Scarabaeidae family (Coleoptera) as potential environmental quality bioindicator | Família Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera) como bioindicador de potencial de qualidade ambiental

Abstract

Insects are widely used as biological indicators of environmental quality in environmental monitoring studies, because they have certain aspects that help in the identification of environmental stress. The genus Dichotomius, from the family Scarabaeidae, has a wide occurrence in the Brazilian territory, being found in many Brazilian biomes, including in the Caatinga. The species Dichotomius nisus and Dichotomius aff. Laevicollis were recorded in the Catimbau National Park (PE), study area of this work, in environments of different conservation states. Through secondary data, the characteristics of these two species were analyzed considering certain criteria of ideal bioindicator. Both species demonstrated potential as a tool for indicating environmental quality, despite presenting different responses to a disturbance.

Keywords

• Caatinga
• scarabaeidae
• biological indicator
• environmental monitoring