An Acad Bras Cienc (2020) 92(Suppl. 2): e20190745 DOI 10.1590/0001-3765202020190745 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências | Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences Printed ISSN 0001-3765 I Online ISSN 1678-2690 www.scielo.br/aabc | www.fb.com/aabcjournal BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES High turnover of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) Running title: TURNOVER species in semideciduous forest remnants OF CHRYSOMELIDAE IN A FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE in an agricultural landscape THIAGO S. TELES, FRANCISCO VALENTE-NETO, DANILO B. RIBEIRO, Academy Section: Biological JOSUÉ RAIZER & ADELITA M. LINZMEIER Science Abstract: Differences in species composition between sites (β diversity) may be the result of spatial species replacement (turnover) or nestedness (subgroups of species from a more diverse site). In fragmented landscapes, the environmental factors that lead e20190745 to these differences may be spatially structured. Herein, our objective is to determine if the β diversity of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) is due to turnover or nestedness and whether the observed pattern is due to loss of forest cover or spatial processes in forest 92 (Suppl. 2) remnants immersed in a matrix dominated by intense agricultural practice. We used 92(Suppl. 2) an incidence matrix of 99 species sampled from 16 forest remnants and found that the difference in species composition among the fragments is mostly determined by turnover and that this variation is not explained by forest cover or spatial variables. In regions where high habitat loss has generated landscapes containing small and islated forest fragments, structural features, related both to habitat (area, isolation, shape, etc.) and landscape (land use, landscape heterogeneity, etc.) could predict diversity patterns. Key words: beetles, beta diversity, fragmentation, herbivory, insects. INTRODUCTION and size of fragments can lead to changes in the composition and structure of animal and plant The land-use conversion is one of the major communities over time, which may generate local threats to biodiversity, owing to its association extinctions and consequently affect essential with habitat loss and fragmentation. Currently, ecosystem functions, such as decomposition about 70% of the tropical forest remnants are (Didham et al. 1996). Small fragments are often isolated from original forests and subject to considered of low conservation priority because deleterious effects of fragmentation (Haddad they do not support viable populations and are et al. 2015). In this anthropogenic process, the very vulnerable to local extinctions. However, remaining native vegetation cover is generally studies show that small fragments can increase fragmented into many small patches (Fahrig et beta diversity by creating irregularities in al. 2019) and, as a result, many animal and plant spatial distribution of species and different populations are isolated in small, disconnected local extinction dynamics between fragments fragments surrounded by a matrix that is (Haddad et al. 2015). In addition, a set of small usually composed of agriculture and pasture, habitat patches collectively may harbor more unsuitable for the survival of many native species than certain large patches with similar species (Fernández-Chacón et al. 2014). Isolation total area (Fahrig et al. 2019), resulting in high β An Acad Bras Cienc (2020) 92(Suppl. 2) THIAGO S. TELES et al. TURNOVER OF CHRYSOMELIDAE IN A FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE diversity in fragmented landscapes (Tscharntke al. 2009), with estimates of more than 60,000 et al. 2012). species (Jolivet 2015). In Brazil, more than 6,000 Differences in species composition between species are registered from more than 550 assemblies, referred to as beta diversity (β) genera (Sekerka et al. 2017), however, in many by Whittaker (1960), can be generated by states there is still a lack of knowledge about two distinct phenomena: species spatial the diversity and ecological patterns of these replacement (turnover) or nestedness (Harrison insects, as in Mato Grosso do Sul. These insects et al. 1992, Williams 1996, Lennon et al. 2001). are sensitive to environmental disturbances, Turnover is described as spatial substitutions respond to differences in habitat structural of some species by other species along an complexity (Linzmeier & Ribeiro-Costa 2009, ecological or temporal gradient, which implies Sandoval-Becerra et al. 2018, Teles et al. 2019) simultaneous gain and loss of species due to and have potential as bioindicators (Pimenta & environmental filters, competition and historical De Marco 2015, Sánchez-Reyes et al. 2019). events (Leprieur et al. 2011). On the other hand, nestedness describes a condition in which sites with fewer species are subgroups of a MATERIALS AND METHODS site with a greater number of species (Baselga The study was carried out in the Dourados 2010). Nestedness, can reflect the diversity of municipality, located in the central-southern niches present in the region or other ecological portion of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil processes such as physical barriers (Legendre (22 ° 13’15 “S, 54 ° 48’21” W, 430 m altitude) (Fig. 1). 