Alticini (Newman) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae) fauna in different successional stages in an Araucaria Forest of Parana, Brazil: diversity and estimation of species richness

Alticini (Newman) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae) fauna in different successional stages in an Araucaria Forest of Parana, Brazil: diversity and estimation of species richness. Members of the Alticini were collected at five locations: an edge, an area of unmanaged Araucaria reforestation, and in three successional stages of Araucaria Forest in the state of Parana. Collecting, using malaise traps, was carried out weekly from September 1999 to August 2001, in Vila Velha State Park, near the city of Ponta Grossa, Parand. Collections included 1,891 specimens of 106 species in the Alticini. The highest richness and the lowest species abundance were in the forest margin. Richness was highest in young, and lowest in older successional stages. The richness estimators indicated a possible increase of seven to 50 Alticini species in Vila Velha. The proportional abundance of Chrysomelidae/Coleoptera decreases with increasing degree of succession, and therefore may serve as an indicator of environmental quality.