The results of these experiments show no significant difference in the species richness between the garrigue and the pine forest habitats, while there were more individual insects detected in the garrigue ecosystems. Scarites suterraneus which was the beetle encountered the most, has shiny black colour and up to 35 mm length with the structure of its mouth comprised of long and cutter mandible of the prognate type. It uses the pair of its first, cursorial legs to dig the ground. The dorsal and ventral surfaces of this beetle covered with firm chitinous layer and has longitudinal rows on elytra (Dehghani,2016).
Camponotus cruentatus is an ant species commonly found in the Mediterranean region, typically in woodlands such as pine and live-oak forests, which supports our detection of it mainly in the pine forest habitats.. It has been detected to receive nectar from flora, form associations with aphids and bring insects to the nest (Alsina et al., 1988).
It is undeniable that there are limitations to the design of this experiment. For example, sampling each of the site’s floor was not fully representative of insect diversity, because it failed to capture flying species and canopy-dwellers, which if measured could have yielded higher insect abundances in both habitats and higher species richness in pine forests that host a range of canopy-dwellers. Moreover, the two different members of the group conducting the experiment may have differed in their measurements, an error which was minimised by simultaneous measurement of the each sample by both members following a mutual agreement on the numbers.
127 our experts are availableright now
Furthermore, there is no doubt that the experiment realised leaves plenty of room for improvement in its design and execution. In particular, the study would benefit from an increased number of sites surveyed, an increased number of traps and trapping time as well as the possibility of wet pitfall traps. What is more, it is important that the public is aware of the execution of such a project, so that they are mindful of the traps placed around the residential areas and accidental displacements of the traps by passers-by or pets are thus avoided. Moreover, it would be interesting to incorporate other types of sites in the study, such as cork or eucalyptus forests. Last but not least, extensive study of the invertebrates who reside in such habitats would very much aid our understanding of the species encountered and thus make the study more thorough, as well as increase our awareness of the conservation needs related to them and the ecoregions which host them.
It is worth underlining the aforementioned evidence of fire in all of the sites surveyed, which adds another element towards the experiment’s findings. There has been evidence that insect populations are declining following a fire as do their niche diversities, with the amount of decline being strongly dependent on the exposure to the flames and the insect’s mobility. Such declines resemble those detected after mowing, but are usually shorter in duration and intensity. Recovery of insect numbers is related to the access to regrowing vegetation and the attractiveness of postburn flora to recolonising insects (Swengel, 2001). Further investigation of the rate and duration of species recovery along with information about the exact timing of the fires which had affected the sites surveyed, could be of importance when it comes to the assessment of the results and their implications towards succession processes as well as management and conservation tactics.
