Yu Xiao-Dong, Lü Liang, Wang Feng-Yan, Luo Tian-Hong, Zou Si-Si, Wang Cheng-Bin, Song Ting-Ting, Zhou Hong-Zhang
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P. R. China.
PLoS One. 2016 May 3;11(5):e0154659. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154659. eCollection 2016.
The aim of this paper is to increase understanding of the relative importance of the input of geographic and local environmental factors on richness and composition of epigaeic steppe beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae and Tenebrionidae) along a geographic (longitudinal/precipitation) gradient in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Specifically, we evaluate the associations of environmental variables representing climate and environmental heterogeneity with beetle assemblages. Beetles were sampled using pitfall traps at 25 sites scattered across the full geographic extent of the study biome in 2011-2012. We used variance partitioning techniques and multi-model selection based on the Akaike information criterion to assess the relative importance of the spatial and environmental variables on beetle assemblages. Species richness and abundance showed unimodal patterns along the geographic gradient. Together with space, climate variables associated with precipitation, water-energy balance and harshness of climate had strong explanatory power in richness pattern. Abundance pattern showed strongest association with variation in temperature and environmental heterogeneity. Climatic factors associated with temperature and precipitation variables and the interaction between climate with space were able to explain a substantial amount of variation in community structure. In addition, the turnover of species increased significantly as geographic distances increased. We confirmed that spatial and local environmental factors worked together to shape epigaeic beetle communities along the geographic gradient in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Moreover, the climate features, especially precipitation, water-energy balance and temperature, and the interaction between climate with space and environmental heterogeneity appeared to play important roles on controlling richness and abundance, and species compositions of epigaeic beetles.
本文旨在增进对地理和局部环境因素输入对内蒙古草原沿地理（经度/降水）梯度的地表甲虫（鞘翅目：步甲科和拟步甲科）丰富度和组成的相对重要性的理解。具体而言，我们评估了代表气候和环境异质性的环境变量与甲虫群落的关联。2011 - 2012年，在分布于研究生物群落整个地理范围内的25个地点使用陷阱诱捕器对甲虫进行采样。我们使用方差分解技术和基于赤池信息准则的多模型选择来评估空间和环境变量对甲虫群落的相对重要性。物种丰富度和丰度沿地理梯度呈现单峰模式。与空间一起，与降水、水能平衡和气候严酷性相关的气候变量在丰富度模式方面具有很强的解释力。丰度模式与温度变化和环境异质性的关联最为强烈。与温度和降水变量相关的气候因素以及气候与空间之间的相互作用能够解释群落结构的大量变异。此外，物种周转率随着地理距离的增加而显著增加。我们证实，空间和局部环境因素共同作用，在内蒙古草原沿地理梯度塑造了地表甲虫群落。此外，气候特征，尤其是降水、水能平衡和温度，以及气候与空间和环境异质性之间的相互作用，似乎在控制地表甲虫的丰富度、丰度和物种组成方面发挥着重要作用。
