Longhorn beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) assemblage and the structural heterogeneity of habitat at the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Abstract

The longhorn beetles play important roles in the forest ecosystem processes and their diversity is affected by many environmental disturbances worldwide. This study aimed at understanding how the structural heterogeneity of the habitat can affect the longhorn beetle assemblage in three areas of an Atlantic Forest, which suffered differential impacts in the past and are now in different successional stages. The area in the most advanced successional stage had mainly lower density of trees, but with greater availability of dead wood, especially larger diameter classes. They are important forest components that contribute to the structural diversity of the habitat providing resources for a variety of dependent species. This area has also shown the greatest richness and abundance of longhorn beetles. Our results suggest that these beetles are closely associated with the structural heterogeneity of forests and can be valuable indicators for assessing biodiversity and quality of forest habitat. It also shows that old-growth forest remnants can be the key to the maintenance of the diversity of the longhorn beetles and, consequently, of the ecosystem services they provide.