https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/student_scholarship_posters/1200/thumbnail.jp

Branham, Kathryn

Lydeard, Charles

O\u27Keefe, Sean

Shumate, Bryana

English

Morehead State University

Kathryn Branham, Bryana Shumate, Charles Lydeard, and Sean O’KeefeDepartment of Biology and Chemistry, College of ScienceBeetle Diversity: A Comparison of the Biodiversity of Ecotone vs. Woods Surrounding Morehead State’s Eagle LakeSpring 2019Department of Biology & Chemistry,College of ScienceABSTRACTBiodiversity is an important indicator of health within anecosystem. Coleoptera (beetles), which comprise twenty percentof known, described species, inhabit a wide variety of habitattypes making them excellent study organisms to addressbiodiversity-related questions. To study this phenomenon, wecompared the biodiversity of Coleoptera within Morehead StateUniversity’s Eagle Lake. We collected leaf-litter samples fromwooded habitat and its associated ecotone between the woodedarea and more disturbed, open field surrounding Eagle Lake toassess whether there were any differences in biodiversityrichness and abundance. Through our data we discovered thatthe leaf litter from the wooded regions of Eagle Lake featuredmany morphologically diverse organisms, and the inhabitants ofthe forest floor approaching the ecotone can change dramaticallyover a distance of only a few meters. When data were comparedto levels of other indicator species of mites and ants, we wereable to gain an overall understanding of the biodiversity of thearea and its sustainability for local wildlife.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSREFERENCESCoarse SortA coarse sort was completed to separate beetles from otherinsects in the sample. The coarse sort helped to reduce identificationerror later in the project.Pointing:The vast majority of beetles collected from leaf litter are far toosmall to be mounted using standard pinning techniques. Therefore,after the beetles were sorted from the leaf debris using the Berlesefunnel, and separated from other insects, they were affixed onspecialize triangles of paper known as “points” and mounted onstandard #3 pins. The specimens were then labeled with informationabout the location and date that they were collected (Fig. 4).INTRODUCTIONEagle Lake on Morehead State University’s campus is an18-acre lake that was created in the 1950’s by the impoundmentof Evans Branch. Since this time, Eagle Lake and the adjacentlands have served as a habitat and home for thousands ofspecies within Rowan County. In addition to its pristine image,Eagle Lake also serves as a recreational, hiking and fishing sitefor the community of Morehead State University. To determinethe actual health of Eagle Lake as a natural habitat, we utilizedbeetles as an indicator species.Beetles are a good indicator of environmental healthbecause they serve a variety of roles within an ecosystem.Beetles can fill virtually every ecological niche. In addition,with over 400,000 beetle species known in the world, beetlesare easy to collect and categorize. When considering speciesrichness in an area, or the relative amount of different speciesrepresented in an ecological community, it becomes possible tocategorize the overall relative health of two or more areas inrelation to each other. When species richness is combined withstatistical analysis, we can accurately judge the ecologicalhealth of specific areas.RESULTSDISCUSSIONDISCUSSION  Berlese Funnel:The Berlese Funnel (Fig. 3) consists of a large metal funnelcontaining wire grate and cheesecloth, upon which the collected leaf littersample was placed. Once the sample was placed in the funnel, a lidcontaining a standard lightbulb was placed over the sample. A collection jarof ethanol was placed at the bottom of the funnel. The light continuouslyran on the funnel for 7 days, during which time the substrate became dryand warm. Beetles who live in leaf litter prefer cool dry conditions.Because of this, they burrowed deeper into the leaf litter and eventually fellthrough the funnel and into the collection jar.Collection areasTwo separate areas surrounding Eagle Lake were used as collectionlocations. These areas were the Ecotone between the forest and the meadowat the far end of the lake, and the Woods in proximity to this ecotone (Fig.2). Although the Woods and Ecotone sampling location were chosen to beapproximately 50 yards from each other, the habitat was vastly different ineach location and therefore produced vastly different beetle samples.Materials and MethodsLeaf Litter Collection:Beetles were collected by sorting leaf litter from theforest floor and ecotone through a specialized sifting apparatus(Fig. 1). Leaf litter was placed in the top of the apparatus on awire grate and shaken. Larger twigs and organic material weresifted back out the top, while smaller mulch and the beetles itcontained fell through the grate and into a long collectingsleeve. The material that could not make it through the gratewas returned to the environment where it was collected. Oncethe collection sleeve was full, the leaf litter sample was placedin a pillow case, tied, and returned to the lab to be run througha Berlese funnel to extract the beetles.The beetles of each testing area were diverse in