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Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez

Chergui’s Wetland (Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist

Article in Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity · June 2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005

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Original Article

Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez

Chergui’s Wetland (Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist
Amar Khadoumi a, *, Madiha Ahlam Bouzekri b, Ahlem Guerzou a
a
Research Laboratory:Exploration and Valorization of Steppe Ecosystems (EVES), SNV Faculty, Ziane Achour University, Djelfa, Algeria
b
SNV Faculty, Ziane Achour University, Djelfa, Algeria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The study of the myrmecofauna of Chott Zehrez Chergui, a Ramsar Conservation Wetland in Algeria, has
Received 9 April 2022 been conducted in three vegetal formations: a halophyte formation of Salsola vermiculata, a psammo-
Received in revised form phyte formation of Retama retam with Aristida pungens, and another halophyte formation of Atriplex
18 May 2022
halimus. In total, 12 species of ants were listed. The most abundant species are Monomorium salomonis
Accepted 19 May 2022
Available online xxx
(55.73 %) in the halophyte site near Salsola vermiculata, Messor barbarus (37.82%) in the psammophyte
site, and M. medioruber (41.83%) in halophyte of Atriplex halimus.
Ó 2022 National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) and Korea National Arboretum (KNA), Publishing
Keywords:
Myrmecofauna
Services by Elsevier. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
Wetlands creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Zehrez Chergui Chott
Djelfa
Algeria

Introduction present study provides the first investigation of the myrmeco-

logical fauna of the Zahrez Chergui wetland in Djelfa.
Wetlands are among the most productive life-support sys-
tems in the world and are of immense socio-economic and
Material and methods
ecological importance to mankind (Halls 1997). Algeria currently
has 50 sites designated as wetlands of International Importance
Study area
(Ramsar 2021), with a surface area of 3 million ha (Ramsar
2021). The most characteristic types of lakes in Algeria are
Zehrez Chergui’s Chott is a vast endorheic depression, between
endorheic and salt lakes known as Chotts and sebkhas (Nedjimi
the Tell Atlas and Saharan Atlas mountains (35
12’N and 03
31’E)
et al. 2012). Zehrez Chergui’s Chott is one of the largest chotts
(Figure 1). With an area more than 50.000 ha setting at 840 m mean
(salt lakes) in Algeria, part of an extensive system of large chotts
altitude, the region is characterized by a semi arid climate with a
in the high steppes with numerous permanent and seasonal
cold winter and precipitation from 275 mm to 326 mm (Senni et al.
lakes and pools and shrub-dominated wetlands. The chott range
2020). The average minimum winter and maximum summer
of different soils and its steppe vegetation are representative of
temperatures are 5C in January and 26C in July (Nedjimi et al. 2012).
the area (Ramsar 2019). Previous studies carried out in Chott of
A number of rare and endemic plant species are found, including
Zehrez chergui were mainly interested in the floristic aspect but
the herb Herniaria mauritanica Murb. and the glasswort Salicornia
very few investigations were conducted on the arthropdo fauna
arabica L.
(Brague-Bouragba et al. 2006, Brahimi et al. 2021). For For-
Three sites (Ezguiegue, Dune Cord and El-Mesrane) were chosen
micidae, no studies have been conducted in this area. The
close to Zahrez Chergui’s Chott to carry out the study, all in North
Djelfa (Figure 1). Ezguiegue is located 32 km from Djelfa
(34
54’7.25"N, 3
3’51.73"E), at an altitude of 881 m. The steppe
formations are mostly dominated by the halophyte species Salsola
vermiculata L. (Figure 2). The soil is halomorphic with a ranging
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Amar.khadoumi@gmail.com (A. Khadoumi).
texture from medium to fine (Pouget 1980). The second site, Dune
Peer review under responsibility of National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) and Cord is located at 35 km from Djelfa (34
54’17.47"N, 3
4’6.22"E) at
Korea National Arboretum (KNA). an altitude of 879 m. It is an eolian dune formation with sandy soil

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005
pISSN2287-884X eISSN2287-9544/Ó 2022 National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) and Korea National Arboretum (KNA), Publishing Services by Elsevier. This is an open
access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article as: Khadoumi A et al., Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez Chergui’s Wetland
(Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist, Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005
2 A Khadoumi et al. / Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity xxx (xxxx) xxx

Figure 1. Geographic position of Zehrez Chergui Chott and the three sampling sites.

developed, mainly halomorphic and solonchak with a ranging

texture from medium to very fine (Pouget 1980).

Sampling method

For sampling ants, we used "Pitfall traps" technique. This

technique is highly recommended for trapping medium and large
soil arthropods (Benkhelil 1992). Pitfall traps are metal con-
tainers 15 cm in diameter and 18 cm in depth, placed in the
ground so that the opening is flush with the ground. This method
is applied monthly at the three sites for one year (from February
2020 to January 2021), where ten pots are installed in line at
regular intervals of 5 meters. The pitfall traps were left in place
for 24h. For the identification of myrmecofauna species, we used
dichotomous key of Cagniant (1968, 1969, 1973, 2009), Cagniant
and Espadaler (1997), Barech and Doumandji (2002), and
Barech et al. (2017, 2020).

