Rove beetle diversity and coffee agroecosystems in the Colombian Andes

• Published in: Biotropica 2022-03, Vol.54 (2), p.381-391
• Main Authors: Méndez‐Rojas, Diana M., López‐García, Margarita M., García‐Cárdenas, Delly R., Cultid‐Medina, Carlos A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural land; Agriculture; agriculture intensification; Beetles; Biodiversity; Biodiversity loss; Coffee; Coleoptera; Community composition; Dominant species; Ecological studies; gradient; Hill’ numbers; Indigenous species; Land use; Leaf litter; New records; non‐linear influence; Pitfall traps; Plantations; Shade; Species composition; Species diversity; staphylinid; Tropical climate
• ISSN: 0006-3606; 1744-7429
• DOI: 10.1111/btp.13059

The intensification of coffee plantations has driven biodiversity loss worldwide, but little is known about how it affects the ecological structure of Andean rove beetle communities. The rove beetle diversity was estimated in a coffee‐intensification gradient located on the western slope of Central Andes (1300–1800 m elevation). Sixteen sampling sites in four land uses were selected: four native forest patches and twelve coffee production systems (four polygeneric shade coffee plantations, four monogeneric shade coffee plantations, and four sun‐grown coffee plantations). We used unbaited pitfall traps and leaf litter extraction and recorded environmental and vegetation variables in each land use. 101 staphylinid species were collected in 12 subfamilies and 45 genera (N = 522 individuals). We recorded for the first time the subfamily Leptotyphlinae in Colombia. Anotylus sp. 1 was the most abundant species with about 16% of the total individuals, while 60% of the remaining species showed