Density and Diversity of Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in an Outbreak on Arizona Rangeland 1

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Abstract
Sampling of grasshoppers and plants on shortgrass prairie of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation during an outbreak indicated significant relationships between acridid populations and vegetation characteristics. In slightly disturbed sites of shortgrass prairie dominated by perennial grasses, grasshopper species richness ranged from 10 to 17, density averaged 39/0.82m 2 , and diversity (H') averaged 1.21; in heavily disturbed sites dominated by annual grasses and forbs, species richness ranged from to 5 to 6, density averaged 30/0.82 m 2 , and diversity averaged 0.61. Because of the nearly pure stand of annual plants which became mature and dry in mid-May, only the early-hatching species of grasshoppers were able to live in the heavily disturbed sites. Perennial grasses in the slightly disturbed sites were important for supporting high densities of early-hatching species and were required for survival and reproduction of later hatching species. Evidently a disclimax community of annuals cannot support the density, diversity, and richness of grasshopper species that a shortgrass prairie can.

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