Malacofauna in two silvopastoral systems in Estelí, Nicaragua

Abstract

The malacological diversity in two traditional silvopastoral systems, one in dry forest (Las Mesitas) and another in pine-oak forest (Picacho-Tomabú), located in the municipality of Estelí, Nicaragua was determined in order to comparatively establish the effect of these systems on this biological group. For this, during rainy season (may to october), sampling was performed, when rains was well established (august to september), following the direct counting method in 20 plots of 2.25 m2 and 20 trees randomly select for each locality. The mollusks extracted from the samples were determined at the Malacological Center of the Universidad Centro Americana (UCACM), Managua. The indexes of wealth, diversity, equity, dominance and abundance of species for each system and the association between them were estimated. It was determined the existence of a total of 47 species, 41 of them present in the Mesitas and 22 in the Picacho-Tomabú, including the 16 species common between both localities distributed among 21 different families. Based on the quantification of biodiversity indexes, it was determined that there is greater richness, diversity, equity, and abundance of species in Mesitas, but the dominance that was greater in the Picacho-Tomabu, and a minimum similarity between systems, was not found. A set of 13 species of molluscs identified as potential vectors of diseases to livestock or pest for crops was rated. The silvopastoral systems allow a high diversity of molluscs, although this includes some species can cause problems to livestock, particularly freshwater introduced to bodies of water and watering holes, which are vectors of parasitic diseases.

Keywords

• epicontinental mollusk
• traditional silvopastoral systems
• biodiversity
• biological conservation
• nicaragua.