Survey and repartition of Odonatofauna in the lotic and lentic waters of the Djurdjura and Soumman regions of Kabylia (North Central Algeria)

The aim of this study is to examine the Odonata fauna structure and composition in Kabylia’s wetlands (central north Algeria) by sampling 36 potential sites (16 wadis and 20 water reservoirs) in the two main departments of this region, namely, the Kabylia of Djurdjura (Tizi Ouzou) and the Kabylia of Soummam (Bejaia). This region has one of the most important hydrographic systems in Algeria and a wide range of exceptional wetlands due to its important rainfall regime. A lack of studies, especially in the western part of the region (Tizi Ouzou), prompts a specific inventory and ecological analysis of the Odonata population over a period of 6 months (from April to September 2021). Forty species of Odonata have been recorded in Kabylia, of which Pyrrhosoma nymphula represents a new record for Algeria, raising the reference list to 64 species. There are four northern African endemic species and among these, we report on the rediscovery of the critically endangered (EN) Calopteryx exul in Algeria, recorded in the 19th century and deemed to have been extinct after an absence of more than a century; Gomphus lucasii is assessed as vulnerable (VU) and Enallagma deserti and Platycnemis subdilatata are judged as least concern (LC)

Effects of Climate on Scorpion Diversity in Arid Ecosystems of the Sahara Desert of Algeria

In desert ecosystems, arthropods such as scorpions are understudied, and sufficient information is still lacking regarding their biodiversity. Specimen collection was carried out over 24 months (2016–2017). This study assessed the phenology, abundance, richness and diversity of scorpion species in arid ecosystems of the Sahara desert of Algeria (Ghardaïa). It examined the potential influence of climate parameters (precipitation, temperature and wind) on activity density, diversity and the phenological distribution of the species among seasons. We identified eight Buthidae species: Androctonus aeneas, Androctonus amoreuxi, Androctonus australis, Buthacus samiae, Buthacus spinatus, Buthacus elmenia, Buthus saharicus and Lissothus chaambi. Androctonus amoreuxi and Androctonus australis were the most abundant and omnipresent species, comprising 54.41% and 33.82% of all species found, respectively. Shannon’s index and the evenness index demonstrated a very poor diversity of scorpions in this region and a poor balance between the number of sampled species. Seasonal variation and climate parameters, i.e., temperature and wind, influenced the number, distribution, and the diversity of scorpions. The number of species found in Ghardaïa Province represent more than 20% of the scorpion species reported in Algeria