Authors：Wenbe Hwang, Wei-Han Lai, Chao-Nien Koh

Year：2014

Key words：necrophilous beetles, biodiversity, temperature, forest, Chilanshan

Baited hang-fall traps were used to research the community structure of necrophilous beetles
at Chilanshan, northeastern Taiwan and the effects of changes in the ambient temperature on
the species richness, abundance, and diversity. In total, 1772 individuals of 70 species and 6
families of necrophilous beetles were collected in January to December 2013. Three families,
i.e., the Staphylinidae, Leiodidae, and Silphidae, were dominant in terms of individual
abundances. The community similarity of necrophilous beetles was 36.81% (Wainstein’s
similarity index, Kw) between the plantation and the natural forest. Average monthly
temperatures were significantly lower in the natural forest than on the plantation, while
monthly individual abundances were higher in the natural forest. Species richness,
individual abundances, and the Shannon-Wiener index were significantly correlated with
the average monthly temperature in a quadratic relationship. The higher the ambient
temperature was, the higher were the species richness, individual abundance, and
Shannon-Wiener index of the necrophilous beetle community. In addition, the quadratic
polynomial curve of the natural forest was shifted in the direction of lower temperatures
compared to that of the plantation. These results indicate that the ambient temperature
had a significant impact on the community structure of necrophilous beetles in the cloud
forest at mid-elevation Chilanshan.