Activity of flying beetles (Coleoptera) at two heights in canopy gaps and intact forests in a hardwood forest in Quebec

Abstract

Abstract-We studied the effects of forest height and forest gap on assemblages of flying beetles in an American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. (Fagaceae) -sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh. (Aceraceae)) forest in Quebec. From June until August of 2005, beetles were collected in Lindgren funnel traps placed in the canopy (20-25 m height) and upper understorey (3-5 m height) in proximity to five forest gaps (15-30 m in diameter) (at the edge of the forest opening or within the closed-canopy forest). We collected 1852 beetles representing 38 families and 172 species. Based on rarefaction curves, species richness was significantly higher in the canopy than in the upper understorey. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed a change in species composition in relation to vertical stratification but not to the forest gaps. Our findings confirmed the importance of the vertical forest gradient to overall diversity of forest coleopterans.Résumé-Nous avons étudié les effets de l'ouverture et de la structure verticale du couvert forestier sur la structure des assemblages de Coléoptères dans une hêtraie (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh., Fagaceae) -érable à sucre (Acer saccharum Marsh., Aceraceae) au Québec. Les Coléoptères ont été échantillonnés à l'aide de pièges Lindgren positionnés dans la canopée (20-25 m de hauteur) et en sous-couvert (5 m de hauteur) à proximité de 5 trouées de 15-30 m de diamètre (en bordure de la trouée versus forêt d'intérieur) et ce du début juin à la fin d'aoû t 2005; 1852 individus appartenant à 172 espèces et 41 familles ont été collectés. La richesse spécifique, estimée à l'aide de courbes de raréfaction, s'est montrée plus élevée dans la canopée. Un cadrage non -métrique multidimensionel a démontré un changement au niveau de la composition spécifique en lien avec la position verticale des pièges, mais non au niveau de la proximité aux trouées. Notre étude confirme que la diversité structurelle fournie par le gradient vertical en forêt contribue de façon importante à la diversité des Coléoptères en milieu forestier.

Exploring the “last biotic frontier”: Are temperate forest canopies special for saproxylic beetles?

“…The highest abundance occurred in the elevated stratum in Hirao et al (2009) andHammond et al (2004), near the ground in Preisser et al (1998) and Manak (2007) or was comparable in Ulyshen and Hanula (2007). What is more, species richness peaked in the canopy for Schroeder et al (2009) and Kappes and Topp (2004), at low levels for Hammond et al (2004), Vodka et al (2009), Ulyshen and Hanula (2009) and Foit (2010) and was equivalent in the two strata for Ulyshen and Hanula (2007) and Hirao et al (2009). Notwithstanding forest type or insect group, no obvious trend could be inferred.…”

“…Nonetheless, contrasting responses were found in the literature for community divergence between canopy and forest floor (Table 4). A significant inter-strata dissimilarity was revealed for beetles (Ulyshen and Hanula, 2007), saproxylic beetles (Hammond et al, 2004;Schroeder et al, 2009;Foit, 2010), bugs (Goßner, 2009) and parasitic wasps (Pucci, 2008). However, Müller and Goßner (2010) demonstrated a low beta diversity of saproxylic beetles among vertical strata.…”

Arboreal Burials inNicrophorusspp. (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

“…Additionally, studies over a vertical gradient in the forest reveal patterns of species' distribution which would have gone unnoticed using the traditional, ground-based techniques [21,22]. Shubeck [23] was the first to compare the response of burying beetles between ground-level carrion Psyche and carrion suspended 1.5 m above the ground.…”

“…Using traps at several heights above the ground, Ulyshen and Hanula [25] showed that the vertical distribution of beetles, even within a family, can be diverse. Schroeder et al [22] recorded carrion beetles over 3-25 m, the greatest vertical gradient investigated so far. The evidence from these studies lend insight into which species can be caught in the canopy, but studies investigating why some beetles occur in the canopy have yet to be conducted.…”

Vertical stratification and effect of petiole and dry leaf size on arthropod feeding guilds in Cecropia pachystachya(Urticaceae)

“…Arthropod diversity usually shows a clear stratification and decreases from the canopy to lower strata (Longino and Nadkarni, 1990;Basset et al, 1992Basset et al, , 2001Basset et al, , 2003Stork and Grimbacher, 2006;Schroeder et al, 2009;Davis et al, 2011).…”