Habitat associations of saproxylic beetles in the southeastern United States: A comparison of forest types, tree species and wood postures

Saproxylic beetles are highly sensitive to forest management practices that reduce the abundance and variety of deadwood. However, this diverse fauna continues to receive little attention in the southeastern United States even though this region supports some of the most diverse, productive and intensively managed forests in North America. In this replicated three-way factorial experiment, we investigated the habitat associations of saproxylic beetles on the coastal plain of South Carolina. The factors of interest were forest type (upland pine-dominated vs. bottomland hardwood), tree species (Quercus nigra L., Pinus taeda L. and Liquidambar styraciflua L.) andwood posture (standing and downed deadwood, i.e., snags and logs). Wood samples were taken at four positions along each log and snag (lower bole, middle bole, upper bole and crown) 11 months after the trees were killed and placed in rearing bags to collect emerging beetles. Overall, 33,457 specimens from 52 families and 250 species emerged. Based on an analysis of covariance, with surface area and bark coverage as covariates, saproxylic beetle species richness differed significantly between forest types as well as between wood postures. There were no significant interactions. Species richness was significantly higher in the upland pine-dominated stand than the bottomland hardwood forest, possibly due to higher light exposure and temperature in upland forests. Although L. styraciflua yielded more beetle species (152) than either Q. nigra (122) or P. taeda (125), there were no significant differences in species richness among tree species. There were also no relationships evident between relative tree abundance and observed or expected beetle species richness. Significantly more beetle species emerged from logs than from snags. However snags had a distinct fauna including several potential canopy specialists. Our results suggest that conservation practices that retain or create entire snags as opposed to high stumps or logs alone will most greatly benefit saproxylic beetles in southeastern forests. Published by Elsevier B.V.