Working Group on Iberian Lucanidae (GTLI)

Justification and objectives
As important as faunistic inventorying of a region is mapping of such fauna. The need of detailed distribution maps has been noticed long ago (Illies, 1983) and is getting more and more important for several growing disciplines, such as Biogeography, Macroecology and Conservation.

For the Ecological Biogeography, detailed information about species distribution is the base to establish the relationship between species range and several environmental factors, such as temperature (Jeffree & Jeffree, 1994). In addition, it is essential for the Philogenetic Biogeography (Morrone, 2000), which look for relationships between ranges of related species. Finally, biogeographical studies of specific groups allow to identify hot spots (Reid, 1998), i.e. areas with a high species richness.

Macroecology (Brown, 1995) look for big scale -macroecologic- patterns between range size and local abundance, range size and body size or local abundance and body size.

Xylophagous and saproxylophagous beetles are a group very sensible to environmental degradation (Speight, 1989). Many species, including several Lucanidae, are considered as threatened or vulnerable in Europe. Conservation decisions should be based on the best information available. Detailed knowledge about distribution allows: (1) to prioritize areas and habitats with higher diversity, abundance or endemism concentration, and (2) to evaluate the occurrence of historical declines in distribution (McCarthy, 1998).

There are many current projects for diversity mapping. GTLI intends, with this project, to contribute to that task by keeping an actualized data base about distribution of all Iberian Lucanidae species. Such data base consists of literature records, data from official and private entomological collections, and field observations.

Results

Aesalus scarabaeoides ....... Map (in preparation) .. Table 4.2.1
Sinodendron cylindricum ..... Map 4.2.2 .................... Table 4.2.2
Ceruchus chrysomelinus .... Map (in preparation) .. Table (in preparation)
Platycerus spinifer ............... Map 4.2.4 .................... Table 4.2.4
Platycerus caraboides ......... Map 4.2.5 .................... Table 4.2.5
Platycerus caprea ................ Map (in preparation) .. Table (in preparation)
Dorcus parallelepipedus ...... Map 4.2.7 ............... Table 4.2.7
Lucanus cervus ................... Map 4.2.8 ............... Table 4.2.8
Pseudolucanus barbarossa . Map 4.2.9 .............. Table 4.2.9

2.- Visiting any University, Museum or research centrum within your region to check the existence of entomological collections and to take the available information about Lucanidae. Follow the instructions for data recording in entomological collections (only in Spanish), in which you will find a list of the collections already visited. Remember that it is possible to find Iberian specimens of Lucanidae even in foreign entomological collections. Help from outside the Iberian peninsula is welcome to track Iberian Lucanidae in entomological collections.

3.- Checking the current presence of Lucanidae species at localities in which they were found long ago but in which recent records are lacking. This is a way to know if a real “local extinction” has occurred or it is, simply, that nobody has gone there in a long while. You can ask to GTLI for a list of localities close to your residence area.

4.- Sending to GTLI a copy of faunistic papers quoting Lucanidae from the Iberian peninsula. The list of papers already available can be checked under the heading “Faunistic literature about Iberian Lucanidae” above. Remember that it is possible to find mentions to Iberian specimens of Lucanidae even in foreign entomological literature. Help from outside the Iberian peninsula is welcome to track faunistic records of Iberian Lucanidae in the entomological literature.

References

Brown, R. H. 1995. Macroecology. Chicago University Press, Chicago, IL.

Jeffree, E. P. & Jeffree, C. E. 1994. Temperature and the biogeographical distributions of species. Funct. Ecol. 8: 640-650.

Illies, J. 1983. Changing concepts in biogeography. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 28: 391-406.

McCarthy, M. A. 1998. Identifying declining and threatened species with museum data. Biol. Conserv. 83: 9-17.

Morrone, J. J. 2000. La importancia de los atlas biogeográficos para la conservación de la biodiversidad. En F.

Martín-Piera, J. J. Morrone & A. Melic (eds.) Hacia un proyecto CYTED para el inventario y estimación de la diversidad entomológica en Iberoamérica: PrIbES 2000: 69-78. m3m-Monografías Tercer Milenio Vol. 1, Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, Zaragoza.

Reid, W. V. 1998. Biodiversity hotspots. Trends Ecol. Evol. 13: 275-280.

Speight, M. C. D. 1989. Saproxylic invertebrates and their conservation. Nature and Environment Series No. 42. Council of Europe, Estrasbourg.