08

Combretum sp.

Combretaceae

2.08

Nauclea latifolia Smith

Rubiaceae

2.08

Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir.

Fabaceae

2.08

Vitex simplicifolia Oliv.

Verbanaceae

2.08

361

Table 1. Diversity of tree/shrub species in the 0.48 ha of Natural forest in the derived savanna ecosystem of Adamawa State.

Traditional agroforestry practices and woody species conservation in the derived savanna ecosystem ofAdamawa state, Nigeria 43 1

SPECIES

FAMILY

FREQUENCY

DENSITY

(TREES/HA)

Philiostigma thonningii (Schum.) Milne-Redh

Fabaceae

168.75

Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC.) Guill. et Peer.

Combretaceae

TT03

Acacia gourmaensis A. Chev.

Fabaceae

56.25

Pteleopsis habeensis Aubrev. ex Keay

Combretaceae

39.58

Str)>chnos innocua Delile

Foganiaceae

302

Combretum molle R.Br. ex G.Don

Combretaceae

31.25

Boswellia dalzielii Hutch.

Burseraceae

~1T~

2575D

Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight et Am.

Mimosaceae

~1T~

20D

Annona senegalensis Pers.

Annonaceae

14.58

Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile

Fabaceae

T23U

Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC.

Combretaceae

12.50

Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.

Rhamnaceae

T230

Acacia sp.

Fabaceae

10.42

Daniella oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch et Dalziel

Fabaceae

10.42

Diospyros spp

Ebenaceae

10.42

Entada africana Guill et Perr.

Fabaceae

10.42

Acacia ataxacantha DC.

Fabaceae

~T~

Combretum gabonense Lxell

Combretaceae

~~r~

Combretum sp.

Combretaceae

6.25

Gmelina arborea Roxb. ex Sm.

Famiaceae

6.25

Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Caertn.

Sapotaceae

6.25

lsoberlinia doka Craib et Stapf'.

Fabaceae

~~T~

4.17

Acacia polyacantha Willd.

Fabaceae

Bombax costatum Pellegr. et Vuill.

Malvaceae

2.08

Crossopteryx febrijuga (Afzel. ex G. Don)

Rubiaceae

Detarium microcarpum Guill et Sperr

Caeselpiniaceae

2.08

Hymenocardia acida Tul.

Phyllanthaceae

2.08

Lannea schimperi (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Engl.

Anacardiaceae

2.08

Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) R.Br. ex G. Don.

Fabaceae

2.08

Pseudocedrela kotschyi (Schweinf.) Harms.

Meliaceae

Sterculia setigera Del.

Malvaceae

2.08

Ziziphus abyssinica Hochst. ex A.Rich.

Rhamnaceae

314

Table 2. Diversity of tree/shrub species in the 0.48 ha of natural fallow in the derived savanna ecosystem of Adamawa State.

432

David O. Oke & Gailyson Y.Jamala

SPECIES

FAMILY

FREQUENCY

DENSITY

(TREES/HA)

Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC.) Guill. et Pen.

Combretaceae

120

250.00

Piliostigma thonningii (Schum.) Milne-Redh.F

Fabaceae

37.50

Combretum molle R. Br. ex G. Don

Combretaceae

22.92

Vitellaria paradoxa G.F. Gaertn.

Sapotaceae

25.00

Detarium microcarpum Guill et Sperr

Caeselpiniaceae

18.75

Combretum sp.

Combretaceae

12.50

Azadirachta indica A. Juss.

Meliaceae

8.33

Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC.

Combretaceae

8.33

Lannea schimperi (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Engl.

Anacardiaceae

8.33

Pseudocedrela kotschyi (Schweinf.) Harms

Meliaceae

8.33

Bombax costatum Pellegr. et Vuill.

Bombacaceae

6.25

Acacia polyacantha Willd.

Fabaceae

4.17

Combretum gabonense Exell

Combretaceae

4.17

Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. ex DC.

Papilionaceae

2.08

Bridelia ferruginea Benth.

Euphorbiaceae

2.08

Crossopteryx febrifuga (Afzel.ex G.Don)Benth.

Rubiaceae

2.08

Ficus sp.

Moraceae

2.08

Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. Juss.

Meliaceae

2.08

Maytenus senegalensis (Lam.) Exell

Celastraceae

2.08

Parinari excelsa Sabine

Chrysobalanaceae

2.08

Prosopis africana (Guill. et Perr.) Taub.

Mimosaceae

2.08

Strychnos innocua Delile

Loganiaceae

2.08

Ximenia americana L.

