A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
A comparison of the parasitoid wasp species richness of tropical forest sites in Peru and Uganda – subfamily Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)
Authors: Hopkins, Tapani; Tuomisto, Hanna; Gómez, Isrrael C.; Sääksjärvi, Ilari E.
Publisher: Centre Mersenne
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Peer community journal
Journal name in source: Peer Community Journal
Article number: e35
Volume: 4
eISSN: 2804-3871
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24072/pcjournal.398
Web address : https://doi.org/10.24072/pcjournal.398
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/457190956
The global distribution of parasitoid wasp species richness is poorly known. Past at-tempts to compare data from different sites have been hampered by small sample sizes and lack of standardisation. During the past decades, we have carried out long-term Malaise trapping using a standardised approach in the tropical forests of Peru (west-ern Amazonia) and Uganda (eastern Africa). Here, we test how well such data can be used for global comparisons, by comparing the results for the subfamily Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). We found that more rhyssine species were caught in Peru than in Uganda, despite the Ugandan samples containing many more individuals both in absolute terms and per unit time. The difference in the number of individuals caught may largely be due to more rainfall in Peru, since rain reduces Malaise trap catches. Peruvian traps caught species at a faster rate (per individual caught) than Ugandan traps. We interpret this as a sign that the Peruvian sites have more species than the Ugandan site. Long-term, standardised Malaise trapping showed promise for global comparisons of species richness. Sampling more sites on both continents, and analysing all subfamilies, would give an estimate of which continent has more parasitoid wasp species. We suggest some refinements to the sampling design that would further improve sampling efficiency for future studies.
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Funding information in the publication:
Heikki Roininen supervised and otherwise supported the Ugandan Malaise trapping. Isaiah Mwesige helped maintain the Ugandan Malaise traps and ably carried out a whole range of other fieldwork. Yosinta Tumusiime gathered the Ugandan weather data. Our field research was supported by the staff of the Makerere University Biological Field Station. Countless people helped process both the Peruvian and Ugandan samples, including the staff of the Zoological Museum of the University of Turku, students of the university and school pupils from throughout the Turku region and students of the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP, Peru). These contributions are gratefully acknowledged. The required research and export permits were issued by the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (NS 504) and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment of Peru provided the collecting and export permits for the Peruvian samples. We appreciate the support of the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP), the Amazon Conservation Association (Peru), Conservation International Foundation (Peru) and the late Pekka Soini for the field studies made in Allpahuayo-Mishana and Los Amigos
