SPECIES COMPOSITION AND ECOLOGICAL-ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WEEVILS (CURCULIONIDAE) IN THE INNER-MOUNTAINOUS DAGESTAN

Abstract

Aim. The purpose of this research study is to determine the species composition of the study area, ecological and zoogeographical analysis, identification of trophic specialization, showing the dependence of the weevils to certain life forms of plants.

Location. The work is based on observations and contributions received as a result of complex expeditions Ecological-geographical faculty of the Dagestan State University and the Institute of Applied Ecology in the territory of Inner Mountainous Dagestan.

Methods. Materials presented of collection: of assistant professor of the Department Biology and Biodiversity Dagestan State University - Gul'nara Mukhtarova (Magomedova) 1995 – 2002; of professor of the Department Biology and Biodiversity Dagestan State University - Madina Ismailova 1990, 1992, 1995 – 2002; of professor of the Department Biology and Biodiversity Dagestan State University - Gaiirbeg Abdurakhmanov 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996 – 2002. Analysis ranges of species of the studied fauna carried out using the classical works on zoogeography.

Results. As a result of faunal studies for the study area recorded 415 species of the weevils. Conducted research and analysis of published data identified food connections for 94 % species of the fauna of weevils in the study area. Zoogeographical analysis of the faunal showed that the Palaearctic complex are most numerous and presented by 109 species (26%), the Caucasian complex – 83 (20%), the Steppe complex – 47 (11.3%), the European complex – 36 (8,67%), the Euro-Mediterranean complex – 30, the Turan complex – 28, the European-Siberian complex – 28, the Eastern Mediterranean complex 19, the Mediterranean complex – 17 (4.1%), the Persian complex – 10, the Holarctic complex – 5, the Cosmopolitan complex – 2, and the Paleotropics complex – 1. Main conclusions. Analysis of the findings shows a great similarity in the composition of the forage base of weevils for the different areas that probably indicates the predominance in the composition of these faunas steppe and riparian groups. A significant number of endemic species present in the fauna of the region apparently is not only the result of the restructuring of migrants which had entered here and due to autochthonous speciesforming process that began much earlier.