Estructura de la comunidad de colémbolos (Hexapoda) del dosel de un bosque mesófilo en Hidalgo, México

Diversity, richness, and abundance of Collembola communities from the canopy of a montane cloud forest at Hidalgo State, Mexico were studied, through the rainy and drought seasons in 2004 and 2005, using natural piretrine insecticide in three areas: one at the border close to the road, a second one at an intermediate distance, and a third one in the internal and better preserved area. A total of 5267 springtails from eleven families and 22 genera were obtained, of them, 4377 (83 %) belong to the rainy season, and 890 (17 %) at drought. Most abundant families were Hypogasturidae (with cases such as Schoettella distincta and Xenylla sp.), Entomobryidae (Entomobrya sp., Orchesella sp. and Willowsia mexicana), Paronellidae (Salina sp.), and Dicyrtomidae (Dicyrtoma sp.). In the internal area, 1586 (30 %) springtails were collected, the highest abundance was presented at the intermediate area with 2157 (41 %) specimens. The lowest amount was recorded at the border area with 1527 (29 %). Diversity and equitability indexes were calculated and the effect of sampling season and site on the abundance of Collembola were estimated. A significant variation in composition, abundance, and diversity of the community was observed between both seasons, and the border effect has a significant influence in springtails composition in the canopy, with more cosmopolite groups in the border area.