Figure 2. Ezguiegue sampling site.

Data analysis

texture. In this site, the most dominant species are psammophytes To examine the species abundance and species diversity at each
primarily composed of Retama retam Webb. and Aristida pungens site, data were analyzed using species richness (S), relative abun-
Desf. (Figure 3). The third site, El- Mesrane is located at 40 Km from dance (RA%), occurrence frequency (OF, %), and Shannon’s diversity
Djelfa (34
57’9.28"N, 3
3’20.80"E). It is a depression part of com- index (H). To evaluate the differences in community composition of
plex Chott Zehrez Chergui populated by a fairly dense formation of ants among different vegetal formations, we used correspondence
Atriplex halimus L. (Figure 4). In this site, the soil is saline poorly analysis.

Please cite this article as: Khadoumi A et al., Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez Chergui’s Wetland
(Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist, Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005
 A Khadoumi et al. / Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity xxx (xxxx) xxx 3

Table 1. Ant species collected by pitfall trapping at three sites in Zehrez Chergui
Chott, Algeria.

Subfamily Species Ezguiegue Dune El-Mesrane

Cord

Dolichoderinae Tapinoma þ þ þ
nigerrimum
(Nylander, 1856)
Myrmicinae Crematogaster þ  þ
laestrygon Emery,
1869
Messor arenarius  þ 
(Fabricius, 1787)
Messor barbarus  þ 
(Linné, 1767)
Messor medioruber þ  þ
Santschi, 1910
Monomorrium þ þ þ
salomonis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Tetramorium þ  
biskrensis Forel,
Figure 3. Dune Cord sampling site. 1904
Pheidole pallidula   þ
(Nylander, 1849)
Formicinae Plagiolepis sp   þ
Cataglyphis albicans þ  þ
(Roger, 1859)
Cataglyphis bicolor þ þ þ
(Fabricius, 1793)
Cataglyphis  þ 
bombycinus (Roger,
1859)

The diversity parameters at the three study sites (Table 2)

indicate a moderate diversity of ants in Zehrez. The numbers of
individuals were highest at Ezguiegue site (2810 ind). The Shannon
index measures the regularity with which individuals are divided
among the taxa present. It revealed values close to two at the three
sites, explaining why the Zehrez Chergui’s wetland is diversified in
ants. Evenness values E tended toward 1 at all three sites, indicating
no one species dominated over the others and the distribution of
individuals over species is equitable and uniform.

Figure 4. El- Mesrane sampling site. Relative abundances

In the halophyte steppes near Salsola vermiculata, the most

Results and discussion
dominant species is Monomorium salomonis 55.7% (Figure 5). This
ant is very characteristic in dry arid regions of Algeria and tropical
Ant diversity and richness
zones (Bernard 1958; Dieng et al. 2019). This species dominates in
the protected steppes rich in Stipa tenacissima, Teucrium polium,
The study of the myrmecofauna of the Zehrez Chergui wetland
Artemisia campestris, Thymusciliates, and Artemesia herba-alba
granted us to identify 12 species divided into three subfamilies:
(Bouzekri et al. 2014).
Dolichoderinae, Myrmicinae and Formicinae, including seven spe-
For dune cord, which shelters psammophytes formation of
cies in the halophyte steppe of Salsola vermiculata, six species in the
Retama retam, the most dominant ant is M. barbarus 37.8%
psammophyte steppe of Retama retam and Aristida pungens and
(Figure 5). This result confirms the findings of other studies
eight species in the other steppe of halophyte Atriplex halimus
showing that Messor is commonly associated with Retama retam in
(Table 1). The same subfamilies have been reported in a psammo-
salty natural environment (Barech et al. 2016). Messor barbarus is
phyte formation in the Oued M’zi region south of Djelfa (Amara et
also the most abundant ant in agricultural environments charac-
al. 2020). In the sand dunes near Zahrez, Brague-Bouragba et al.
terized by a soil with a loamy-clay-sandy, low-salt texture, and a
(2006) could only identify two subfamilies: Myrmicinae and For-
dominance of Stipa tenacissima (Zaidi et al. 2021). Two different
micinae, for these authors, the ants found inthese dunes are asso-
ciated with several plant formations, in particular Retama retam,
Artemisia campestris, Scabiosa arenaria, Cynodon dactylon, Plantago Table 2. Diversity indexes for the three sites in Chott Zehrez Chergui, Algeria.
albicans and Noaea mucronata. Another subfamily reported from
Chott El Hodna but not found during the present study is Dorylinae Ezguiegue Dune Cord El-Mesrane
(Barech et al. 2016). This salt lake is mostly covered by halophyte Taxa (S) 7 6 8
species such as Salsola vermiculata, Atriplex halimus, Halocnemum Individuals 2810 1565 1176
strobilaceum, Suaeda fructicosa, Limonium pruinosum, and Frankenia Shannon (H) 1.86 2.11 2.13
Evenness (E) 0.66 0.81 0.71
thymifolia.

