Estudio comparativo de las comunidades de milpiés (Arthropoda: Diplopoda) presentes en la sabana de pajón, el pinar y el bosque latifoliado del Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo, República Dominicana

Abstract

Diversity of Diplopoda (millipedes) communities in three types of vegetation in Valle Nuevo National Park (pine forest, highland savanna and broadleaf forest) during rainy season was compared. Three study stations corresponding to the three types of vegetation were established. The total richness recorded was 15 species. The broadleaf forest was the type of vegetation that recorded the highest value in species richness (12), while highland savanna presented the lowest value with eight species. The greatest abundance of specimens was recorded for pine forest (205), while the lowest for the broadleaf forest with 73. The most abundant species in the study were Achromoporus platyurus and Prostemmiulus setosus. The community of broadleaf forest was the most diverse according to the value obtained with Shannon equity index and reciprocal of Simpson dominance index (H’ = 2.25; D = 8.91). Highland savanna was the poorest in relation to the alpha diversity according to the results of these indices (H’ = 1.42; D = 3.32). The similarity Index of Jaccard showed the lowest value to relate the highland savanna ecosystems and broadleaf forest (50%), while the highest similarity was observed when comparing the highland savanna with the pine forest (72%). This last result was statistically significant for a probability (p) of 0.05 showing that there is a high level of faunal similarity between both types of vegetation. This high similarity could be due to the structural homogeneity of the two types of vegetation for diplopods. A dendrogram that reflects these same results was made. The species accumulation curve reflected the existence of a variety of diplopods not yet registered.