Oleaceae

2.08

211

Table 3. Diversity of tree/shrub species in the 0.48 ha of grazing land in the derived savanna ecosystem of Adamawa State.

usefulness as a fodder species. The species has also

been found very useful for various other purposes

such as carving and firewood production, provision

tanning and dyeing materials and medicinal appli-

cation (Sacande & Sanago, 2007). Philiostigma

thonningii is also a very useful fodder species

which produces edible leaves, fruits and seeds. Its

versatility as soil improver and provider of shade

and many useful products might have accounted for

its deliberate retention on the fields by farmers.

Another woody species that was common to the

natural fallow and grazing land of the study area is

Traditional agroforestry practices and woody species conservation in the derived savanna ecosystem ofAdamawa state, Nigeria 433

TOTAL NO OF

TREES/SHRUBS

TREE/SHRUB

DENSITY (N/HA)

DIVERSITY

INDEX

FOREST

361

752.08

0.85a

GRAZING

211

439.58

0.56c

FALLOW

314

654.17

0.76b

Table 4. Density and diversity indices of trees/shrubs in natural forest, grazing land and natural fallow ecosystems in the

derived savanna ecosystem ofAdamawa State. Means of diversity index followed by same letters are not significantly dif-

ferent (P < 0.05).

Individuals Rarefaction

Fallow

Forest

Grazing land

95% Confidence

limit

Figure 1. Woody species richness in natural forest, natural fallow and grazing land ecosystems in Gumti area, Nigeria.

Individual rarefaction curves and confidence intervals.

Combretum molle. It is an important fodder species

whose leaves are browsed by cattle. Its wood is very

good for firewood, it produces good quality char-

coal and various parts of the plant have been found

to be of important medicinal value. The high den-

sity of woody species recorded in all sites in this

study may be attributed to the use of 5 cm minimum

diameter at breast height and the inclusion of shrub

species in the enumeration. Expectedly, tree/shrub

density was highest in the natural forest while the

grazing land had the least value. Although the agro-

forestry plots contained a large variety of woody

species, Shannon index indicated that they show a

lower species diversity than the natural forest.

434

David O. Oke & Gailyson Y.Jamala

The rarefaction curves in this study indicated

that the grazing land had the highest species ri-

chness followed by the natural fallow while the

least was in the natural forest. This appears to ne-

gate the results of Shannon’s indices. This may not

be unconnected with the fact that there were more

individuals in the natural forest relative to the

number of different species. Gotelli & Colwell

(2001) emphasized the importance of using taxon

sampling curves (both individual- and sample-

based) to standardize datasets to a common num-

ber of individuals for the purpose of comparing

species richness.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The assistance of Messrs Yohana Kwache and

Salihu Batango during data collection is ackno-

wledged. The authors are also grateful to the autho-

rity of Gashaka Gumti National Park, Teungo

Station, Adamawa State, Nigeria.

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Biodiversity Journal, 2013, 4 (3): 435-438

New record of the Blue-spotted Cornetfish, Fistularia commer-

sonii Ruppell, 1838 (Syngnathiformes Fistularidae), in the

South-Western Mediterranean Sea

Domenico Meloni 1 & Pierluigi Piras 2

'Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Sardinia, Italy; e-mail: dmeloni@uniss.it

"National Health Service, Local Unit n.7, Food Hygiene Department, Via Costituente, 09013, Carbonia (Cl), Sardinia, Italy

^Corresponding author

ABSTRACT The recent caught of a male specimen of Blue-spotted Cornetfish, Fistularia commersonii

Ruppell, 1838 (Syngnathiformes Fistularidae), near the coast of Portoscuso, Sardinia, Italy

(South-Western Mediterranean Sea, 39° 12. 1 7* N / 8°22.44' E) is described. Morphometric

and meristic data are reported.

KEY WORDS Fistularia commersonii ; Lessepsian species; South-Western Mediterranean Sea; Sardinia.

Received 11.09.2013; accepted 24.09.2013; printed 30.09.2013

INTRODUCTION

The Blue-spotted Cornetfish, Fistularia com-

mersonii Ruppell, 1838 (Syngnathiformes Fistula-

ridae), is today considered the fastest non

indigenous species of the Mediterranean Sea (Az-

zurro et al., 2013). The Blue-spotted Cornetfish is

an Indo-Pacific species with a circum-tropical dis-

tribution, being associated with reefs or with shal-

low sandy bottoms at depths extending down to

132 m (Deidun & Germana, 2011). A commersonii

was described for the first time in the Mediter-

ranean Sea by Golani in 2000 from the coasts of

Israel. Following this finding, F. commersonii has

spread rapidly its geographical distribution all over

the Mediterranean, across the oriental (Bilecenoglu

et al., 2002; Gokoglu et al., 2002; Corsini et al.,

2002; Karachle et al., 2004), central (Azzurro et

al., 2004; Fiorentino et al., 2004; Micarelli et al.,

2004; Ben-Souissi et al., 2004) and western parts

of the basin (Garibaldi & Orsi Relini, 2008; Kara

& Oudjane, 2008; Bodilis et al., 2011). In 2007 it

was reported off the Southern coasts of Spain (San-

chez-Tocino et al., 2007), which is the farthest a

Lessepsian species has ever been recorded from its

entry point (CIESM, 2009).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An adult male specimen of Blue-spotted Cornet-