Please cite this article as: Khadoumi A et al., Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez Chergui’s Wetland
(Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist, Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005
4 A Khadoumi et al. / Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity xxx (xxxx) xxx

Figure 5. Relative abundance (RA %) of ant species at three sites in Zehrez Chergui Chott, Algeria.

species belonging to the same genus, M. medioruber (21.7%) and M. where the steppe is mainly covered by Salsola vermiculata, Tapi-
captatus (20.2%), are found to be associated with Stipa tenacissima noma nigerrimum is the most dominant species in winter (2020)
(Bouzekri et al. 2014). Moreover, the dune cord marks the presence and winter (2021) with rates of 58.8% and 11.4%, respectively. This
exclusively of Cataglyphis bombycinus (30.7%) and M. arenarius rate decreases considerably to reach the lowest value in spring. In
(7.54%). Cataglyphis bombycina is known for its clear predilection Mediterranean regions, T. nigerrimum is the ant responded to open
for sand accumulations (Délye 1968; Délye and Bonaric 1973; habitats and open halophyte grassland (Blight et al. 2014). This
Cagniant 2009). The presence of the large harvester ant M. are- species is found throughout Algeria, including the Saharan Atlas, in
narius in a sandy site is explained by its morphological character of wet pastures (Cagniant 1970). During this last season, M. salomonis
adaptation to the sandy texture by the acquisition of a psammo- takes the first position with 40.5%, and in autumn, it takes 32.6% to
phore which allows it to be classified among the arenicolous and reach its maximum; in summer, it takes 71.9%. However, M. salo-
xerophilic ants (Wheeler 1907). The species explores the interdune monis was found in low percent does not exceed 6 % in spring in a
hollows where the wind accumulates all kinds of plant debris formation of Salsola vermiculata (Barech et al. 2016). In the pre-
(Délye 1968). Saharan steppe of Tunisia, M. salomonis is active in all seasons
At El-Mesrane, near Atriplex halimus, the most represented (Heatwole and Muir 1989).
species is Messor medioruber 41.8% (Figure 5). Species of genus In Dune Cord, covered by the psammophyte species Retama
Messor are very widespread in the Algerian plains and plateaus retam, during the winter period of the year 2020, M. arenarius
(Cagniant 1968, 1969). Messor medioruber is the most common (39.5%) is the best represented. During spring and summer, C.
myrmicinae in an environment reforested by Aleppo pine Pinus bombycinus has the highest values; 33.3% for spring and 45.5% for
helepensis with some scattered Stipa tenacissima clumps (Bouzekri summer (Figure 6).
et al. 2015). The dominance of the C. bombycinus species in psammophyte
Variations in the relative abundance of myrmecofauna are also formations is confirmed in the heights of Oued Righ in Touggourt
noted according to the seasons (Figure 6). Indeed, at Ezguiegue (South East of Djelfa) with a rate of 35.4 % (Hadjoudj et al. 2018). In

Figure 6. Relative abundance of myrmecofauna of ant species according to the seasons at three sites in Zehrez Chergui Chott, Algeria.

Please cite this article as: Khadoumi A et al., Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez Chergui’s Wetland
(Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist, Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005
 A Khadoumi et al. / Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity xxx (xxxx) xxx 5

Oued M’zi (South of Djelfa), Amara et al. (2020) also noted that C. dominates with a value of 32.9%. This species is not observed during
bombycinus is the most active ant during the summer. These au- the winter (2021). However, in Oued M’zi, C. bicolor is active only in
thors added that M. arenarius is observed in autumn. In the present summer (Amara et al. 2020).
study, M. barbarus 48.1% returns to take the top of the list, in
autumn, and remains in this position until the first season of 2020 OFs
to reach a rate of 69.9%.
For the last site rich in Atriplex halimus, during the first three The OF (%) of the Cataglyphis bicolor species is between 75% and
seasons of the year 2020, the dominant species is M. medioruber 100% in the three stations. This OF for the category of constant
with rates of 45.5% in winter, 37.6% in spring, and 45.2% in summer species is shown in Figure 7. Cataglyphis albicans is regular in the
(Figure 6). This species dominates in January (100%), in May (57.6 two halophyte groups, Ezguiegue and El-Mesrane sites. Concerning
%), and in June (96.3%), in association with Alfa Stipa tenacissima the three species of ants that characterize only the sandy envi-
(Barech, 2014). In autumn, the predatory ant Cataglyphis bicolor ronment, M. barbarus is ubiquitous (100%), C. bombycina (63.6%)

Figure 7. The occurrence frequency (OF %) of ant species at three sites in Zehrez Chergui Chott, Algeria.

Figure 8. Correspondence analysis of ants repartition according to steppe formations.

Please cite this article as: Khadoumi A et al., Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez Chergui’s Wetland
(Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist, Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005
6 A Khadoumi et al. / Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Please cite this article as: Khadoumi A et al., Species diversity of myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Zehrez Chergui’s Wetland
(Djelfa: Algeria): First checklist, Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2022.05.005
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