Species Richness and Diversity of Grasshopper Fauna in Different Habitats of Bharathiar University Campus, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT

The survey was conducted to study the species richness, rarity and commonness of grasshopper fauna in grasslands, shrubs and human altered areas of Bharathiar University Campus, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.A total of 25 species of grasshopper representing 22 genera belonging to 10 subfamilies and 18 tribes under three families. Maximum diversity was shown by the family Acrididae (55.8%) followed by Pyrgomorphidae (27.0%) and Tettigonidae (17.1%). Among the 10 subfamilies of grasshopper, Oedipodinae was the most dominant species in study area. The diversity indices such as, Shannon-weiner index, Simpson index, Margalef richness and Evenness were calculated using the statistical software PAST.

Key words:Grasslands, Tribe, Acrididae, Oedipodinae, PAST.

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