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Alberto Bernués-Bañeres

  • Biodiversity Journal, 4 (2): 335-342

    Alberto Bernués-Bañeres & Ricardo Jiménez-Peydró
    Diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera Culicidae) in protected natural parks from Valencian Autonomous Region (Eastern Spain)

    ABSTRACT
    Several larval samplings of mosquitoes (Diptera Culicidae) were carried out between 2008-2011, throughout very diverse larval biotopes located in thirteen protected natural parks from Eastern Spain, offering new information about the faunistic diversity of mosquitoes in these protected areas. Biodiversity was analyzed in terms of alpha, beta and gamma components, with the aim of comparing mosquito diversity according to the typology of the natural parks under study. A total of 15355 specimens belonging to 25 different mosquito species and 6 genera were collected and identified. Diversity analysis indicated higher diversity for Inland Mountainous Areas (IMAs) with a low degree of interspecific dominance in these communities, while Coastal Wetlands and Marshes registered the lowest observed diversity and a high degree of interespecific dominance. The cluster analysis revealed the relationship between the categories (IMA, CMA, CWM), while the Principal Components Analysis proved the relationship between larval abundance and the categories studied.