number.Overall, we observed 33 different genera in the Ecotonesamples, and 30 different genera among the samples from theWoods. However, while the genera from the ecotone exhibitedmore unique individuals, as shown by Figures 5 and 6, theoverall diversity of the Woods was greater, as a larger number ofgenera contained multiple individuals, compared to adistribution where a large number of genera contained only oneor two individuals in the ecotone. Additionally, the ecotoneexperienced a situation where one genus, Curculionidae 1,comprised 42% of individuals sampled. This shows that, whilemany genera can be found in the ecotone, there is anoverwhelming abundance of Curculionidae 1 that monopolizesthe area.One possible issue with analysis using family-level taxais that many families, such as Staphylinidae, included more thanten genera. Altogether, the Staphylinidae is very abundant inboth sampling areas, but when divided into morphotype theywere not as common as other genera. However, overall, thegenus-level taxon was a good measure of the diversity of theregions.Figure 1: Leaf litter sampling at Eagle LakeFigure 3: Berlese funnel set up in the lab.Figure 4: Punches and pins used for pointingWe would like to thank Morehead State University forallowing us to collect samples at the University’s property atEagle Lake. We would like to thank the Department of Biologyand Chemistry for providing laboratory space and samplingsupplies.Beetles of Kentucky - University of Kentucky Entomology. [accessed 2019 Mar 15]. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/beetles/beetlefile.htmBugGuide.Net - BugGuide.Net. [accessed 2019 Apr 12]. https://bugguide.net/node/view/15740DIVERSITY INDICES. [accessed 2019 Mar 30]. http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/bealsmodules/shannonDI.htmlEvans AV. Beetles of Eastern North America. Princeton: Princeton University Press; 2014.Julio CA. Methods for catching beetles. Montevideo-Asuncion: Naturalia Scientific Collection; 2010.Figure 2: Beetle sampling locations surrounding Eagle Lake – Ecotone (Left) and Woods (Right)3%4%8%10%41%Figure 5: Beetle Populations, EcotoneOtherScydmaenidae 12Scaphidiidae 1Curculionidae 4Corylophidae 1Curculionidae 123%21%13%5%3%3%32%Figure 6: Beetle Populations, WoodsAnenicidaeCurculionidae 1Nitudulidae 3Aderidae 1Scymaenidae 3Tenebrionidae 1OtherSorting:After the beetles were pointed, they were sorted according tofamily. They were then sub-sorted into individual morphotypes thatcorresponded to genera within the families by using differences inphysical appearance. These groups of morphotypes were labeledaccording to their family followed by a numeric numbering, forexample Elateridae 1, Elateridae 2, Elateridae 3, etc.Statistical Analysis:Once sorted into morphotypes, the beetle samples wereanalyzed using the Shannon Diversity Index and Simpson’s D index.The Shannon Diversity Index accounted for both abundance andevenness within the sampling area, which allowed us to distinctlyquantify the difference between distribution of beetle morphotypeswithin and among the Woods and Ecotone sampling regions.Simpson’s D Index was used to calculate the diversity of beetleswithin and among the sampling regions. When the ShannonDiversity Index and Simpson’s D Index were both used in relation toeach other, it allowed us to gain a larger understanding of the overalldiversity of our sampling regions through a multi-factorial approach.Table 1: Numbers of Morphotype Genera Among Ecotone SamplesGenus Number Genus Number Carabidae 4 1 Curculionidae 4 1Cleridae 1 1 Scydmaenidae 7 2Curculionidae 5 1 Carabidae 1 2Curculionidae 7 1 Carabidae 3 2Curculionidae 9 1 Chrysomelidae 1 2Erotylidae 1 1 Nitidulidae 3 2Hydrophilidae 1 1 Scaphidiidae 2 2Leiodidae 2 1 Scymaenidae 6 2Nitudulidae 1 1 Tenebrionidae 1 3Phalycridae 1 1 Aderidae 1 3Scydmaenidae 8 1 Scydmaenidae 10 4Scymaenidae 1 1 Other 4Scymaenidae 13 1 Scydmaenidae 12 5Scymaenidae 2 1 Scaphidiidae 1 10Scymaenidae 4 1 Curculionidae 4 12Scymaenidae 5 1 Corylophidae 1 51Throscidae 1Table 2: Numbers of Morphotype Genera Among Woods SamplesGenus Number Genus Number Anenicidae 20 Curculionidae 9 4Curculionidae 1 89 Erotylidae 2 1Nitudulidae 3 17 Leiodidae 2 1Aderidae 1 4 Nitidulidae 1 1Scymaenidae 3 3 Nitudulidae 2 1Tenebrionidae 1 10 Ptilidae 1 1Other 2 Ptilidae 2 1Scymaenidae 13 2 Scaphidiidae 2 13Scymaenidae 4 2 Scydmaenidae 10 1Carabidae 2 2 Scydmaenidae 11 1Chrysomleidae 1 1 Scydmaenidae 12 2Corylophidae 1 1 Scydmaenidae 9 1Curculioinidae 6 1 Scymaenidae 1 1Curculionidae 2 2 Scymaenidae 2 9Curculionidae 3 1 Scymaenidae 5 1Once the beetles were categorized, the data were analyzedaccording to location collected. The data for this information can befound in Figures 5 and 6, and Tables 1 and 2.2022242628303234Ecotone WoodsNumber of GeneraCollecting AreaFigure 7: Beetle Abundance Per Collecting AreaFigures 5-6. Beetle abundance in ecotone vs woods.Figure 7. Beetle diversity in ecotone vs woods.

Beetle Diversity: A Comparison of the Biodiversity of Ecotone vs. Woods Surrounding Morehead State’s Eagle Lake

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Beetle Diversity: A Comparison of the Biodiversity of Ecotone vs. Woods Surrounding Morehead State’s Eagle Lake

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