Arthropod Diversity Comparison of Three Different Habitats in Mesa Verde National Park

Kendall, Deborah

National Parks can be considered areas of isolated refuge for plants and invertebrate communities that are near successional maturity with limited human disturbance. Three areas differing in dominant plant species, substrate composition and location orientation are examined and compared in terms of anthropod family diversity. Trophic strategies and feeding guild structure are also analyzed. The main purpose of this study is to begin the process of establishing a baseline arthropod inventory for these areas which can serve as a tool to indicate their overall health and stability. The results indicate that while the number of families and the number of individuals collected was nearly the same for all study areas (with one exception) the taxonomic structure varied from habitat to habitat. This may be an indication of some plant-insect specialization relationships. Weather conditions and environmental factors can vary from one year to the next causing population fluctuations among invertebrate families. For this reason, such studies should be repeated over several years to provide a more accurate baseline inventory.