Abstract
Comparison of the diversity and community structure of Coleoptera (Passalidae) collected in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico, in primary and secondary tropical forest has been carried out. The saproxylophagous beetles studied can be differentiated according to their presence in three distinct microhabitats of rotting logs: underbark, sapwood—heartwood and microhabitat generalists. Over the 2-year study period, 12 passalid species were recorded (six Passalini and six Proculini) represented by a total of 2971 individuals, collected from 234 rotting logs. The rarefaction method, the lognormal species—abundance relationship, and the nonparametric jackknife method were used to compare species richness between the habitats. The data were also fitted to log series, truncated lognormal, geometric, and broken-stick species abundance models to detect changes in community structure. The community composition of Passalidae in Los Tuxtlas did not differ ostensibly between the primary and secondary forests. Neither the mean number of individuals nor the biomass per log differed significantly. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between the two habitats in terms of the number of underbark, sapwood/heartwood, and microhabitat generalist species. Different richness estimators indicated that the primary forest community is only slightly richer. The slight decrease in richness of the secondary forest is related to a decrease in dominance by certain species, as well as to a more balanced abundance distribution, which is adequately described by the broken-stick model. Complementary explanations for this pattern may be: (1) that logging reduces the abundance of dominant species, thus preventing competitive exclusion in the secondary forest; and (2) that passalid diversity is not regulated by the diversity of tree species.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Basset Y., Novotny V., Miller S.E. and Springates N.D. 1998. Assessing the impact of forest disturbance on tropical invertebrates: some comments. Journal of Applied Ecology 35: 461–466.
Boucher S. 1986. Contribution á l'étude des Passalidae Guyano-Amazoniens (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea). Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.) 22: 491–533.
Brown J.H and Maurer B.A. 1986. Body size, ecological dominance and Cope's rule. Nature 324: 248–250.
Bührnheim P.F. and Aguiar N.O. 1991. Passalideos (Coleoptera) da Ilha de Maracá, Roraima. Acta Amazonica 21: 25–33.
Castillo M.L. 1987. Descripción de la comunidad de Coleoptera Passalidae en el bosque tropical perennifolio de la región de Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz. Ph.D. Thesis, Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, Mexico.
Castillo M.L. and Reyes-Castillo P. 1997. Passalidae. In: González E., Dirzo R. and Voght R. (eds) Historia Natural de Los Tuxtlas. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, pp. 293–298.
Colwell R.K. and Coddington J.A. 1995. Estimating terrestrial biodiversity through extrapolation. In: Hawksworth D.L. (ed) Biodiversity Measurement and Estimation. Chapman & Hall, London, pp. 101–118.
Connell J.H. 1978. Diversity in tropical rain forest and coral reefs. Science 1994: 1302–1310.
Dirzo R., Horvitz C.C., Quevedo H. and López M.A. 1992. The effects of gap size and age on the understory herb community of a tropical Mexican rain forest. Journal of Ecology 80: 809–822.
Fagan W.F. and Kareiva P.M. 1997. Using compiled species lists to make biodiversity comparisons among regions: a test case using Oregon butterflies. Biological Conservation 80: 249–259.
Fonseca C.R.V. 1988. Contribuçâo ao conhecimento da bionomia de Passalus convexus Dalman, 1817 e Passalus latifrons Percheron, 1841 (Coleoptera: Passalidae). Acta Amazonica 18: 197–222.
Grant P.R. and Schluter D. 1984. Interspecific competition inferred from patterns of guild structure. In: Strong D.R., Simberloff D., Abele L.G. and Thistle A.B. (eds) Ecological Communities, Conceptual Issues and the Evidence, Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 159–181.
Hill J.K. and Hamer K.C. 1998. Using species abundance models as indicators of habitat disturbance in tropical forest. Journal of Applied Ecology 35: 458–460.
Hill J.K., Hamer K.C., Lace L.A. and Banham W.M.T. 1995. Effects of selective logging on tropical forest butterflies on Buru, Indonesia. Journal of Applied Ecology 32: 754–760.
Holloway J.D., Kirk-Spriggs A.H. and Chey V.K. 1992. The response of some rain forest insect groups to logging and conversion to plantation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London, Series B 335: 425–436.
Hurlbert S.H. 1971. The non-concept of species diversity: a critique and alternative parameters. Ecology 52: 577–586.
Huston M.A. 1994. Biological Diversity. The Coexistence of Species on Changing Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Hutchinson G.E. 1959. Homage to Santa Rosalia; or, why are there so many kinds of animals. American Naturalist 93: 145–159.
Ibarra G. and Sinaca S. 1987. Listados florísticos de México. VII. Estación de Biología Tropical de Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz. Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
Janzen D.H. 1988. Tropical dry forest, the most endangered major-tropical ecosystem. In: Wilson E.O. (ed) National Forum of Biodiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, pp. 130–137.
