Leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera) assemblages in a mosaic of natural and altered areas in the Brazilian cerrado.

Abstract

In landscape mosaics, species may use different vegetation types or be restricted to a single vegetation type or land-use feature highlighting the importance of the interaction of species requirements and environmental heterogeneity. In these systems, the determination of the overall pattern of β-diversity can indicate the importance of the environmental heterogeneity on diversity patterns. Here, we evaluate leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) as habitat quality bioindicators in a system with varying intensities of human impacts and different phyto-physiognomies (from open field to forests). We collected 1117 leaf beetles belonging to 245 species, of which 12 species and 5 genus were considered possible bioindicators based on IndVal measures. Higher species richness was observed in forests and regenerating fields, and habitats with lower species richness included pastures, mines, and veredas. Natural fields, regenerating fields, natural cerrado, and forest had higher values of β-diversity. Bioindicator systems that include not only species richness and abundance but also assemblage composition are needed to allow for a better understanding of Chrysomelidae response to environmental disturbance.