Ant population diversity in various habitats of Northwestern Algerian Sahara

AbstractA faunistic inventory in the Béni Abbès region, Northwestern Western Sahara of Algeria, revealed 23 ant taxa (8614 individuals) from 3 subfamilies : Myrmicinae, Formicinae, and Dolichoderinae. The most diverse genus was Cataglyphis, with 5 species. Four species were common across all biotopes: Camponotus thoracicus, Cataglyphis bombycina, Messor arenarius, and Monomorium salomonis obscuriceps. The relative abundance of ant species varied across environments, with Lepisiota frauenfeldi, Cataglyphis bicolor, Pheidole pallidula, Messor arenarius, and Tapinoma nigerrimum dominant in the palm grove, and M. arenarius and C. bombycina dominant in the Grand Erg Occidental. Six constant species were found in the palm grove, four in the Grand Erg Occidental, and none in the Reg. The distribution of ants was found to follow that of the flora, which directly or indirectly supports their food supply.