Nature Conservation Research: Заповедная наука (May 2020)
Species composition and biotopic distribution of leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Megalopodidae, Chrysomelidae) in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve (Russia)
Abstract
The paper presents the results of an inventory of leaf beetle species (Megalopodidae, Chrysomelidae) in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve (Russia). The study of these beetles has started relatively recently. During the study period, a large amount of data was accumulated which requires a critical analysis. This paper summarizes the material collected in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve during 2014–2019, taking into account all previously known data. The material was collected at more than 30 locations in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve and in adjacent areas. In the fauna of this Protected Area, 216 species of leaf beetles from 68 genera, 11 subfamilies, and two families were identified. 71 Species and seven genera were recorded in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve for the first time, including three species (Cryptocephalus flavoscutellaris, Altica viridicyanea, Longitarsus rubiginosus) recorded for the first time in the fauna of the Primorsky Krai. The largest number of species was recorded in the family Chrysomelidae (215 species), including 54 species in the subfamily Alticinae, 47 – in Chrysomelinae, 36 – in Cryptocephalinae. The features of the taxonomic structure and species composition allow considering the leaf beetle fauna of the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve as a part of the leaf beetle complex on the Eastern macro-slope of the Sikhote-Alin. The species composition of the leaf beetles in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve is not less than 85%. It has a high representativeness and it is one of the richest local faunas in the south of the Russian Far East. The highest leaf beetle species diversity is associated with broad-leaved-oak forests (85 species, 39.4% of the total number of leaf beetle species in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve), valley broad-leaved forests (102 species, 47.2%) and meadow plant communities (124 species, 57.4%). The lowest species composition of leaf beetles was found in subalpine plant communities (2 species, 0.9% of the total number of leaf beetle species in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve), larch forest (5 species, 2.3%), white birch forests (11 species, 5.1%), and alder forests (16 species, 7.4%). Other aspects of the leaf beetle ecology in the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve require further study.
Keywords
