A strategy for detection of subsampled areas for Biblidinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Mexico by means of species richness estimation

The biodiversity loss makes the species inventories a priority. It is better to direct the sample effort to poor known areas with high biological diversity. The relation between the number observed species and the number of estimated species can be used to decide where to direct the sampling effort. This study takes the subfamily Biblidinae (Lepidoptera: Nympahlidae) as model assuming that is a well sampled subfamily (94% of the species are known). The country was divided in 249 quadrants (1°x1°); species richness estimation were made for each quadrant using species accumulation curves, data were adjusted to Clench and Logaritmic models. Rareness were accounted as species with few individuals and as species in few samples with the purpose of determine the effect of rareness in the estimation. The difference between number of estimated species and number of observed species is proposed as parameter to detect subsampled quadrants. After the analysis the results showed that: 45% of the quadrants don’t present any data (concentrated mainly in the north area); 22.5 % don’t have enough data or reliable data to make an estimation; 7% are subsampled; from the remaining 25% of the quadrants the species richness estimations were made and placed in one of 5 categories according to its sample degree. An analysis of the results is made with base in the distribution data and the biology of this subfamily. The quadrants suitable to intensify the field work are discussed.