How to translate text using browser tools
18 April 2017 Congeneric Predaceous Diving Beetle Species Fail to Segregate in a Floodplain System: A Case of Amplified Sympatry
Courtney Holt McDaniel, Joseph V. McHugh, Darold P. Batzer
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Coexistence of closely related species has long been a focus of biologists in their efforts to explain mechanisms that drive community assembly. Dytiscidae (predaceous diving beetles) are a group that shows a particularly high affinity for sympatry despite their relatedness. Our objective was to investigate the degree of overlap among Neoporus (Guignot) species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in floodplains of the southeastern United States. We sampled two floodplain habitats (permanent oxbow lakes and temporarily flooded pools) of the Altamaha River (Georgia, USA) for Neoporus species over three years. Six species of Neoporus were collected during our study, and a significant amount of overlap (spatial and temporal) was documented. Analysis suggested that none of the species exhibited a preference toward one habitat type or the other. Temporally, no striking patterns of segregation emerged. No negative correlations between species were documented, but neither were significant positive correlations found. This absence of distinct patterns suggests a lack of segregation among Neoporus species in floodplains of the Altamaha River. While Dytiscidae in general appears to be a particularly sympatric group of organisms, overlap among congeneric species within the family has been documented less frequently. Our study provides new insight into the degree to which dytiscids are capable of coexisting in space and time.

© The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Courtney Holt McDaniel, Joseph V. McHugh, and Darold P. Batzer "Congeneric Predaceous Diving Beetle Species Fail to Segregate in a Floodplain System: A Case of Amplified Sympatry," Environmental Entomology 46(3), 494-501, (18 April 2017). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvx063
Received: 16 August 2016; Accepted: 2 March 2017; Published: 18 April 2017
JOURNAL ARTICLE
8 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Altamaha River
coexistence
Dytiscidae
floodplains
Neoporus
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top