The beetle fauna of a mature spruce-sphagnum bog, Algonquin Park, Ontario; ecological implications of the species composition

Abstract

The beetle fauna of a black spruce (Picea mariana) tamarack Larix laricina-Sphagnum bog in Alonquin Provincial Park, was sampled. The yield was 5734 beetles, in 30 families. Ptiliidae was the most numerically abundant and Staphylinidae was the most taxonomically diverse. Carabidae was second in diversity and third in numerical abundance. The abundance and ecological implications of some individual species are discussed. The faunal composition suggests that the bog is in a late-succession phase and that most of the beetle species are derived from adjacent habitats. -from Author