بررسي تنوع‌زيستي بندپايان روي سطح زمين منطقه جنگلي كجور با تكنيك متاباركدينگ بوسيله‌ تله چاله‌اي

Biodiversity is essential for human survival an‎d ecosystems, providing vital resources such as food, shelter, an‎d fuel, as well as services like climate regulation, water purification, an‎d soil protection. Arthropods, as one of the most diverse animal groups, play critical roles in ecosystems, such as pollination, pest control, soil formation, an‎d providing food for other animals. The Hyrcanian forests are valuable habitats for biodiversity but face threats such as climate change an‎d damage from human activities. Unfortunately, comprehensive an‎d detailed studies on arthropod biodiversity in these forests have not been conducted. To identify an‎d monitor this biodiversity, the use of modern methods such as DNA metabarcoding, a rapid an‎d cost-effective approach for accurate species identification, is recommended. In studies conducted in the Hyrcanian forests, arthropods were sampled at various elevations (250, 500, 700, 970, an‎d 1730 meters above sea level) during two 20-day periods in August an‎d September 2023. DNA was extracted from the samples using a non-destructive method an‎d a mass extraction kit. After confirming the quality of the extracted DNA using spectrophotometry, PCR was used to amplify the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene barcode regions using two sets of primers. The results from these analyses, after quality assessment an‎d comparison with available databases, identified the present species, an‎d sequences were determined using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) method. Data analysis was performed using the Apscale pipeline an‎d R software. After bioinformatics analysis, 121 unique sequences were obtained, with 25% identified at the species level, 13% at the genus level, 39% at the family level, an‎d 23% at the order level. In this study, 14 orders of arthropods were identified in pitfall traps, including: Entomobryomorpha, Coleoptera, Araneae, Diptera, Psocodea, Orthoptera, Lithobiomorpha, Archaeognatha, Isopoda, Blattodea, Odonata, Podonata, an‎d Podonata. This study identified 18 species from the Hyrcanian forests, with 10 species being new records for the Hyrcanian forests. The species Atheta nigritula an‎d Phloeonomus minimus from the order Coleoptera, Drosophila tesacea, Drosophila phalerata, Lucilia porphyrina, Megaselia badia, Corynoptera furcata, an‎d Suillia affinis from the order Diptera, Modicogryllus frontalis from the order Orthoptera, an‎d Strongylosoma kordylamythrum from the order Polydesmida are reported for the first time from the Hyrcanian forests of Iran. This research contributes to the management an‎d conservation of these valuable ecosystems an‎d provides important information for preserving the biodiversity of these forests.

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