Maveety Sarah A, Browne Robert A, Erwin Terry L
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, U.S.A.
Zookeys. 2011(147):651-66. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.147.2047. Epub 2011 Nov 16.
Carabid beetles were sampled at five sites, ranging from 1500 m to 3400 m, along a 15 km transect in the cloud forest of Manu National Park, Perú. Seasonal collections during a one year period yielded 77 morphospecies, of which 60% are projected to be undescribed species. There was a significant negative correlation between species richness and altitude, with the number of carabid species declining at the rate of one species for each 100 m increase in altitude. The majority of species (70.1 %) were restricted to only one altitudinal site and no species was found at more than three of the five altitudinal sites. Only one genus, Pelmatellus (Tribe Harpalini), was found at all five sites. Active (hand) collections yielded approximately twice as many species per individuals collected than passive (pitfall trap) collections. This study is the first systematic sampling ofcarabid beetles of a high altitude gradient in the cloud forests of southeastern Perú and supports the need to conserve the zone of extremely high biodiversity present on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes.
在秘鲁马努国家公园的云雾森林中，沿着一条15公里的样带，在海拔1500米至3400米的五个地点对步甲科甲虫进行了采样。在一年的时间里进行的季节性采集共获得了77个形态种，其中预计60%为未描述的物种。物种丰富度与海拔高度之间存在显著的负相关，步甲物种数量随着海拔每升高100米就以一个物种的速率下降。大多数物种（70.1%）仅局限于一个海拔地点，在五个海拔地点中，没有一个物种出现在超过三个地点。在所有五个地点都只发现了一个属，即Pelmatellus（Harpalini族）。主动（手工）采集每采集到一个个体所获得的物种数量大约是被动（陷阱诱捕）采集的两倍。本研究是对秘鲁东南部云雾森林中高海拔梯度步甲科甲虫的首次系统采样，并支持保护秘鲁安第斯山东坡存在的极高生物多样性区域的必要性。
