INVENTORY OF THREE BEETLE SPECIES ASSEMBLAGES (COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE, SCARABAEOIDEA, TENEBRIONOIDEA) FROM THE CHIHUAHUAN DESERT OF WEST TEXAS

摘要

Pitfall traps were used to study the abundance and diversity of three species assemblages of Coleoptera from four proximal sites in the Chihuahuan Desert of the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas. Members of the family Carabidae and superfamilies Scarabaeoidea and Tenebrionoidea were collected from four ecological habitats from September 1999 to September 2000. A total of 994 individuals, representing 53 species of beetles, was collected over the duration of the survey. The tenebrionoids were the dominant assemblage collected, and were only outnumbered by the scarabaeoids at one collecting site (Lower Spring). Carabidae was the least abundant of the three assemblages. The four localities yielded relatively equivalent collections of individuals, yet Camp Site was the least taxonomically diverse and exhibited a beetle fauna consisting primarily of tenebrionoids. Collection sites with water to support a more diverse flora (Sandy Canyon and Upper Spring) also supported a more diverse beetle fauna. This study provides a baseline for continuing arthropod investigations of the desert habitats of the Dalquest Research Site in west Texas.