Corresponding author: Michael Joseph Skvarla (
Academic editor: Miguel Alonso-Zarazaga
Deceased author
The Ozark Mountains are a region with high endemism and biodiversity, yet few invertebrate inventories have been made and few sites extensively studied. We surveyed a site near Steel Creek Campground, along the Buffalo National River in Arkansas, using twelve trap types – Malaise traps, canopy traps (upper and lower collector), Lindgren multifunnel traps (black, green, and purple), pan traps (blue, purple, red, white, and yellow), and pitfall traps – and Berlese-Tullgren extraction for eight and half months.
We provide collection records of beetle species belonging to eight families collected at the site. Thirty one species represent new state records: (
The Interior Highlands is a mountainous physiogeographic division in the central United States and the only significant topographic relief between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains (Fig.
The Ouachita Mountains are east-west trending fold mountains approximately 100 km wide and 190 km long (3,237,600 ha), with elevations up to 818 m (
Prior to European settlement, the Ouachita Mountains were dominated by shortleaf pine (
The Ozarks, also referred to as the Ozark Mountains or Ozark Plateau, is divided into four geologic subdivisions. The Saint Francois Mountains, the oldest subdivision, is the exposed remains of a Proterozoic mountain range that formed through volcanic and intrusive activity 1485 Ma (
The Salem and Springfield Plateaus rise to elevations of 450 m and 550 m, respectively, and are characterized by relatively flat plateau surfaces that form extensive plains cut into rolling, level-topped hills around rivers and other flowing water (
The Ouachita Mountains and Ozarks have never been connected as the Arkansas Valley (also called the Arkansas River Valley), which is part of the Arkoma Basin, formed as a foreland basin through downwarping along the Ouachita orogeny when the Ouachita Mountains were uplifted (
The Interior Highlands can also be divided by ecoregion. Ecoregions, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, are divided into three levels: Level I is the most inclusive and places the region "in context at global or intercontinental scales"; Level II regions are subdivisions of Level I regions and are "intended to provide a more detailed description of the large ecological areas nested within the level I regions"; finally, Level III has the smallest subdivisions that "enhance regional environmental monitoring, assessment and reporting, as well as decision-making" and "allow locally defining characteristics to be identified, and more specifically oriented management strategies to be formulated" (
As may be expected with the regions inclusion in the Level I Eastern Temperate Forests ecoregion, many species found in the Interior Highlands are typical of eastern North America. However, some western species reach their eastern range limit in the Interior Highlands (e.g., Texas brown tarantula [
Aquatic insects and crayfish have been relatively well surveyed within the Interior Highlands (Table
The following traps were maintained within the site: five Malaise traps (MegaView Science Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan), twenty-five pan traps (five of each color: blue, purple, red, yellow, white) which were randomly arranged under the Malaise traps (one of each color per Malaise trap) so as to also act as intercept traps; fifteen Lindgren multi-funnel traps (ChemTich International, S.A., Heredia, Costa Rica) (five of each color: black, green, purple); four SLAM (Sea, Land, and Air Malaise) traps (MegaView Science Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan) with top and bottom collectors that acted as canopy traps; and seventeen pitfall trap sets. Sixteen of the seventeen pitfall sets were placed in two transects of sets spaced every five meters centered on two Malaise traps while the final set was placed away from other traps. Additionally, ten leaf litter samples were collected for Berlese extraction when traps were serviced.
Pitfall traps were based on a design proposed by
Berlese-Tullgren samples were collected from a variety of habitats, including thin leaf litter away from objects; thick leaf litter accumulated along logs and rocks; moss; tree holes; bark from fallen, partially decayed trees; and bark and leaf litter accumulated at the base of standing, dead trees. An attempt was made to collect moist, non-desiccated litter in order to increase the number of specimens collected; this resulted in fewer samples being taken from thin leaf litter, moss, and tree bark during the hot, dry summer months. Tree holes were sampled once each so as not to totally destroy them as potential habitat; as the number of tree holes within the site was limited, this resulted in only a handful of collections from this habitat type. Leaf litter samples were processed for four to seven days until the litter was thoroughly dry using modified Berlese-Tullgren funnels.
