Checklist of terrestrial beetles (Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera) associated with agroecosystems in North-West Morocco

H. El Harche1, G. Chavanon2, J. Dalmani1, M. Fadli1, Montse Ferrer3

1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University Ibn Tofail, Kenitra, Morocco; 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University Mohamed First, Oujda, Morocco; 3 Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Ps Picasso s/n., 08758, Barcelona, Spain

Corresponding author(s): H. El Harche (hanae.elharche@yahoo.com)G. ChavanonJ. DalmaniM. Fadli

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

El Harche, H., Chavanon, G., Dahmani, J., Fadli, M., 2022. Checklist of terrestrial beetles (Arthropoda: Insecta, Coleoptera) associated with agroecosystems in North-West Morocco. Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. Checklist. https://doi.org/10.15470/ohymvn

Abstract

Beetles play an important role in agrosystems as bioindicators of quality, ecology, conservation, and soil characteristics. The Coleoptera of agrosystems in Morocco are poorly known. To contribute to the knowledge of beetles in this country we conducted a survey in a region of North-West Morocco between 2019 and 2020. The inventory was carried out using several types of traps.  We identified 54 species belonging to 14 families, 20 subfamilies, and 18 tribes. The most abundant family was Carabidae, with 24 species, and the most dominant subfamily was Harpalinae, with 19 species. This work provides the first checklist of coleopteran fauna associated with agrosystems in North-West Morocco. We provide an identification key of subfamily and tribe, and update information on the distribution of the beetles identified.

Keywords: Coleoptera, Checklist, North-West Morocco, Checklist

Project details

Project title: Checklist of terrestrial beetles (Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera) associated with agroecosystems in North-West Morocco
Personnel: H. El Harche
Study area descriptions/descriptor: The study was conducted at 5 stations in the region of Sidi Kacem (34° 13' 00" N, 5° 42' 00" W) in the north-west of Morocco (fig. 1): station 1: 34° 12' 35.5" N - 5° 42' 31.8" W: a bean field (Vicia faba L., Fabaceae), characterized by a silty clay soil; station 2: 34° 14' 41.5" N - 5° 42' 14.9" W: a field of cereal crops (soft wheat: Triticum aestivum L., Poaceae), characterized by a silty clay soil; station 3: 34° 13' 50.5" N - 5° 42' 14.7"W: natural steppe. The plant species that dominate the area are: Nicotiana glauca Graham (Solanaceae), Ferula communis L. (Apiaceae), Cynara humilis L. (Asteraceae), and Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam. (Apiaceae). Again, the soil here is a silty clay; station 4: 34° 15' 19.1" N - 5° 44' 01.3" W: alfalfa field (Medicago sativa L., Fabaceae) and a wasteland dominated mainly by Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter (Asteraceae). This station has sandy, clay loamy soil; station 5: 34° 11' 12.5" N - 5° 42' 32.8" W: matorral, characterized by a clay soil. The plant species that dominate the area are: Chamaerops humilis L. (Arecaceae), Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae), Olea europaea L. (Oleaceae) and Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (Cactaceae).
Design description: Three sampling techniques were used: Barber traps (consisting of 10 cm diameter and 17 cm high pots), sight hunting, and sweep nets. Beetles were collected between March 2019 and September 2020. The captured specimens were identified and labeled following maximum magnification of x35 and standard identification keys, including French carabid fauna (Jeannel, 1941-1942) and Moroccan carabid beetles (Antoine, 1955-1962). For validation, we consulted Antoine's collection at the Scientific Institute of Rabat (Morocco) and the collections of the National Museum of Natural History of Paris (France). Subfamily, tribe, and species are listed. All the species are listed with their valid names, correct spelling, author, and year of description.

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.gbif.es/resource?r=carabidos-nw-morocco

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: The study was conducted at 5 stations in the region of Sidi Kacem (34° 13' 00" N, 5° 42' 00" W) in the north-west of Morocco
Coordinates: 34°9'57.6''N and 34°14'31.2''N Latitude; 5°47'27.6''W and 5°37'44.4''W Longitude 

Temporal coverage: March 1, 2019 - September 30, 2020

Methods

Method step description: For validation, we consulted Antoine's collection at the Scientific Institute of Rabat (Morocco) and the collections of the National Museum of Natural History of Paris (France). Subfamily, tribe, and species are listed. All the species are listed with their valid names, correct spelling, author, and year of description.
Study extent description: The study was conducted at 5 stations in the region of Sidi Kacem (34° 13' 00" N, 5° 42' 00" W) in the north-west of Morocco (fig. 1): station 1: 34° 12' 35.5" N - 5° 42' 31.8" W: a bean field (Vicia faba L., Fabaceae), characterized by a silty clay soil; station 2: 34° 14' 41.5" N - 5° 42' 14.9" W: a field of cereal crops (soft wheat: Triticum aestivum L., Poaceae), characterized by a silty clay soil; station 3: 34° 13' 50.5" N - 5° 42' 14.7"W: natural steppe. The plant species that dominate the area are: Nicotiana glauca Graham (Solanaceae), Ferula communis L. (Apiaceae), Cynara humilis L. (Asteraceae), and Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam. (Apiaceae). Again, the soil here is a silty clay; station 4: 34° 15' 19.1" N - 5° 44' 01.3" W: alfalfa field (Medicago sativa L., Fabaceae) and a wasteland dominated mainly by Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter (Asteraceae). This station has sandy, clay loamy soil; station 5: 34° 11' 12.5" N - 5° 42' 32.8" W: matorral, characterized by a clay soil. The plant species that dominate the area are: Chamaerops humilis L. (Arecaceae), Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae), Olea europaea L. (Oleaceae) and Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (Cactaceae).
Sampling description: Three sampling techniques were used: Barber traps (consisting of 10 cm diameter and 17 cm high pots), sight hunting, and sweep nets. Beetles were collected between March 2019 and September 2020.
Quality control description: The captured specimens were identified and labeled following maximum magnification of x35 and standard identification keys, including French carabid fauna (Jeannel, 1941-1942) and Moroccan carabid beetles (Antoine, 1955-1962).

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Checklist of terrestrial beetles (Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera) associated with agroecosystems in North-West Morocco
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.gbif.es/archive.do?r=carabidos-nw-morocco
Publication date of data: 2022-12-21
Language: Spanish
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2022-12-14
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
El Harche, H., Chavanon, G., Dahmani, J., Fadli, M., 2022. Checklist of terrestrial beetles (Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera) associated with agroecosystems in North–West Morocco. Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, 20: 59–81, Doi: https://doi.org/10.32800/amz.2022.20.0059 https://doi.org/10.32800/amz.2022.20.0059