Diversity of litter-dwelling beetles in the Ouachita highlands of Arkansas, USA (Insecta: Coleoptera) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Southeastern Naturalist, 2007
The current Coleoptera (beetle) Taxonomic Working Group of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) has been active since June 2001. It consists of a core group of students and researchers, headquartered at the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum (LSAM), Baton Rouge, LA and is supported by a network of 42 specialists worldwide. Our starting point was ≈700 species based mainly on specimens collected prior to 2001 and deposited in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) museum. Our current beetle count for GSMNP is 2131 species from 103 families. Using periodic species accumulation analyses plus independent work by cooperators, we have documented ≈1400 new species records for the park and 16,370 specimen records in our Biota ® relational database. This includes 42 species new to science. We predict the total beetle diversity for the park will be ≈3000 species based on extrapolation of data for the 15 largest families in eastern North America. Most additional records are expected from taxonomic work on the following families: Staphylinidae (rove beetles), Curculionidae (weevils, bark, and ambrosia beetles), Tenebrionidae (darkling beetles), Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles), Latridiidae (minute scavenger beetles), and Ptiliidae (feather-winged beetles). Progress has been hampered by a lack of taxonomic expertise and logistical problems associated with large specimen volumes. The former problem is society-wide and the latter has been partially solved. The vast majority of specimens processed to date were derived from structured protocols conducted during the initial phase of the ATBI. Current and future efforts will be focused on samples collected during organized beetle bioblitzes and/or using specialized techniques targeting taxa that cannot be obtained using mass-collecting methods.
Composition and Abundance of Ground-Dwelling Coleoptera in a Fragmented and Continuous Forest
Environmental Entomology, 2006
The structure of the ground-dwelling beetle community at two forested sites in northern Delaware was compared by examining composition and abundance at the species or genus level for Þve target families and at the family level for all other Coleoptera. The beetle communities at an isolated 15-ha woodlot and a nearby plot of relatively continuous forest were sampled using pitfall traps during 2000 and 2001. The results showed an absence or reduced abundance of many beetle taxa in the isolated woodlot relative to the continuous forest site and elevated abundances of a few taxa. Most notably, the species richness of poorly dispersing species of carabid beetles was lower in the isolated woodlot, with 12 of 19 brachypterous species completely absent from pitfall samples. Although this study does not constitute a test of habitat fragmentation hypotheses, the data do suggest that the beetle community in the woodlot may be suffering from isolation effects. The estimated response to fragmentation was correlated with body size for the 19 most common carabid species caught, suggesting that body size may be a useful predictor of vulnerability to forest fragmentation. At least in Carabids, larger body size seems to be associated with greater susceptibility to fragmentation. A number of staphylinid beetle taxa were also signiÞcantly less abundant or absent in the isolated woodlot, as were some beetles in other trophic groups, including carrion beetles (Silphidae) and geotrupid beetles (Geotrupidae). Although it retains some faunal similarity with nearby continuous forest, the woodlot may be too isolated to sustain populations of some beetle taxa, especially large, poorly dispersing forest species.
On the Conservation Value of Second-Growth Forests for Leaf-Litter Inhabiting Beetles
Insect Systematics and Diversity, 2017
Old-growth forests represent rare and disappearing vestiges of minimally impacted biodiversity, and their preservation has been embraced as an important conservation priority. While second-growth-forests may develop many old-growth features, their value for conservation of arthropod biodiversity is debated. We compare the observed and estimated leaf-litter beetle fauna in four old-and four second-growth fragments of southern Appalachian forest, exploring the extent to which old-growth patches host distinct communities, as reflected by species richness and community composition. Of a total of 310 beetle morphospecies recorded, second-growth sites together hosted 230 species, while old-growth sites hosted 206 total species. Averages over sites were more similar, 95 and 96 species, respectively. Estimates accounting for sampling differences suggested species richness of 279 species for combined second-growth sites versus 264 for combined old-growth sites. Representation by trophic guilds was similar between old-and second-growth sites, suggesting that functional differences concerning these communities are minor. All sites hosted unique species, suggesting that the faunas of second-growth sites may represent more than postdisturbance recolonization by a common regional species pool. Together, these results suggest that, for leaf-litter inhabiting arthropods, old-growth forest fragments are not as uniquely valuable as often assumed, and that the conservation values of older secondary-growth forests in southern Appalachia may also be substantial.
Environmental Entomology
The seasonality and diversity of members of the beetle family Leiodidae were determined for an old-growili and a 40-yr-old forest in New Hampshire. Thirty-four species were found at each site for a combined total of39 species. Diversity was calculated using log series index a, Shannon-Wiener index, coefficient of community, and percent similarity. Seasonality is lengiliily unimodal for the Cholevinae, which feed on carrion and fungi. The Leiodinae feed on slime molds and fungi and are more narrowly unimodal. Anisotoma spp. exhibit broadly overlapping abundance peaks, whereas some members of Agathidium and Leiodes have abundance peaks at different times, indicating the possibility of resource partitioning. The greater leaf litter depilis and amount of woody debris at the old-growtl1 site are presumed to lead to the production of more food resources for the leiodids. The difference in forest ages and the disturbance by selective cutting has not lowered species richness, but the diversity indices used reflect a difference between the sites based on greater abundance in the old-growth forest. The dispersal ability ofleiodids is presumed to lead to rapid recolonization of the younger forest as food sources become available. Anisotoma inops Brown is a potential indicator species for old-growth forests in nortiIeastem NortiI America.
Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
The beetle genus Adelopsis was described by Portevin in 1907, and was proposed for a microphthalmic soil-inhabiting species from Bolivia. Since then, some 20 additional species have been described, and the genus is known to be distributed through the Neotropics from Mexico to southern Brazil and adjacent Argentina. The species are generally large-eyed and winged, and are probably all scavengers of decaying organic matter in mesic tropical lowland and montane forests. They may occasionally occur in caves. The beetles are seldom represented in collections, but they may be frequently collected by sifting forest litter, or by using dung or carrion-baited pitfall traps. My field program of such collecting in the Neotropics since 1966 shows the genus to be far more diverse, abundant, and widespread than indicated in the present literature (Peck, 1977). Adelopsis was first found to occur outside the Neotropics when I (Peck, 1973) realized that Adelops mitchellensis (Hatch, 1933)from Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, actually belonged in the genus Adelopsis. Some authors had placed the species in the genus Ptomaphagus. At that time I noted that I also had material of other species from North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and West Virginia. My indication that they were also in New Mexico was in error (Peck, 1978). The purpose of this paper is to describe these species which occur in forest litter and soil habitats in the southeastern United States, and to consider their distributional and evolutionary history. Generic diagnosis. The characters are those of Leiodidae, Catopinae, Ptomaphagini (as given in Peck, 1973). As such they are small beetles with a loose antennal club, with segment 8 always smaller than 7 and 9. They have transverse pronotal and oblique
Background. The Ozark Mountains are a region with high endemism and biodiversity, yet few invertebrate inventories have been made and few sites extensively studied. We surveyed a site near Steel Creek Campground, along the Buffalo National River in Arkansas, using twelve trap types – Malaise traps, canopy traps (upper and lower collector), Lindgren multifunnel traps (black, green, and purple), pan traps (blue, purple, red, white, and yellow), and pitfall traps – and Berlese-Tullgren extraction for eight and half months. New Information. We provide collection records of beetle species belonging to eight families collected at the site. Thirty one species represent new state records: (Buprestidae) Actenodes acornis, Agrilus cephalicus, Agrilus ohioensis, Agrilus paracelti, Taphrocerus nicolayi; (Carabidae) Agonum punctiforme, Synuchus impunctatus; (Curculionidae) Acalles clavatus, Acalles minutissimus, Acoptus suturalis, Anthonomus juniperinus, Anametis granulata, Idiostethus subcalvus, Eudociminus mannerheimii, Madarellus undulatus, Magdalis armicollis, Magdalis barbita, Mecinus pascuorum, Myrmex chevrolatii, Myrmex myrmex, Nicentrus lecontei, Otiorhynchus rugosostriatus, Piazorhinus pictus, Phyllotrox ferrugineus, Plocamus hispidulus, Pseudobaris nigrina, Pseudopentarthrum simplex, Rhinoncus pericarpius, Sitona lineatus, Stenoscelis brevis, Tomolips quericola. Additionally, three endemic carabids, two of which are known only from the type series, were collected.
Forest Ecology and Management, 2000
Ground-occurring Coleoptera were sampled over 2 years using pitfall traps in 23 northern hardwood or eastern hemlockdominated sites representing even-aged, uneven-aged, or old growth forests. Overall, 65,586 individuals were obtained, representing 33 families and 192 species. Carabids comprised 54% of the total catch in 1996, when all the families were tallied. There was little variation in the number and relative abundance of carabid species caught between seasons. No differences in overall species richness or abundance were observed among forest management regimes or habitat types. However, there were substantial differences in species composition. Thirteen species showed signi®cant habitat associations among the ®ve forest management regimes, and 21 species were associated with speci®c habitat features of the sites, such as dominant tree species or canopy structure. More species (16) were affected by the presence of forest management than by tree species dominance (6) or canopy structure (5). Harpalus fulvilabris, Pterostichus coracinus, Carabus nemoralis, Glischrochilus siepmanni, Nicrophorus orbicollis, and Nicrophorus sayi were more commonly caught in managed than in old growth forest sites, while Carabus sylvosus, Platynus decentis and Oiceoptoma novaboracensis were more commonly associated with old growth sites. Calosoma frigidum and Necrophila americana were associated with northern hardwood sites, while Platynus decentis was signi®cantly associated with sites dominated by eastern hemlock. Calosoma frigidum, Necrophila americana, and Nicrophorus vespilloides were more common in even-aged sites, while a lampyrid and a leiodid morphospecies were more common in sites with an uneven-aged canopy structure. The importance of microsite features was re¯ected in the high variability observed among sites and among traps within sites. Results indicate that conservation of a range of forest types is required in order to maintain the diversity of ground-occurring beetles on a regional scale. This will be quite challenging, since forest types such as old growth hemlock-hardwood are rare across the landscape due to habitat fragmentation and logging. #
Entomological Science, 2005
A continuous sampling of canopy beetles was carried out to determine variation in the abundance and the species richness of the Attelabidae and Cantharidae in a suburban mixed forest. Changes in the abundance and the species richness were monitored in three vertical strata of the forest from May to November in 1999, using yellow and blue water pan traps. The results showed significant variation in the abundance and the species richness of Attelabidae and Cantharidae between the layers, trap colors and seasons. Rare species were found in the bottom and middle layers, hut were absent in the upper layer. In contrast, common species were more abundant in the upper layer than iii the lower layers. The yellow traps had better trapping efficiency than the blue traps for both families, with the exception of an attelabid species, Cycnotrachelus reolofsi, which was more abundant in the blue traps. The abundance and the species richness were generally greater in spring than in summer. In spring, the abundance was consistently highest in the yellow traps in the upper layer. Season and layer were determinant factors in the species composition of the Attelabidae, while only season explained variation in species composition of the Canthuridae.