Trap placement began on 8 March 2013 and all traps were set by 13 March 2013, except Lindgren funnels, which were set on 1 April 2013. Traps set earlier than 13 March were reset on that date in order to standardize trap catch between traps. Traps were serviced approximately every two weeks (Table
Propylene glycol (Peak RV & Marine Antifreeze) (Old World Industries, LLC, Northbrook, IL) was used as the preservative in all traps as it is non-toxic and generally preserves specimens well (
Samples were coarse-sorted using a Leica MZ16 stereomicroscope illuminated with a Leica KL1500 LCD light source and a Wild M38 stereomicroscope illuminated with an Applied Scientific Devices Corp. Eco-light 20 fiber optic light source. After sorting, specimens were stored individually or by family in 2 mL microtubes (VWR International, LLC, Randor, PA) in 70% ethanol. Hard-bodied specimens (e.g.,
Specimens were identified with the use of published keys (Table
The sole representative of
Two weevil species,
The males of nine of 17 species of
The
All specimens have been deposited in the University of Arkansas Arthropod Museum (UAAM), with the following exceptions: 1) 1–5 exemplars of each species have been deposited in the Dowling Lab Collection at the University of Arkansas; 2) the following specimens were sent to Peter Messer for identification confirmation and have been deposited in the P. W. Messer Collection:
New Arkansas state records for
The survey was conducted at 4 hectare plot established at Steel Creek along the Buffalo National River in Newton County, Arkansas, centered at approximately N 36°02.269', W 93°20.434'. The site is primarily 80–100 year old mature second-growth Eastern mixed deciduous forest dominated by oak (
36.0367 and 36.0397 Latitude; -93.3917 and -93.3397 Longitude.
All specimens of
Creative Commons CCZero
Steel Creek survey
1
Steel Creek beetles
Darwin Core Archive
1.0
Column label | Column description |
---|---|
typeStatus | Nomenclatural type applied to the record |
catalogNumber | Unique within-project and within-lab number applied to the record |
recordedBy | Who recorded the record information |
individualCount | The number of specimens contained within the record |
lifeStage | Life stage of the specimens contained within the record |
kingdom | Kingdom name |
phylum | Phylum name |
class | Class name |
order | Order name |
family | Family name |
genus | Genus name |
specificEpithet | Specific epithet |
scientificNameAuthorship | Name of the author of the lowest taxon rank included in the record |
scientificName | Complete scientific name including author and year |
taxonRank | Lowest taxonomic rank of the record |
country | Country in which the record was collected |
countryCode | Two-letter country code |
stateProvince | State in which the record was collected |
county | County in which the record was collected |
municipality | Closest municipality to where the record was collected |
locality | Description of the specific locality where the record was collected |
verbatimElevation | Average elevation of the field site in meters |
verbatimCoordinates | Approximate center point coordinates of the field site in GPS coordinates |
verbatiumLatitude | Approximate center point latitude of the field site in GPS coordinates |
verbatimLongitude | Approximate center point longitude of the field site in GPS coordinates |
decimalLatitude | Approximate center point latitude of the field site in decimal degrees |
decimalLongitude | Approximate center point longitude of the field site in decimal degrees |
georeferenceProtocol | Protocol by which the coordinates were taken |
identifiedBy | Who identified the record |
eventDate | Date or date range the record was collected |
habitat | Description of the habitat |
language | Two-letter abbreviation of the language in which the data and labels are recorded |
institutionCode | Name of the institution where the specimens are deposited |
basisofRecord | The specific nature of the record |
8,048 specimens representing 251 species and 188 genera were collected during this study (Table
Thirty one species (12%) collected during this study represent new Arkansas state records: (
Three endemic carabids –
The
It is unsurprising that few
Buprestids are capable of flying between habitat patches and rapidly colonizing new areas, so it is unlikely that new species will be discovered even though buprestids are understudied in the Interior Highlands. However, considering the high number of endemic species that are restricted to leaf litter habitats or are poor dispersers, how relatively understudied leaf litter weevils are, and that known but undescribed species were collected during this study, it is likely that the Interior Highlands is a fruitful area for finding new and disjunct weevil species.
