Jacobs Jennifer M, von May Rudolf, Kavanaugh David H, Connor Edward F
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.
Museum of Zoology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
PeerJ. 2018 Jul 3;6:e5153. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5153. eCollection 2018.
Amazonian bamboo forests dominated by large woody bamboo plants in the genus cover approximately 180,000 km and represent a key resource for many organisms. In southwestern Amazonia, native bamboo forests differ in structure, biodiversity, and growth dynamics from other forest types in the region. However, with the exception of a few species in which habitat specialization or a strong habitat association has been demonstrated, little is known about how bamboo forests influence animal community structure. In an effort to understand more about the animal assemblages associated with Amazonian bamboo forests, we characterized the structure of ground-dwelling beetle assemblages living in bamboo forests and adjacent terra firme forests in a lowland rainforest site in Peru. We conducted intensive pitfall trap surveys in 13 bamboo habitat patches and 13 adjacent terra firme habitat patches to determine if there were differences in the abundance and richness of beetle species in these two habitat types. Additionally, given that southwestern Amazonia experiences distinct dry and wet seasons, we conducted our study during the dry and wet season of one year to account for differences in seasonality. We found a distinct beetle assemblage associated with each forest type, and identified a set of dominant species that significantly contributed to the distinctness in beetle community structure between bamboo and terra firme forest. The terra firme forest had a greater number of rare species than the bamboo forest. Several beetle species exhibited a strong association with the bamboo forest, including a large species of Scarabaeidae that appears to be specializing on bamboo. We also found marked differences in beetle assemblages between dry and wet seasons. Our results support the prediction that beetle community structure in bamboo forest differs from that of terra firme in terms of species richness, abundance, and composition. Bamboo-associated animal communities require more exploration and study, and must be included in regional conservation plans seeking to protect entire animal communities in southwestern Amazonia.
以该属大型木质竹类植物为主的亚马逊竹林覆盖面积约18万平方公里，是许多生物的关键资源。在亚马逊西南部，原生竹林在结构、生物多样性和生长动态方面与该地区的其他森林类型有所不同。然而，除了少数已证明具有栖息地特化或强烈栖息地关联的物种外，关于竹林如何影响动物群落结构，人们知之甚少。为了更深入了解与亚马逊竹林相关的动物群落，我们对秘鲁一个低地雨林地区竹林和相邻的高地森林中生活的地栖甲虫群落结构进行了特征描述。我们在13个竹林栖息地斑块和13个相邻的高地栖息地斑块中进行了密集的陷阱诱捕调查，以确定这两种栖息地类型中甲虫物种的丰度和丰富度是否存在差异。此外，鉴于亚马逊西南部经历明显的干湿季节，我们在一年的干湿季进行了研究，以考虑季节性差异。我们发现每种森林类型都有独特的甲虫群落，并确定了一组优势物种，这些物种显著促成了竹林和高地森林甲虫群落结构的差异。高地森林的珍稀物种比竹林更多。几种甲虫物种与竹林表现出强烈的关联，包括一种似乎专门以竹子为食的大型金龟科物种。我们还发现干湿季甲虫群落存在显著差异。我们的结果支持了这样的预测，即竹林中的甲虫群落结构在物种丰富度、丰度和组成方面与高地森林不同。与竹子相关的动物群落需要更多的探索和研究，并且必须纳入旨在保护亚马逊西南部整个动物群落的区域保护计划中。
