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Edaphic beetle (Insecta: Coleoptera) diversity over a forest-matrix gradient in a tropical rainforest

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Abstract

Species from natural communities show different capacities for moving across contrasting habitats, and they may gradually respond along the transition between forests and anthropogenic areas. Because beetles are effective bioindicators, we analyzed the Coleoptera assemblage structure in the transition between sugarcane matrices and forest fragment. The study was conducted in an Atlantic rainforest fragment and sugarcane matrices after 2 and 6 months of replantation. Beetles were sampled in linear transects that were 50, 100, and 200 m from the forest edge and toward both forest core and matrices. We analyzed beetle abundance, species richness and composition, and diversity numbers. The abundance and species richness were higher in the forest, and species richness was higher at the sampling site 100 m inside the forest than at the gradients within the sugarcane matrices. The species composition differed between the forest and matrices, but not between the matrices with different replantation ages. Alpha diversity based on the number of species was higher in the forest, and alpha diversity based on the Shannon index was higher in the forest and matrix after 6 months of replantation. Our results suggest that the sugarcane matrices, chiefly the matrix after 2 months of replantation, sustain an impoverished beetle assemblage when compared with the forest fragment. Despite the strong habitat distinction, the beetle fauna in the sugarcane matrices was not affected by the horizontal distance from the forest. Here, we have highlighted the importance of forest fragments embedded in harsh matrices for the maintenance of biodiversity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank to Serra Grande sugar processing plant for infrastructure, logistic support, and for authorizing our fieldwork. We also thank “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (CAPES) for a doctoral scholarship to AFA Lira. We also thank “Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología” (CONACYT) for a doctoral scholarship to RP Salomão.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A. C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec, 351, El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Renato Portela Salomão

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Depto de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Laís Macedo Pordeus & André Felipe de Araujo Lira

  3. Depto de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Luciana Iannuzzi

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  1. Renato Portela Salomão
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  3. André Felipe de Araujo Lira
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  4. Luciana Iannuzzi
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Correspondence to Renato Portela Salomão.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest (financial and non-financial).

Ethical approval

The experiment was not invasive and complied with Brazilian law (SISBIO/ICMBIO Permit Number: 1982628). At the end of the experiment, the specimens were deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Federal University of Pernambuco, according to standard procedures. This study had no human participants; thus, no “informed consent” was required.

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10841_2018_79_MOESM1_ESM.tiff

Fig. S1—Significant relation between species richness and abundance of edaphic beetles sampled in in the Atlantic rainforest, northeastern Brazil (TIFF 38217 KB)

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Salomão, R.P., Pordeus, L.M., de Araujo Lira, A.F. et al. Edaphic beetle (Insecta: Coleoptera) diversity over a forest-matrix gradient in a tropical rainforest. J Insect Conserv 22, 511–519 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-018-0079-3

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