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Vertical stratification of insect abundance and species richness in an Amazonian tropical forest

2022; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 12; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/s41598-022-05677-y

2045-2322

Dalton de Souza Amorim, Brian V. Brown, Danilo Bôscolo, Rosaly Ale‐Rocha, Deivys M. Alvarez García, Maria Isabel P. A. Balbi, Alan de Marco Barbosa, Renato Soares Capellari, Cláudio José Barros de Carvalho, Márcia Souto Couri, Rodrigo de Vilhena Perez Dios, Diego Aguilar Fachin, Gustavo Borges Ferro, Heloísa Fernandes Flores, Livia Maria Frare, Filipe Macedo Gudin, Martin Hauser, Carlos José Einicker Lamas, Kate Lindsay, Marco Antonio Tonus Marinho, Dayse Willkenia Almeida Marques, Stephen A. Marshall, Cátia Antunes de Mello-Patiu, Marco Antônio Menezes, Mírian Nunes Morales, Silvio Shigueo Nihei, Sarah Siqueira Oliveira, Gabriela Pirani, Guilherme Cunha Ribeiro, Paula Raile Riccardi, Marcelo Domingos de Santis, Daubian Santos, Josenilson Rodrigues dos Santos, Vera Cristina Silva, Eric M. Wood, José Albertíno Rafael,

Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Abstract Tropical forests are among the most biodiverse biomes on the planet. Nevertheless, quantifying the abundance and species richness within megadiverse groups is a significant challenge. We designed a study to address this challenge by documenting the variability of the insect fauna across a vertical canopy gradient in a Central Amazonian tropical forest. Insects were sampled over two weeks using 6-m Gressitt-style Malaise traps set at five heights (0 m–32 m–8 m intervals) on a metal tower in a tropical forest north of Manaus, Brazil. The traps contained 37,778 specimens of 18 orders of insects. Using simulation approaches and nonparametric analyses, we interpreted the abundance and richness of insects along this gradient. Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera had their greatest abundance at the ground level, whereas Lepidoptera and Hemiptera were more abundant in the upper levels of the canopy. We identified species of 38 of the 56 families of Diptera, finding that 527 out of 856 species (61.6%) were not sampled at the ground level. Mycetophilidae, Tipulidae, and Phoridae were significantly more diverse and/or abundant at the ground level, while Tachinidae, Dolichopodidae, and Lauxaniidae were more diverse or abundant at upper levels. Our study suggests the need for a careful discussion of strategies of tropical forest conservation based on a much more complete understanding of the three-dimensional distribution of its insect diversity.