ISBN online: 978-80-7509-900-6 | DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7509-900-6

Bezobratlí živočichové v regionálním rozvoji Nikaragui: region Carazo

Ivo Pavlík, Miguel Ángel Garmendia Zapata

In addition to social and economic factors, environmental factors play an important role in the development of regions, especially in developing countries. The environment is often used extensively by the local population, regardless of its sustainability. This is also the case in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in Latin America (after Belize) with 6,217,581 inhabitants and an area of 129,494 km2 (data from 2017). Various invertebrate species were observed during three study trips between 2014 and 2018. Attention was focused on their occurrence and importance for the inhabitants of the Carazo region, which represents one of 17 territorial units with an area of 1,081 km2 with 166,073 inhabitants and in which the workplace of Mendel University in Brno (Finca la Reserva) is located. The average altitude of the Carazo region is 423 m above sea level with a density of 153.5 inhabitants per km2. The region is located on a lava plateau that slopes westward towards the Pacifi c Ocean. The climate here is tropical with average temperatures of 28–32° C, which creates favourable conditions for the occurrence of numerous invertebrate species both on land and in water. Attention was focused on insects (ants, termites, beetles, butterfl ies, grasshoppers, scorpions, spiders and wasps) and on cold-blooded invertebrates (crabs, shrimps, lobsters, catfi sh and shells). Information on over 50 commonly occurring invertebrate species is presented. Information about their importance in terms of health and nutrition of the local population, their economic use and the impact on developing tourism can be considered as particularly valuable.

Keywords: Danger insect, risky behaviour, species diversity, local culinary specialities, myths, traditional agriculture, tourism, zoonoses, sapronoses, ecotourism

1. edition, online: 2023, publisher: Mendelova univerzita v Brně