Coleoptera of Genting Highland, Malaysia: Species richness and diversity changes along the elevations

Study Extent

The mountains in Malaysia, the Titiwangsa Range, are located in the centre from Pahang to Kelantan states. Genting Highland is on the Pahang and Selangor border in Bentong District, which is just 50 km from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Genting Highland is the most disturbed area. The entire summit region has been replaced by amusement parks, casinos and hotels (Peh et al., 2011). Before the conversion of Genting Highland into an entertainment site, this area was a virgin, undisturbed forest that could be reached only via jungle trekking (Stone, 1981; Piggott, 1977)

Sampling

Beetles were collected from sites at 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 1800 m a.s.l. (Above Sea Level) (fig. 1). Light traps, Malaise traps and pitfall traps were used to collect the beetles. Two light traps, two Malaise traps and 25 pitfall traps with five sets of pitfall traps arranged in a diagonal shape were fixed at each elevation. Non-baited wet pitfall traps were 200 ml plastic cups (65 mm diameter, 9.5 cm depth) filled with 50 ml 70 % alcohol, sunk into the ground with the brim at ground level and large leaves were positioned at the same level to protect the traps from flooding ç. Malaise traps were made of nylon net with a collection jar half filled with 70 % alcohol. They were fixed to the branch of a tree not more than 1.5 m from the ground and they were also fixed for 24 hours. Light traps were made of mosquito netting with a 160 watt mercury bulb connected to a portable Honda EU10i portable power generator. It was fixed just above ground level and beetles attracted to the light were collected using collection bottles. Light traps were fixed for six hours at each elevational band from 6 pm to 12 am midnight

Quality Control

All the collected samples were sorted and tallied to morphospecies level using established keys (Triplehorn and Johnson, 2005) and then cross checked with the Wildlife Department of Malaysia, University of Malaya, National University of Malaysia and Forestry department of Malaysia museum collections. The previous collection at our lab was also used to identify samples to morphospecies level.

Method steps

1. The commonly used nonparametric estimators ACE (Abundance-based Coverage Estimator), ICE (Incidence-based Coverage Estimator) and Chao 1estimators were used to calculate species richness at each altitudinal band using PAST 3.07 (Hammer et al., 2001). The Clench model was used to estimate the sampling effort efficacy with the use of estimated species. Richness and slope of the species accumulation curve for all beetles collected from each elevational transect were plotted using STATISTICA 8.0 (StatSoft Inc. 2007). Species abundance was calculated for all sampling methods at altitudinal band and differences between these values were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric tests. For diversity analysis, the Shannon diversity index, the Simpson diversity index and Fisher’s alpha diversity indexes were used, while the Margalef index was used to calculate calculation. Cluster analysis for abundance was conducted in STATISTICA 8.0, using a dissimilarity matrix with the Bray-Curtis index as a distance measure, and the Ward´s amalgamation algorithm. Beta diversity was measured through Bray-Curtis index of similarity as for the faunistic similar¬ity between the four altitudinal sites. Cluster analysis was also performed, using PAST 3.07 (Hammer et al., 2001) to define groups of sites according to species composition, using the Bray-Curtis index as a distance measure and the UPGMA (Unweighted Pair-Groups Method using arithmetic Averages) method as an amalgamation algorithm.

1. Anthicidae
   rank: family
2. Anthribidae
   rank: family
3. Bostrichidae
   rank: family
4. Brentidae
   rank: family
5. Bupresidae
   rank: family
6. Carabidae
   rank: family
7. Cerambycidae
   rank: family
8. Ceratocanthidae
   rank: family
9. Chelonariidae
   rank: family
10. Chrysomelidae
    rank: family
11. Cicindelidae
    rank: family
12. Cleridae
    rank: family
13. Coccinellidae
    rank: family
14. Curculionoidea
    rank: family
15. Dryopidae
    rank: family
16. Elateridae
    rank: family
17. Endomychidae
    rank: family
18. Eucnemidae
    rank: family
19. Hydrophilidae
    rank: family
20. Lampyridae
    rank: family
21. Languriidae
    rank: family
22. Lucanidae
    rank: family
23. Lycidae
    rank: family
24. Meloidae
    rank: family
25. Mordellidae
    rank: family
26. Nitidulidae
    rank: family
27. Phalacridae
    rank: family
28. Platypodidae
    rank: family
29. Ptinidae
    rank: family
30. Ptilodactylidae
    rank: family
31. Psephenidae
    rank: family
32. Salpingidae
    rank: family
33. Scarabaeidae
    rank: family
34. Scolytidae
    rank: family
35. Silvanidae
    rank: family
36. Scydmaenidae
    rank: family
37. Staphylinidae
    rank: family
38. Tenebrionidae
    rank: family
39. Zopheridae
    rank: family

The mountains in Malaysia, the Titiwangsa Range, are located in the centre from Pahang to Kelantan states. Genting Highland is on the Pahang and Selangor border in Bentong District, which is just 50 km from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.