How mountains and elevations shape the spatial distribution of beetles in Peninsular Malaysia

Muneeb M Musthafa,Mark De Bruyn,Ana Paola Martínez-Falcón,Fauziah Abdullah

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-84965-5

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the spatial distribution of beetles in mountain ecosystems and their elevational diversity. Malaise, pitfall and light traps were used to collect beetles from nine different mountains in Malaysia from September 2014 to September 2016, where from Gunung Angsi, Gunung Belumut, Gunung Basor and Gunung Tebu samples were collected at 500 m and 1000 m (above sea level) elevations, while beetles were sampled at 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 masl from Gunung Benom, Gunung Inas, Cameron Highland, Gunung Besar Hantu and Gunung Basor. In this study, 9628 beetles belonging to 879 different species were collected with highest representation from family Staphylinidae and Carabidae. Chamah Highland had the highest beetle diversity followed by Gunung Benom, Gunung Inas, Cameron Highland, Gunung Belumut, and Gunung Basor. Chamah Highland was different to all mountains on abundance and species richness. The highest species richness was observed at 1000 m, followed by 500 m and 1500 m. We identified characteristic species associated with habitat conditions at Gunung Benoum and Gunung Inas mountains, according to INDVAL values. The beetle diversity of the sampled mountains showed multiple alpha and beta patterns according to type of mountain ecosystem and elevation, providing guidelines for the scientific community to underpin conservation efforts in Malaysia.

Highlights

This study was conducted to assess the spatial distribution of beetles in mountain ecosystems and their elevational diversity
The greatest number of beetles were collected from Gunung Inas (n = 1727), closely followed by Chamah Highland (n = 1695), while the lowest number of individuals was collected from Gunung Tebu (n = 552)
The second highest species richness was from Gunung Benom, which was higher than Gunung Inas, Cameron Highland, Gunung Belumut, and Gunung Basor, but not significantly different to Gunung Ansi, Gunung Besar Hantu, and Gunung Tebu (Fig. 1a,b)

Summary

Introduction

This study was conducted to assess the spatial distribution of beetles in mountain ecosystems and their elevational diversity. The beetle diversity of the sampled mountains showed multiple alpha and beta patterns according to type of mountain ecosystem and elevation, providing guidelines for the scientific community to underpin conservation efforts in Malaysia. Major tropical mountain ecosystems are exposed to greater vulnerability than ever before, with elevational responses of species providing opportunities to forecast the ecological consequences of global change on montane ecosystems[1,2]. Tropical mountains provide a good platform to study species responses to ecological changes across elevational gradients[11,12,13,14]. Montane forest ecosystems provide a good foundation to study biogeographic variation in the determinants of community structure, as their abiotic environment often varies dramatically in predictable ways along elevational gradients[22]. Beetle family Staphylinidae Chrysomelidae Carabidae Curculionoidea Scarabaeidae Bostrichidae Nitidulidae Coccinellidae Cerambycidae Elateridae forest ecosystems have contributed just 5% of biodiversity research in Southeast Asia, in comparison to 74% for lowland forests over the last two decades[2]

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Methods

Results

Conclusion