Response of beetle communities and functional groups to changes in structural and compositional biodiversity of cork oak forest and agricultural landscapes in the northwest of Morocco

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Samih, A., Rohi, L., Soldati, F., Maatouf, N., 2024. Response of beetle communities and functional groups to changes in structural and compositional biodiversity of cork oak forest and agricultural landscapes in the northwest of Morocco. Museu de ciències naturals de Barcelona, checklistdataset:

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The publisher and rights holder of this work is Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.

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This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 6efd69a4-6598-4116-a270-a0c3a18be837.  Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Spain.

Keywords

Beetles; Larache cork oak forest; Agricultural sector; Morocco; Occurrence

Contacts

Geographic Coverage

The study area is situated in the northwest of Morocco (fig. 1) and is a mosaic of large remnant forest and annual crop fields. The cork oak forest in Larache is continuous with the Maamora forest of Rabat, part of the cork oak forest of the Atlantic coastal plain, and it has a sub–humid thermo Mediterranean climatic stage with mild to temperate winters (Boudy, 1952; Ballouche, 2013). The main forest area has been largely opened up by deforestation and grazing and locally replaced by reforestation with eucalyptus, pine, and acacia. The soil in the area is generally sandy and suitable for crops (cereals, peanuts, vegetables, citrus fruits) (Sauvage, 1961). The Gharb plain is a major agricultural area in Morocco and is irrigated by the Oued Sebou river. Herein, crops including tomatoes, onions, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, oranges, lemons, and oilseeds are cultivated for both export and local consumption (HCEFLCD, 2013; Chbika, 2021).

Taxonomic Coverage

No Description available

Temporal Coverage

Project Data

The geographical location of Morocco provides an exceptionally biodiverse environment. This study aims to fill knowledge gaps regarding the biodiversity of beetles in the northwest of Morocco. We explored cork oak forests Quercus suber L. in Larache and the Gharb plain over two consecutive years (2021 and 2022) and performed an inventory of beetles. We captured and identified 5,405 specimens belonging to 246 species and 39 families. Three trends were evident in this study: 1) the most diverse family was Tenebrionidae, a family with a distinct affinity to Mediterranean climates; 2) we found few sapro–xylophagous, xylophagous, and coprophagous beetles in the study; and 3) our findings indicate that the Larache cork oak forest plays a vital ecological role in the area as beetle biodiversity and functional groups were much higher in the forested sectors than in nearby agricultural areas.

The personnel involved in the project:

Sampling Methods

We selected five stations in five municipalities in the northwest of Morocco: three stations in the forest sector (Ezzouada S1, Ouled Hammou S2, and Rissana S3) located in the cork oak forest of Larache and two stations in the agricultural sector (Moulay Bousselham S4 and Souk Larbaa S5) situated in the Gharb Plain. These stations were selected based on the type of vegetation cover (table 1). The agricultural lands in our study have been used for several decades for farming purposes. Typical treatments include pesticides targeting specific pests and tillage practices for soil management. Some farms focus on monocultures.

Method step description:

1. Four trapping systems were installed in each of the five stations during the daytime. Co¬loured pan traps (yellow, white, orange, and blue) were installed to capture flower–visiting beetles (Nageleisen and Bouget, 2009). These pan traps had a diameter of 15 cm and a height of 13 cm. Each pan trap was filled halfway with a water (60 %), detergent (20 %), tercept species active on the ground (Nageleisen and Bouget, 2009). Barber pitfalls were constructed using plastic cups with a top diameter of 60 mm. They were filled with water (60 %), detergent (20 %), and salt (20 %) and buried flush with the ground. Additionally, a Malaise trap was used to capture specific flying beetles (Ulyshen et al., 2005; Sheikh et al., 2016). The Malaise traps were constructed of black and white material and handmade. Each trap measured approximately 1.5 m in height, 1.2 m in width, and 1.5 m in length. The design of the trap is shown in the figure 2. The traps were installed using stakes driven into the ground and secured with nets. The collection cups contained a solution of 50 % ethanol, 5 % detergent, and 45 % water to preserve the captured specimens. At each station, 11 traps (six Barber pitfall, four pan traps, and one Malaise trap) were installed and spaced at a distance of 15 to 20 m apart. Alongside the passive collection techniques described above, we conducted active searching for the direct capture of individuals encountered along straight transects (1 m x 100 m) in the sampled sites. We standardized our active searches by making consistent efforts at each site. Each research session was conducted over a defined period of 8 hours within one day, with a uniform number of three researchers. Trap contents were collected every 20 days over 7 months (April–October) over two consecutive years (2021–2022). Following each sampling mission, the collected insects were individually placed in plastic vials, labelled, and preserved in 70 % ethyl alcohol. The collected specimens were examined in the laboratory, counted, and identified up to the species and/or genus level using a bino¬cular loupe and various identification keys. For species confirmation, they were compared to the specimens in the museum's collections of the CIRF (Center for Innovation, Research and Training) and the Museum of the Scientific Institute of Rabat (Morocco). To determine the functional group for each species, we used a combination of methods that included direct observations of feeding behaviour and a review of existing scientific literature (Velle, 2004; Carpaneto et al., 2015). Each species was classified according to specific criteria such as their primary diet and also by their ecological roles (phytophagous, coprophagous, mycophagous, xylophagous, sapro–xylophagous, necrophagous, flower visitors and pre¬dators). The determination of species and their classification into functional groups were validated by Fabien Soldati.

Bibliographic Citations

1. Samih, A., Rohi, L., Soldati, F., Maatouf, N., 2024. Response of beetle communities and functional groups to changes in structural and compositional biodiversity of cork oak forest and agricultural landscapes in the northwest of Morocco. Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, 22: 169–183. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32800/ https://doi.org/10.32800/

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