fish {Fistularia commersonii ), was caught in a tram-

mel net at a depth of around 10 m, half a mile from

the coast of Portoscuso, Sardinia, Italy (South-

Western Mediterranean Sea, 39° 12. 17' N / 8°22.44'

E) in November 2012 (Figs. 1,2). Such specimen

unidentified by the fisherman has been handed by

him to the Veterinary Doctors of the Local Health

Unit n. 7 of Carbonia who identified it to species.

Subsequently, the species was placed in sterile

bags (kept in ice boxes at 3°C) during the transport

and was immediately frozen at -20°C upon arrival

at the laboratory of the Department of Veterinary

Medicine in Sassari and was once photographed,

weighed and measured. Morphometric and meristic

characters were recorded according to the methods

described by Strauss & Bond (1990).

436

Domenico Meloni & Pierluigi Piras

RESULTS

The distinctive characters of this species were

represented by a total length of 92 cm and by a total

weight of 170 grams. All the morphometric and

meristic data are reported in Table 1 .The body was

extremely elongated with tubular shape slightly

flattened in dorsal-ventral direction. The skin was

naked without bony plaques along the midline of

the back. Typically greenish grey to olive in colour,

with two rows of blue round spots and a pair of blue

stripes along the back. The belly was silvery- white,

the fms were transparent at base and with orange

crest. The head was very long (approximatively 1/3

of its total length) with star shaped jagged crests on

the dorsal part and big and round eyes. It had a nar-

row long tubular snout with two lateral jagged

crests and a small oblique mouth at the end. Dorsal

and anal fms both triangular with a similar appear-

ance, a combined total of 14 rays and in opposite

positions towards the caudal fin. The caudal fin was

forked with the two very elongated and filamented

middle rays forming a long whip-like tail filament

protruding from its center. Along the sides there

were two lines of jagged crests, more visible in the

tract from the dorsal fin to the caudal one.

DISCUSSION

A new finding of an adult Blue-spotted Cornet-

fish (F. commersonii ) specimen in the Italian waters

confirm the widening of its original distribution

VARIABLE

VALUE

Sex

Male

Total weight

170 grams

Total length

92 cm

Head length

30 cm

Height

max 3 cm - min 5 mm

Dorsal fin length

3.6 cm

Dorsal fin rays number

Anal fin length

3 cm

Anal fin rays number

Caudal fin length

10 cm

Table 1 . Morphometric and meristic data of the Fistularia

commersonii specimen.

Figure 1. The male specimen of Fistularia commersonii recovered near the coasts of Portoscuso Sardinia, Italy.

Figure 2. Fistularia commersonii, detail.

New record of the Blue-spotted Cornetfish, Fistularia commersonii in the South-Western Mediterranean Sea

437

area from the Indo-Pacific to the Mediterranean.

F. commersonii was first recorded in 2002 off the

coasts of Sicily (Fiorentino et al., 2004; Azzurro et

al., 2004). In the following years established popu-

lations along the central Thyrrenian coasts and it

was caught from the coasts of Campania (Pipitone

et al., 2004) and soon after off the coasts of Latium,

Tuscany and Liguria (Micarelli et al., 2006; Ligas

et al., 2007; Occhipinti-Ambrogi & Galli, 2008;

Psomadakis et al., 2009). The first record of F com-

mersonii in the Adriatic Sea was described by Dul-

cic et al. in 2008 off the coastal waters of Apulia.

This is the most recent record of Blue-spotted Cor-

netfish in the South-Western coasts of Sardinia

(Italy): previous studies (Pais et al., 2007; Sanna et

al., 2011) described the record of specimens of

Blue-spotted Cornetfish in the coasts of Sardinia

since 2005. This new finding confirms that F. com-

mersonii is the fastest and furthest spreading alien

fish in the Mediterranean Sea (Golani et al., 2007)

and that the Sardinian waters represent a model of

optimum habitat for the study of the biology and

ecology of the F. commersonii populations in the

Mediterranean Sea.

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