We thank Peter Messer for confirming the identity of
Michael Skvarla performed all responsibilities associated with collecting the specimens, including trap maintenance and sample collection; sorted samples; identified all the majority of non-buprestid specimens; and prepared the manuscript. Danielle Fisher sorted samples, coarse-sorted specimens to higher taxa (family/genus), and identified some specimens to species. Kyle Schnepp identified the
The Buffalo River from an overlook on the Buffalo River Trail near Steel Creek. Photo credit: Jasari. Used under Creative Commons license Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (CC BY-SA 3.0) (
Geologic subregions of the Interior Highlands. Inset shows the region in context of the entire United States.
Known collection localities of
Select references to recently discovered and described species with disjunct and endemic distributions in the Interior Highlands.
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Disjunct | lichens | |
plants | ||
molluscs |
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arthropods |
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fish |
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Endemic | lichens |
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plants | ||
arthropods | ||
fish |
Select references for well-sampled aquatic arthropods in the Interior Highlands.
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Collection periods.
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13 March 2013 – 1 April 2013 |
1 April 2013 – 13 April 2013 |
30 April 2013 – 15 May 2013 |
15 May 2013 – 29 May 2013 |
29 May 2013 – 12 June 2013 |
12 June 2013 – 28 June 2013 |
28 June 2013 – 17 July 2013 |
17 July 2013 – 30 July 2013 |
30 July 2013 – 13 August 2013 |
13 August 2013 – 28 August 2013 |
28 August 2013 – 11 September 2013 |
11 September 2013 – 25 September 2013 |
25 September 2013 – 8 October 2013 |
8 October 2013 – 23 October 2013 |
23 October 2013 – 6 November 2013 |
6 Novemver 2013 – 20 November 2013 |
20 November 2013 – 4 December 2013 |
Maximum number of traps collected (canopy, Lindgren funnel, Malaise, pan, and pitfall traps) or collections made (Berlese-Tullgren) per collecting period and total number of samples per sampling type; traps were occasionally destroyed or otherwise lost during the 2-week sampling period.
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Berlese-Tullgren | 10 | 140 |
Canopy trap (lower) | 4 | 72 |
Canopy trap (upper) | 4 | 72 |
Lindgren funnel (black) | 5 | 85 |
Lindgren funnel (green) | 5 | 85 |
Lindgren funnel (purple) | 5 | 82 |
Malaise trap | 5 | 95 |
Pan trap (blue) | 5 | 82 |
Pan trap (purple) | 5 | 81 |
Pan trap (red) | 5 | 83 |
Pan trap (white) | 5 | 83 |
Pan trap (yellow) | 5 | 83 |
Pitfall | 17 | 268 |
References used for specimen identification.
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Species collected, including total number of specimens. New state records are indicated by an an asterisk (*).
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11 |
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|
|
2 |
|
|
1 | |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
70 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 | |
|
|
|
35 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
60 |
|
|
70 | |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
58 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
30 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
91 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
797 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
203 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
78 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
37 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
67 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
105 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
176 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
162 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
30 |
|
|
|
196 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
65 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
60 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
133 |
|
|
|
129 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
29 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
31 |
|
|
|
205 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
360 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
600 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
2 | |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
560 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
39 |
|
|
|
162 |
|
|
|
56 |
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
130 |
|
|
|
979 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
168 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
133 |
|
|
|
76 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
30 |
|
|
|
65 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
193 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
28 | |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
3 | |
|
|
|
30 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
51 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
1 |