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<p>Tropical montane forests (TMFs) harbor exceptional biodiversity, yet canopy insect assemblages remain critically understudied. Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are essential components of forest ecosystems, playing key roles in nutrient cycling and plant interactions. This study provides the first canopy-level assessment of Curculionidae diversity along an elevational gradient (520–1,000&#xa0;m above sea level) in a southern Ecuadorian TMF using insecticidal fogging. We collected 1,178 individuals representing 223 morphospecies from 28 sampling units across three forest plots. Richness estimators indicated that sampling captured 36–81% of expected species, suggesting a vast undetected diversity and a non-asymptotic richness pattern. The highest α-diversity was recorded at 1,000&#xa0;m a.s.l. Notably, Plot 2 (880&#xa0;m a.s.l.) exhibited the lowest Shannon diversity (<i>H'</i> = 3.41) despite higher richness than the lowest site, driven by the extreme dominance of a single morphospecies (MSP 17), which accounted for 65.4% of individuals at that site. β-diversity analysis revealed high community dissimilarity (<i>β</i><sub><i>SOR</i></sub> = 0.96), almost entirely attributable to species turnover (<i>β</i><sub><i>SIM</i></sub> = 0.94), with only 6% of morphospecies shared across all sites, though these patterns should be interpreted as descriptive differences among sites given the single-plot design at each elevation. These results indicate intense community replacement across sites and suggest that local condition´s structure canopy assemblages within this piemontane ecotone. These findings underscore the ecological distinctiveness of Andean TMFs and highlight the importance of conserving continuous elevational corridors to maintain specialized insect diversity and buffer against climate-driven environmental change.</p>

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Canopy Weevil Diversity Across an Elevational Gradient in a Southern Ecuadorian Tropical Montane Forest

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月22日

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  • Pamela Estefania Andrade,
  • Santiago Sebastian Bonilla,
  • Alberto Macancela Herrera,
  • Gissela De la Cadena Mendoza

摘要

Tropical montane forests (TMFs) harbor exceptional biodiversity, yet canopy insect assemblages remain critically understudied. Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are essential components of forest ecosystems, playing key roles in nutrient cycling and plant interactions. This study provides the first canopy-level assessment of Curculionidae diversity along an elevational gradient (520–1,000 m above sea level) in a southern Ecuadorian TMF using insecticidal fogging. We collected 1,178 individuals representing 223 morphospecies from 28 sampling units across three forest plots. Richness estimators indicated that sampling captured 36–81% of expected species, suggesting a vast undetected diversity and a non-asymptotic richness pattern. The highest α-diversity was recorded at 1,000 m a.s.l. Notably, Plot 2 (880 m a.s.l.) exhibited the lowest Shannon diversity (H' = 3.41) despite higher richness than the lowest site, driven by the extreme dominance of a single morphospecies (MSP 17), which accounted for 65.4% of individuals at that site. β-diversity analysis revealed high community dissimilarity (βSOR = 0.96), almost entirely attributable to species turnover (βSIM = 0.94), with only 6% of morphospecies shared across all sites, though these patterns should be interpreted as descriptive differences among sites given the single-plot design at each elevation. These results indicate intense community replacement across sites and suggest that local condition´s structure canopy assemblages within this piemontane ecotone. These findings underscore the ecological distinctiveness of Andean TMFs and highlight the importance of conserving continuous elevational corridors to maintain specialized insect diversity and buffer against climate-driven environmental change.