Abstract:
Aures is a region of eastern Algeria, characterized by its high mountains, vast plains, history,
population and their customs and traditions. The strategic location of this region and the
ancient scientific work provided by the researchers has been a motivation for conducting a
comprehensive study on locusts.
due to the prospections carried out in the Aurès region in three sites at different altitudes:
Lazrou, Djerma and Hamla ranging from 800 m to 1200 m, we inventoried 21 locust species
belonging to the families Pamphagidae, Pyrgomorphidae and Acrididae, and 60 plant species
that have been interpreted using the phytosociological system.
At the local scale, variation in flora accounts for the greater diversity of Orthoptera in Djerma,
but not the differences observed between Hamla and Lazrou. On a regional scale, climatic
constraints expressed by the shortening of the high-altitude growing season explain the lower
diversity of locusts in Hamla, through a counter-selection of taxa showing unsuitable life
cycles. The mid-domain effect explains more than 50% of the variations in locust diversity,
through direct and indirect actions on Locusts. Local and regional scales contribute in a
complex way, as well as the effect of the field environment, to locust diversity.
