Corresponding author: Véronique Forbes (
Academic editor: David Bilton
This paper presents the results of a survey of beetles conducted in the vicinity of the archaeological site of Nunalleq, a pre-contact (16th-17th century AD) indigenous forager settlement located near the modern Yup’ik village of Quinhagak, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, southwestern Alaska. Records and habitat data are reported for 74 beetle taxa collected in tundra, riparian, aquatic and anthropogenic environments from a region of Alaska that has been poorly studied by entomologists. This includes the first mainland Alaskan record for the byrrhid
This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 703322. Fieldwork was funded through a grant from the
Until recently, the arthropod fauna of Alaska has been comparatively less well studied than that of other states and provinces of Canada and the USA. In part this is caused by the fact that some regions are particularly difficult to access due to their topography, hydrology or remoteness to urban agglomerations. This is the case of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) delta, a flat, treeless area of south-western Alaska where the tundra environment is dissected by numerous rivers, streams, lakes and ponds and underlain by discontinuous permafrost. Travel by motorised vehicle is impractical over most of the delta’s expanse, making small boats and planes the most reliable transport means within the area. Karl Lindroth and Georges E. Ball are two of the few entomologists known to have visited the region, when, as part of Lindroth’s seminal study of the ground beetles of Canada and Alaska (
From 2013, one of the team (VF) became engaged in a scientific, community and heritage project involving the excavation of Nunalleq, a pre-contact Thule-era (16th-17th century AD) site located on the Bering Coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, approximately 20 km south of the Yup’ik village of Quinhagak. One of the objectives of the project was to reconstruct past climatic conditions and human environment-interactions on the basis of ecological information derived from beetle remains preserved in the archaeology (
Fieldwork was conducted during two consecutive field seasons within a 5 km radius of the Nunalleq archaeological site (
Identifications of the beetle taxa were achieved through anatomical comparisons with specimens from the University of Alaska Museum Insect Collection (UAM) in Fairbanks, the Canadian Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes in Ottawa (CNC) and the Laurentian Forestry Centre’s René-Martineau Insectarium in Quebec City (LFC). For some specimens, such as those belonging to the
Information regarding the ecology of individual taxa was compiled from habitat records and descriptions in the literature (
Vouchers specimens were donated to UAM, CNC and LFC and the remaining specimens are currently in the care of the first author. Data for specimens that were donated to UAM (accession: UAM-2014.20-Forbes-Ento) can be accessed through the Arctos database using the following link
This survey recovered a total of 500 beetle specimens belonging to 74 different taxa and spanning 15 families (Suppl. material
Thirty-four of the identified taxa may be first records for the Y-K delta region. Many of these were collected in regions adjacent to the Y-K delta (e.g. the Seward, Alaska and Kenai peninsulas as well as central Alaska). This applies to
This survey also produced several records of
Three dytiscid specimens were identified as
Each identified taxon has been classified into an ecological group (Fig.
Taxa that are typical of mesic to wet tundra habitats and which occur on both sides of the Bering and Chukchi Seas, are the most represented in this survey (Fig.
Many of the taxa included in the ‘Xeric’ and ‘Mesic’ groups are typical of tundra environments, but appear to exploit niches provided by decomposing organic matter, for example rotting wood, leaf litter and flood debris (Fig.
VF would like to thank Qanirtuuq inc. for hospitality in Quinhagak, logistical support and for authorising this survey on their land, as well as Paul Ledger, Roy Mark and Rick Knecht for assistance during fieldwork. Patrice Bouchard, Yves Bousquet, Anthony Davies, Hume Douglas, Jan Klimaszewski, Dave Larson, George Pelletier, Karine Savard, Aleš Smetana and Margaret K. Thayer provided invaluable help with identifications and Caroline Bourdon helped with microdissections.
Map of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska, showing the location of the Nunalleq archaeological site (image by P. Ledger).
Photographs of some of the traps and sampling devices employed.
pitfall trap
interception trap
mini-Winkler extractor (supplied by Sante Traps
Photographs of some of the beetle species identified from Quingahak.
Photographs of some of the beetle species identified from Quingahak (continued).
Photographs of some of the beetle species identified from Quingahak (continued).
Grouping of identified taxa according to their habitat/ecology. In red font are those taxa that belong to mesic, hygrophilous and riparian environments, but that are known to be associated with microhabitats available in decaying plant matter (e.g. leaf litter, floor debris).
Relative proportion of each ecological group (as defined in Figure 6) represented in the sample. Percentages were calculated on the basis of the total number of
List and description of the different habitats sampled in the vicinity of the Nunalleq archaeological site.
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Open tundra | Flat tundra with moist to wet ground and low-lying vegetation characterised by herbs (e.g. |
Pitfall and interception traps, hand collection, sifting/mini-Winkler |
Scrub tundra | Flat tundra with moist to dry ground and vegetation dominated by dwarf willow ( |
Pitfall traps, beating vegetation |
Aquatic | Small ponds of stagnant water with |
Dipping net and hand collection |
Seashore | Beach with sandy and clayey soil, some areas with sparse vegetation (e.g. |
Pitfall traps, hand collection |
Disturbed/anthropogenic | Habitats created through disturbance by human activity including spoil heaps, trampled areas and excavation trench of the Nunalleq archaeological site. Vegetation cover is typically sparse and characterised by, but not limited to, species such as |
Pitfall traps, hand collection |
Riparian | Gravelly bank of the Arolik river, with willow ( |
Beating vegetation, dipping net |
List of beetle taxa identified at Quinhagak, with a summary of their habitats/ecology
Occurences and habitat data
List of beetle taxa identified at Nunalleq, with a summary of their habitats/ecology. Ticked (✓) boxes indicate habitat records collected as part of this survey, those marked with an ‘x’ represent habitat records identified from the literature.
Ecology and habitat abbreviations: BG = bare ground; BP = bogs, peaty soils/wet meadows; CA = carrion; CG = coastal grassland; DS = disturbed/synanthropic habitats; DT = dry tundra/heath; DU = dung; DV = decaying vegetal matter; F = fungi; H = hygrophilous; MO = moss; MT = mesic tundra; NB = nests and burrows; O = open ground; R= riparian; SB= seashore, beach; SW= standing water; TV = thin/sparse vegetation; WB = wood/bark; WL = forest, woodland, scrubs; WT = wet tundra; X = xeric habitats.
The ‘ID’ column designates the determiner for each taxa (PB = Patrice Bouchard; YB = Yves Bousquet; AD = Anthony Davies; HD = Hume Douglas; VF = Véronique Forbes; JK = Jan Klimaszewski; DL = Dave Larson; DS = Derek Sikes; AS = Aleš Smetana; MKT = Margaret K. Thayer).
The ‘DIS’ column details each taxon’s global distribution (Ho = Holarctic; Ne = Nearctic; Ad = adventive to North America).
File: oo_171276.xlsx