Diversity of praying mantises (Mantodea) of Mbalmayo Region, Cameroon, with DNA barcoding and morphological data

Valeriy Govorov

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

Praying mantises (Mantodea) is an order of predatory insects with about 2500 described species. The highest diversity is accumulated in tropical regions, and one of richest is in equatorial Africa. It is likely linked to Congo Basin rainforest, second largest contiguous zone of lowland moist forests of the planet. One of the countries of Congo Basin with high species densities is Cameroon, however, the region is generally overlooked for insect diversity, especially Mantodea. In this study, we evaluated the diversity of praying mantises in south of Cameroon, using morphological and molecular means of identification. A total of 40 species was recovered using traditional taxonomic method, with 10 newly recorded for the country and 3 are probably undescribed. Analyzing of COI gene and comparison of barcodes with existing libraries in GenBank and BOLD supported morphological identification in more than 60% of the samples, others being either potential new taxon or species not present in the libraries. Direct comparison of obtained barcodes with sequences from neighboring CAR and Gabon using maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees and pairwise distances point out possible populations’ structures in C. caudata, M. preussi, S. ziela and O. sigma, while revealing blank spots in known biology and ecology of Chrysomantis and Panurgica. DNA barcodes could be useful in examination of groups with complicated taxonomy, as well as in identification of immature individuals.

Keywords

barcoding, biodiversity, Cameroon, Mantodea, morphology

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 22. 4. 2022

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: Mgr. Barbora Černá Bolfíková, Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta tropického zemědělství

Magisterský studijní program / specializace:
Wildlife and Livestock Production, Management and Conservation / Wildlife Management and Conservation