Publication Date
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Don Cipollini (Committee Member), Thomas Rooney (Advisor), James Runkle (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Biodiversity in the tropics is especially diverse and describing species found in the tropics is important. Opiliones species richness is higher in the tropics than the temperate zone, with diversity highest in low latitudes. This study aims to catalog the Opiliones community in Cusuco National Park, Honduras, while estimating species richness and describing their abundance, distribution and community structure. Fifty hours of sampling at 6 sites yielded 18 morphospecies and 264 individual Opiliones were collected. This study added one new described species to the Opiliones fauna of Honduras, and fourteen morphospecies may represent new species. An estimated 43 to 112 species could exist in Cusuco Park. The contribution of beta diversity to Cusuco's overall diversity is significant. There was no significant pattern in the distribution of Opiliones along elevation or moisture gradients. Increased spatial and temporal sampling is needed to better assess the diversity and richness of Opiliones within Cusuco National Park.
Page Count
79
Department or Program
Department of Biological Sciences
Year Degree Awarded
2013
Copyright
Copyright 2014, some rights reserved. My ETD may be copied and distributed only for non-commercial purposes and may not be modified. All use must give me credit as the original author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
