Study of spontaneous plants and their associated arthropodsin Ziban oases agroecosystem, Biskra-Algeria

Abstract: An oasis ecosystem is a grouping of insects, plants, animals and other organismsinteracting with each other and with their environment. Given the richness of Ziban oases onflora and fauna, the main objective of this study was to know different types of associationspresent between arthropods and spontaneous plants. Our study was conducted in palm groveusing 15 transect belt (30 × 5 m) for observing and collecting arthropods and spontaneousplants. During our survey, 59 species of arthropods were permanent visitors of 36 spontaneousplants. Visitors from arthropod species were grouped into four main groups; zoophagous(predators = 33%, parasitoids = 17%), phytophagous (pollinators = 17%, pests = 13%). Speciesbelonging to the Asteraceae family (6 species) and Brassicaceae family (5 species) were themost visited by insects. Their association was mainly referred to flowers color and diet.