Effect of forest removal on the abundance of the endangered American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus (Coleoptera: Silphidae) |
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| Authors: | J Curtis Creighton Robert Bastarache Mark V Lomolino Mark C Belk |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN 46323, USA;(2) Ouachita National Forest, United States Forest Service, Idabel, OK 74745, USA;(3) SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA;(4) Department of Integrative Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA |
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| Abstract: | We test the hypothesis that the decline of the endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) from over 90% of its original range is the result of habitat loss and fragmentation of eastern North America. Forest removal
at a site in southeastern Oklahoma known to have a significant population of N. americanus gave us a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis. At the local scale of this experiment, N. americanus declined significantly after forest removal while beetle numbers at adjacent forested plots did not change. Our results indicate
that local disturbances such as forest removal, if occurring across relatively broad spatial scales, can cause wholesale geographic
range collapse in this species. |
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| Keywords: | Habitat loss Forest fragmentation Endangered species American burying beetle Nicrophorus americanus Silphidae |
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