Abstract:

The effects of biological conservation practice on diversity of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) were studied in Pangquangou Nature Reserve (111°22'-111°33'E, 37°45'-37°55'N, elevation 1 600-2 831 m), Shanxi Province, China. Pitfall catches were set in four sites, i. e. , Lüsechanglang of the core zone (CZ), Badaogou of the buffer zone(BZ), Shenweigou of the test zone, which is far from farmlands(TZFF) and Bashuigou of the test zone,which is near to farmlands(TZNF) to catch the beetles from May to September in 2006 and 2007. A total of 1 862 rove beetles belonging to 9 subfamilies were caught. Of these rove beetles caught, Aleocharinae accounted for 80.15% in number, as the dominant group; Staphylininae, Oxytelinae, Omaliinae and Tachyporinae accounted for from 1%~10%, as the common groups; and the Proteininae, Pseudopsinae, Steninae and Xantholininae accounted for less than 1%, as the rare groups. The Proteininae, Pseudopsinae and Xantholininae are the newly recorded subfamilies in Shanxi. There were difference in the beetle composition and numbers among the sites. CZ had the greatest number of individuals and relatively lower evenness index. BZ had a very high richness, diversity and dominance index. TZNF had a very high β-diversity index. A branching pattern was established for groups linkage, based on sub-family assemblages of the rove beetle in the four sites with Euclidean distance. BZ and TZFF were similar; CZ had a very low similarity with other zones. It is inferred that the high diversity of rove beetles species in BZ may be due to the edge-associated species and the presence of species from the adjacent habitats. Nevertheless, the biological conservation practice, which could relieve the pressure of human disturbance, significantly contributed to the re-establishment and maintenance of the diversity of rove beetles assemblages in the studied area.

Key words: Staphylinidae, biodiversity, Pangquangou National Nature Reserve, core zone, buffer zone, test zone