Abstract
In this paper we report about 88 longhorned beetles (Cerambycidae) species found in 6929 hectares and distributed along an altitudinal gradient of 1500 m of an Italian alpine valley (Val Genova, central-eastern Italian Alps). The species richness, result merging data from sixty years (1947–2007) of entomological surveys, corresponds to the 32% of the Italian cerambycid fauna confirming the high richness/surface ratio, probably unique in the Alps. The effect of thirteen environmental variables was tested on the species richness, but only the elevation resulted able to affect it. The species richness decrease with altitude not gradually, but experience a strong step above 1700 m a.s.l.. The highest species richness (average values of 42 species) was recorded at the lowest and mid elevations (between 800 and 1600 m a.s.l.). The species turnover along the altitudinal gradient is low suggesting moderate habitat turnover along the valley.One of the eighty-eight observed species, Tragosoma depsarium,is classified near threatened by the IUCN. Our data suggest that the wilderness of the valley close to the suitable management of grasslands and forests, help to support high level of cerambycids diversity. This biodiversity is good indicators of health of the wood saproxylic assemblages, as well an important food source for many vertebrate predators.
Highlights
The longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) can be considered one of the richest families of animals with about 35,000 described species (Hurka 2006)
The database realized merging data collected in sixty years (1947-2007) by different entomologists produced a checklist of 88 species (Tab. 1) observed along the altitudinal gradient comprise between 800 and 2200 m a.s.l
The Incidence-based Coverage Estimator of species richness (ICE) index estimated for the valley a total of 93 species indicating that about the 91% of the species has been sampled; the species accumulation curve is not tending to the asymptote (Fig. 1), but it is gradually increasing confirming that more species could be cached, yet
Summary
The longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) can be considered one of the richest families of animals with about 35,000 described species (Hurka 2006). At the adult stages, have an important role as pollinators and mainly the larvae, and the adult, are an abundant component in the diet of forest birds like the woodpeckers Thanks to these functional roles in the ecosystems, the cerambycids can be considered good indicators on the state of conservation of biodiversity, and sensible to human ecosystem management (Sama 2006). For the Italian peninsula are known 274 species belonging to 119 genera representing one of the nations with the highest species richness in Europe (Sama 2009) This richness can be justified by the longitudinal extension of the mainland, the central position within the Mediterranean area and the presence of highly diversified habitats, both from geomorphologic and climatic point of view (Sama 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
