Taxonomic Diversity of Carabid Beetles in the Agricultural Landscape under Hot Semi-Arid Climate in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, Pakistan
Taxonomic Diversity of Carabid Beetles in the Agricultural Landscape under Hot Semi-Arid Climate in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, Pakistan
Mubashar Hussain*, Habiba Razaq, Muhammad Faheem Malik, Kiran Aftab, Jaweria Riaz and Somia Liaqat
ABSTRACT
Ground beetles are recognized as important biological control agents and environmental indicators that inhabit a wide range of habitats. The diversity of carabid beetles in Pakistan has not yet been studied extensively, despite their diversified ecological roles. In the present study, the ground beetle communities from three subdivisions of district Mandi Bahauddin (Phalia, Malakwal and Mandi Bahauddin) were sampled by handpicking and placing pitfall traps from August 2020 to July 2021. A total of 4008 specimens were collected which belonged to 18 species, 11 genera, nine tribes, and five subfamilies. Data were analyzed with Similarities Percentage (SIMPER) analysis and diversity indices were compared among those three croplands. We found that Pheropsophus lissoderus was the most abundant and dominant species in all three study sites whereas Brachinus bilineatus and Galerita lecontei were recorded only in tehsil Phalia, Pheropsophus verticalis, and Dioryche subrecta in Malakwal. Pheropsophus was the most abundant and dominant genus representing six species in all three sites. Overall Shannon index (H:2.545), Simpson index (1-D:0.893), and evenness (e˄H/S: 0.709) indicated relatively greater carabid species richness in district Mandi Bahauddin. Comparative values of indices showed similar patterns of species diversity and evenness i.e. Mandi Bahauddin (1-D = 0.902, e˄H/S = 0.866), followed by Malakwal (1-D = 893, e˄H/S = 0.769), and Phalia (1-D = 0.876, e˄H/S = 0.712). Similarity Percentage analysis by using the Bray-Curtiss dissimilarity matrix showed the highest overall dissimilarity between Malakwal and Mandi Bahauddin (42.68%), followed by Phalia, and Malakwal (28.88%), whereas the least dissimilarity was recorded between Phalia and Mandi Bahauddin (26.53%). We conclude that carabid beetles in district Mandi Bahauddin have relatively greater species richness. The study reports Poecilus versicolor for the first time from Pakistan.
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