ABSTRACT
Scientific collections are important sources of information on biodiversity that can be useful for faunistic, taxonomic and phylogenetic studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the fauna of Passalidae deposited in the zoological collections in the States of the Brazilian Amazon. 14,652 Passalidae specimens are deposited in scientific collections, distributed in two subfamilies, 7 genera and 82 species. The species that had the highest number of deposited individuals were: Passalus interstitialis, Passalus interruptus, Veturius transversus and Paxillus leachi. Passalinae was the richest subfamily (n = 57) species, followed by Proculinae (n = 25). Passalus was the richest genus (n = 39) followed by Veturius (n = 21). The State of Amazonas was the richest (s = 67) followed by Pará (s = 45). The Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia was the institution with the highest number of deposited specimens. The species accumulation curve did not reach asymptote and Chao2 estimated 142 species more than the observed richness (s = 82 species). The richness of the bess beetle fauna from the Brazilian Amazon may be greater than recorded. The scientific collections provided quantitative and important data that allowed to determine a large fraction of the Amazon bess beetle fauna.
Subject(s)
Coleoptera , Animals , Biodiversity , Brazil , Phylogeny , RecordsABSTRACT
Dung beetle communities have been compared across north temperate latitudes. Tropical dung beetle communities appear to be more diverse based on studies using different methodologies. Here, we present results from a standardized sampling protocol used to compare dung beetle communities across five neotropical forests in Brazil and Ecuador and two warm, north temperate forests in Mississippi and Louisiana. Species richness in the tropical forests was three to seven times higher than the temperate forests, as would be expected by studies of other taxa across tropical and temperate latitudes. Average body size in the temperate forests was larger than the tropical forests, as predicted by Bergmann's rule. Dung beetle abundance and volume per trap-day were generally higher in Ecuador than Brazil, and higher in Mississippi than Louisiana, but there were no tropical-temperate differences. Species rank-abundance curves were similar within countries and between countries. Rank-volume distributions indicated a smaller range of beetle body sizes in Ecuador versus Brazil or the USA. Community similarity was high within countries and low between countries. Community differences between Brazil and Ecuador sites may be explained by differences in productivity based on geological age of the soils.
Subject(s)
Coleoptera , Animals , Climate , DemographyABSTRACT
Dung beetle communities have been compared across north temperate latitudes. Tropical dung beetle communities appear to be more diverse based on studies using different methodologies. Here, we present results from a standardized sampling protocol used to compare dung beetle communities across five neotropical forests in Brazil and Ecuador and two warm, north temperate forests in Mississippi and Louisiana. Species richness in the tropical forests was three to seven times higher than the temperate forests, as would be expected by studies of other taxa across tropical and temperate latitudes. Average body size in the temperate forests was larger than the tropical forests, as predicted by Bergmann's rule. Dung beetle abundance and volume per trap-day were generally higher in Ecuador than Brazil, and higher in Mississippi than Louisiana, but there were no tropical-temperate differences. Species rank-abundance curves were similar within countries and between countries. Rank-volume distributions indicated a smaller range of beetle body sizes in Ecuador versus Brazil or the USA. Community similarity was high within countries and low between countries. Community differences between Brazil and Ecuador sites may be explained by differences in productivity based on geological age of the soils.
