Fine-Scale Vegetation Characteristics Drive Insect Ensemble Structures in a Desert Ecosystem: The Tenebrionid Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Inhabiting the Ulan Buh Desert (Inner Mongolia, China)

Abstract

<jats:p>In community ecology, ensembles are defined as phylogenetically bounded groups of species that use a similar set of resources within a community. Tenebrionids are a conspicuous faunal component of Asian deserts, but little is known about their community ecology. We investigated if tenebrionids associated with different plant species constitute ensembles with a different ecological structure. Sampling was done with pitfall traps placed beneath the most common plant species. Tenebrionid abundance patterns were modelled by fitting rank–abundance plots. The association between tenebrionid species and plant species was tested using contingency tables. Differences in ensemble diversity were investigated by diversity profiles. All ensembles were fitted by the geometric series model. Tenebrionid species were differently associated with different plant species. Diversity profiles indicate that different ensembles have different diversity patterns, because of differences in species relative abundance. Tenebrionids form different ensembles associated with the different dominant plant species. All these ensembles are, however, characterized by similar patterns of dominance, following the “niche pre-emption” model, and a steep decline in the diversity profiles. This indicates that similar environmental conditions lead to similar insect ensemble organization, although the most abundant species may vary, which suggests a role for microhabitat selection.</jats:p>

Emergent Rarity Properties in Carabid Communities From Chinese Steppes With Different Climatic Conditions

“…In our case, rarefaction applied to the steppe level appeared justified, because of the different sampling effort (sampling effort in the typical and meadow steppes was two and three times that of the desert steppe). With the use of rarefaction, both Fisher's α-values and θ-values increased in the order: desert steppe < typical steppe < meadow steppe, which indicates an increasing diversity from the most to the least arid type of steppe, which can be in turn related to the increasing vegetation cover, as it seems that communities of ground-dwelling arthropod predators and detritivores are mainly determined by vegetation cover and aboveground plant biomass (Pan et al, 2018;Niu et al, 2020). These results are also consistent with our findings in a previous study (Tsafack et al, 2020), where the desert steppe showed lower Brillouin and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices, while typical and meadow steppes showed equally higher species diversity values; the species richness indices Chao and Margalef showed the same results, increasing in the order: desert steppe < typical steppe < meadow steppe.…”

Effects of Groundwater Depth on Vegetation Coverage in the Ulan Buh Desert in a Recent 20-Year Period

“…The climate is characterized by sufficient sunshine, little rain, hot summers, cold winters, large daily temperature differences, strong evaporation, strong winds, and a short frost-free period. The average annual temperature reaches 8.6 • C. The highest temperature in July is 38.7 • C, the lowest temperature in January is −32.8 • C, the average annual precipitation reaches 116-162 mm, and the average annual evaporation is 2560-3200 mm [45,46]. The main vegetation is sea buckthorn, sand holly, white thorn, overlord, red yarn, and reed.…”

“…The average annual temperature reaches 8.6 °C. The highest temperature in July is 38.7 °C, the lowest temperature in January is −32.8 °C, the average annual precipitation reaches 116-162 mm, and the average annual evaporation is 2560-3200 mm [45,46]. The main vegetation is sea buckthorn, sand holly, white thorn, overlord, red yarn, and reed.…”

A Fine-Scale Hotspot at the Edge: Epigean Arthropods from the Atacama Coast (Paposo-Taltal, Antofagasta Region, Chile)

“…Arthropods, the main component of global biodiversity, are declining in abundance and biodiversity in many regions of the world [1,2] and they are still a very unknown group. In this new geological epoch, called the Anthropocene [3], or Homogenocene [4,5], arthropods continue to be the "hidden biodiversity" not only in the tropics [6,7], but also in subtropical arid environments that have been traditionally overlooked by conservation efforts [8,9]. Similarly, there are still huge information and knowledge gaps regarding the biodiversity of arthropods in desert ecosystems (i.e., Linnean, Wallacean, and Prestonian shortfalls) [10,11].…”