Krebs C.H.J. 1989. Ecological Methodology. Harper and Row, New York.
Kremen C., Colwell R.K., Erwin T.L., Murphy D.D., Noss R.F. and Sanjayan M.A. 1993. Terrestrial arthropod assemblages for natural areas monitoring. Ecological Applications 2: 203–217.
Legendre L. and Legendre P. 1983. Numerical Ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Lobo J.M. and Castillo M.L. 1997. The relationship between ecological capacity and morphometry in a neotropical community of Passalidae (Coleoptera). Coleopterists Bulletin 51: 147–153.
Lobo J.M. and Favila M.E. 1999. Different ways of constructing octaves and their consequences on the prevalence of the bimodal species abundance distribution. Oikos 87: 321–326.
Lobo J.M. and Morón M.A. 1993. La modificación de las comunidades de coleópteros Melolonthidae y Scarabaeidae en dos áreas protegidas mexicanas tras dos décadas de estudios faunísticos. Giornale Italiano de Entomologia 6: 391–406.
Lot-Helgueras A. 1976. La Estación de Biología Tropical de Los Tuxtlas: pasado, presente y futuro. In: Gómez-Pompa A., Vazquéz-Yañes C., del Amo S. and Butanda A. (eds) Investigaciones Sobre la Regeneración de Selvas Altas en Veracruz, Mèxico, CECSA, CNEB, INIREB, México, D.F., pp. 31–69.
Ludwig J.A. and Reynolds J.F. 1988. Statistical Ecology. Wiley, New York.
Macvean C.H. and Schuster J.C. 1981. Altitudinal distribution of Passalid beetles (Coleoptera, Passalidae) and Pleistocene dispersal on the Volcanic Chain of northern Central America. Biotropica 13: 29–38.
Magurran A.E. 1988. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
May R.M. 1975. Patterns of species abundance and diversity. In: Cody M.L. and Diamond J.M. (eds) Ecology and Evolution of Communities. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. 81–120.
Mouzinho J.R.C. and Fonseca C.R.V. 1998. Contribuição ao estudo da Passalidofauna (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Passalidae) em uma área de terra firme da Amazônia Central. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.) 73: 19–44.
Nummelin M. 1998. Log-normal distributions of species abundance is not a universal indicator of rainforest disturbance. Journal of Applied Ecology 35: 454–457.
Petraitis P.S., Latham R.E. and Niesenbaum R.A. 1989. The maintenance of species diversity by disturbance. Quarterly Review Biological Ecology 64: 393–418.
Pielou E.C. 1975. Ecological Diversity. Wiley, New York.
Raguso R.A. and Llorente J. 1990. The butterflies (Lepidoptera) of the Tuxtlas Mts., Veracruz, México, revisited: species-richness and habitat disturbance. Journal of Research of Lepidopterology 29: 105–133.
Reyes-Castillo P. 1970. Coleoptera, Passalidae: Morfología y división en grandes grupos; géneros americanos. Folia Entomológica Mexicana 20-21: 1–204.
Reyes-Castillo P. 1973. Passalidae de la Guayana Francesa (Coleoptera, Lamellicornia). Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 129: 1541–1587.
Reyes-Castillo P. and Halffter G. 1978. Análisis de la distribución geográfica de la tribu Proculini (Coleoptera, Passalidae). Folia Entomológica Mexicana 39-40: 222–226.
Rodríguez M.E. 1985. Passalus interstitialis Pascoe (Coleoptera: Passalidae) y su papel en el inicio de la descomposición de la madera en el bosque de la Estación Ecológica Sierra del Rosario, Cuba. I. Actividad en condiciones naturales. Ciencias Biológicas 13: 29–37.
Samways M.J. 1994. Insect Conservation Biology. Chapman & Hall, London.
Schuster J.C. 1978. Biogeographical and ecological limits of New World Passalidae (Coleoptera). Coleopterists Bulletin 21: 21–28.
Siegel S. and Castellan N.J. 1988. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Snedecor G.W. and Cochran W.G. 1967. Statistical Methods. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.
Spitzer K., Jaros J., Havelka J. and Leps J. 1997. Effects of small-scale disturbance on butterfly communities of an Indochinese montane rainforest. Biological Conservation 80: 9–15.
Sugihara G. 1980. Minimal community structure: an explanation of species abundance patterns. American Naturalist 116: 770–787.
Tokeshi M. 1993. Species abundance patterns and community structure. Advances in Ecological Research 24: 111–186.
Wilson J.B. 1993. Would we recognise a Broken-Stick community if we found one? Oikos 67: 181–183.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Castillo, M.L., Lobo, J.M. A comparison of Passalidae (Coleoptera, Lamellicornia) diversity and community structure between primary and secondary tropical forest in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico. Biodiversity and Conservation 13, 1257–1269 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIOC.0000019400.73064.c7
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIOC.0000019400.73064.c7