2014). In this way, partitioning the β-diversity The region is an ecotone with natural vegetation among turnover and nestedness is important for composed mostly of Alluvial Seasonal Forest the development of biodiversity conservation and Cerrado, with influences of Atlantic Forest strategies, as well as for accurate understanding and Meridional Forest (Rizzini 1997), resulting in of processes driving the observed patterns very diverse vegetation. However, the process (Felinks et al. 2011). of territorial occupation of the region was In the present study, our objective is to characterized by a lack of planning, causing determine if turnover, nestedness or randomness extensive destruction of natural resources, would drive β-diversity of leaf beetle species leading to the replacement of native vegetation (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera) of forest remnants by agricultural crops and pastures for cattle immersed in an agricultural matrix. We also raising (Martins 2001). The climate of the region, aim to understand the contribution of spatial according to Köpen classification, is Cwa type, structures and forest cover on the variation of humid mesothermic, with wet summers and dry total beta diversity and its components turnover winters (Fietz & Fisch 2008) and a predominance and nestedness. of very clay-like Latosol (Amaral et al. 2000). Chrysomelidae is a family of beetles with Between August 2012 and March 2013, wide geographical distribution and enormous we sampled 16 forest remnants with varying diversity, constituted by small beetles that sizes (0.61-308ha) (Table I) using Malaise traps represent a large part of the herbivorous (Townes 1972). The sampling effort between the insect fauna in diverse biomes (Andrew & fragments was not the same, as it depended Hughes 2004). More than 36,000 species are on the availability and access to privately currently recognized in the family (Bouchard et An Acad Bras Cienc (2020) 92(Suppl. 2) e20190745 2 | 10 THIAGO S. TELES et al. TURNOVER OF CHRYSOMELIDAE IN A FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE Figure 1. Collection sites (16 forest remnants) of Chrysomelidae in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul. owned lands/properties. In total, we collected we used a presence and absence matrix 60 samples, with each sample equivalent to 14 containing the 99 leaf beetle species. With this consecutive days of trap exposure. We separated matrix, we calculated the total diversity, as well the leaf beetles in morphotypes and identified as its turnover and nestedness components, through comparisons with specimens deposited using the “beta.multi” function of the betapart at the “Coleção Entomológica Pe. Jesus Santiago R package (Baselga et al. 2018). We used the Moure”, Universidade Federal do Paraná. We Sørensen dissimilarity index (βSOR), which was consider morphotypes those individuals that partitioned into the turnover components, were not possible to identify at species level, calculated by the Simpson dissimilarity index but hereafter we name them species. The (βSIM), and nestedness, expressed by the specimens vouchers are deposited in the difference of the Sørensen dissimilarity index “Museu da Biodiversidade da Faculdade de minus the dissimilarity index of Simpson (βSNE) Ciências Biológicas e Ambientais”, Universidade (Baselga 2010). We tested the null hypothesis Federal da Grande Dourados. that leaf beetle diversity is randomly spatially All analyzes were performed in the R distributed between the fragments by comparing program (R Core Team 2019) with different the observed data against the results obtained statistical packages (see details below). In by null models with the “oecosimu” function of order to determine if the differences in species the vegan package (Oksanen et al. 2018) using composition found in fragments were due to the model construction method “r1” with 1000 turnover (spatial replacement) or nestedness, permutations. An Acad Bras Cienc (2020) 92(Suppl. 2) e20190745 3 | 10 THIAGO S. TELES et al. TURNOVER OF CHRYSOMELIDAE IN A FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE Table I. Forest fragments of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) sampling in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, with Malaise traps. S = species richness; N = abundance; Buffer (%) = percentage of forest cover in buffers of 250m and 1500m radius from the centroid of each fragment. Buffer (%) Fragments Area (ha) N.samples S N 250m 1500m 1 4.09 1 5 18 35.19 2.86 2 66.25 3 6 7 100 36.73 3 10.70 1 2 2 56.22 3.21 4 44.29 4 9 11 100 19.80 5 13.97 1 3 3 58.96 15.96 6 80.55 4 13 18 99.64 22.44 7 32.01 4 8 15 92.32 29.41 8 0.61 1 13 23 2.29 5.78 9 308 9 32 104 100 52.03 10 1.59 4 7 44 12.34 3.15 11 4.23 6 12 30 20.11 1.50 12 11.95 6 17 50 57.59 17.70 13 5.62 4 16 50 36.11 14.44 14 58.51 6 6 9 96.89 13.78 15 84.36 3 10 46 92.32 23.44 16 202.93 3 8 20 87.75 27.11 We used the percentage of forest cover in to a broad scale, while the latter two represent 250 and 1500 m radius buffers for each of the a fine scale.