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Diversity and composition of arboreal beetle assemblages in tropical pasture afforestations: effects of planting schemes and tree species identity

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Abstract

Timber tree plantations are considered for rehabilitating forest biodiversity in the tropics, but knowledge on determinants of faunal diversity patterns in such human-modified forest landscapes is scarce. We quantified the composition of beetle assemblages on three native timber species (Anacardium excelsum, Cedrela odorata and Tabebuia rosea) planted on former pasture to assess effects of tree species identity, tree species diversity, and insecticide treatment on a speciose group of animals in tropical plantations. The beetle assemblage parameters ‘abundance’, ‘species richness’, ‘Chao1 estimated species richness’ and ‘Shannon diversity’ were significantly reduced by insecticide treatment for each tree species. Shannon diversity increased with stand diversification for T. rosea but not for A. excelsum and C. odorata. Species similarity was highest (lowest species turnover) between beetle assemblages on T. rosea, and it was lowest (highest species turnover) for assemblages on insecticide-treated trees of all timber species. Considering trophic guilds, herbivorous beetles dominated on all tree species and in all planting schemes. Herbivores were significantly more dominant on T. rosea and C. odorata than on A. excelsum, suggesting that tree species identity affects beetle guild structure on plantation trees. Insecticide-treated stands harbored less herbivores than untreated stands, but exhibited a high abundance of predator beetle species. Our study revealed that even young pasture-afforestations can host diverse beetle assemblages and thus contribute to biodiversity conservation in the tropics. The magnitude of this contribution, however, may strongly depend on management measures and on the selected tree species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Catherine Potvin for access to the Sardinilla site and useful discussions, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for administration and logistics, as well as José Monteza and the Sardinilla personnel for assistance with fieldwork. The Panamanian National Environmental Authority (ANAM) granted the required permits. We thank Alexander Konstantinov (Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture), David Furth (Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington), Michael Geisthardt, Ronald Sanchez and Carlos Salgado for help with insect identification; Andreas Müller and Heather Kirk for useful comments on the manuscript. This study has been supported by a grant of the ETH North–South Centre to S.D. and K.M.

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  1. Applied Entomology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Mirco Plath, Silvia Dorn & Karsten Mody

  2. Entomology Master Program, University of Panama, Panama City, Republic of Panama

    Hector Barrios

  3. Ecosystem Functions, Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Scharnhorststr 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany

    Mirco Plath

  4. Ecological Networks, Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany

    Karsten Mody

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Plath, M., Dorn, S., Barrios, H. et al. Diversity and composition of arboreal beetle assemblages in tropical pasture afforestations: effects of planting schemes and tree species identity. Biodivers Conserv 21, 3423–3444 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0372-5

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