Abstract

GARCIA-DE JESUS, Sandra et al. Integrating taxonomic structure in the analysis of the alpha and beta diversity of Melolonthidae scarabs in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2016, vol.87, n.3, pp.1033-1044. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmb.2016.06.003.

The alpha and beta diversity (dissimilarity) of Melolonthinae, Rutelinae, and Dynastinae beetles recorded from 8 studies of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt was assessed. Two measures of alpha diversity: the number of species and the taxonomic diversity were used. As expected, taxonomic diversity and species richness have different trends. The community with the highest species richness (Popocatepetl), had low taxonomic diversity, while in communities with relatively low richness (Huehuetitla, Zapata, La Malinche, Iztaccíhuatl and Pico de Orizaba), taxonomic diversity had low and high values. Beta diversity was also assessed with 2 measures: species dissimilarity and taxonomic dissimilarity. Species dissimilarity ranged from 61% to 94%, while the taxonomic dissimilarity was between 29% and 68%. As expected, there is a significant relationship between species and taxonomic dissimilarity, and no correlations between dissimilarity and the geographic distance between localities were found. This study highlights the importance of using complementary diversity metrics that take into account evolutionary information of ecological communities, mainly in regions with a complex biogeographical history.

Keywords : Taxonomic diversity; Taxonomic beta diversity; Dissimilarity; Sample coverage; Melolonthinae; Rutelinae; Dynastinae.