Species Composition of Aquatic (Nepomorpha) and Semiaquatic (Gerromorpha) Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera) in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi Province, Thailand

Abstract

The species composition of aquatic (Nepomorpha) and semiaquatic (Gerromorpha) Heteroptera were examined from protected and unprotected study sites in three streams associated with Kaeng Krachan National Park. At each stream, both quantitative and qualitative sampling methods were used during seven collecting events (November 2018 to June 2020). A total of 11 families, representing 33 genera and 60 species, were collected in this study, with more Nepomorpha families but higher species richness in Gerromorpha. The species richness of both protected and unprotected sampling sites were lowest during the fifth sampling event. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in richness between protected and unprotected sampling sites for any sampling event based on a paired t-test analysis. Based on an nMDS analysis, the patterns of species composition of aquatic and semiaquatic heteropterans were unclear among protected and unprotected sampling sites. The use of aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera as bioindicators for habitat quality is still uncertain. Additional physiochemical characters of the water and physical characters of the stream may lead to a clearer picture of the relationship between aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera and stream habitat quality.