The invertebrate fauna on the forest floor of Ficus Grove

Zvi Sever

Biology Dep., University of Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A

sev@netvision.net.il

(Presented: Zoological Society of Israel's conference 2013)

In order to obtain data on the invertebrates inhabiting the forest floor of a Ficus grove,

I sectioned off a 1,100 sq.m. populated by Chinese Banyan trees (Ficus microcarpa)

in Tel Aviv. Monthly samples were taken over a ten-month period, composed of

80x80 cm of leaves and soil that had been filtered through nets (4x4 cm to 3x3 mm).

The ground was filtered to a depth of 1 cm (6 liter each time).

A total of 558 specimens were caught. Accordingly, 180 specimens covering 23

species were found on the ground surface (leaves layer, average depth of 4.6 cm):

1 species of land crabs, 2 centipedes, 3 spiders, 4 snails, and 11 species of insects.

The 80X80X1 cm volume of filtered soil produced 378 specimens covering 18

species: 1 species of worm, 2 land crabs, 2 centipedes, 4 snails, and 8 species of

insects. The layers of leaves and soil contained more insects than other species.

In both the leaf layer and the surface layer, seven species were found, that is, a sum

total of 27 different species of invertebrates were observed. Furthermore, in the leaf

layer and the surface layer, a greater variety of insects were found relative to other

species.

An investigation of the quantitative distribution of individuals was carried out on a

monthly basis. Only a slight difference in the number of specimens was recorded in

the soil layer throughout the period, except for in the spring, when there was a marked

increase. In the leaf layer there was a significant rise every two to three months. This

is most likely due to the fact that the leaf layer is far more affected by seasonal

changes than the soil.

Animals larger than 3 mm. were found during all seasons in both layers tested.

It would be worthy to carry out further investigations by filtering the forest floor of

other species of ficus.