Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Many studies have found that the correlation between species richness (SR) and morphological diversity (MD) is positive, but the correlation degree of these parameters is not always consistent due to differences in categories and various ecological factors in the living environment. Based on this, r...
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/1/60 |
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| author | Liangxue Cheng Yijie Tong Yuchen Zhao Zhibin Sun Xinpu Wang Fangzhou Ma Ming Bai |
| author_facet | Liangxue Cheng Yijie Tong Yuchen Zhao Zhibin Sun Xinpu Wang Fangzhou Ma Ming Bai |
| author_sort | Liangxue Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many studies have found that the correlation between species richness (SR) and morphological diversity (MD) is positive, but the correlation degree of these parameters is not always consistent due to differences in categories and various ecological factors in the living environment. Based on this, related studies have revealed the good performance of using higher taxa in biodiversity research, not only by shifting the testing group scale from local communities to worldwide datasets but also by adding different taxonomic levels, such as the genus level. However, it remains unclear whether this positive correlation can also be applied to other categories or groups. Here, we evaluated the applicability of higher taxa in the biodiversity study of darkling beetles by using 3407 species (9 subfamilies, 89 tribes, and 678 genera), based on the correlation between taxa richness and morphological diversity in the tribe/genus/species. In addition, the continuous features prevalent in the tenebrionids, pronotum and elytron, were selected, and the morphological diversity of various groups was obtained by the geometric morphometric approach to quantify the morphologic information of features. This study found that genus/species richness in subfamilies Pimelinae and Stenochiinae was positively correlated with the change trend of MD, and the correlation between the MD of elytron and taxa richness gradually decreased from the tribe-level to the genus-level to the species-level test. The results confirm the stable morphology and simple function of the elytron and the applicability of tribe level in biodiversity research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:36:44Z |
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| id | doaj.art-b105937f1c3d4979b1bfbea6749fe0d9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:36:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-b105937f1c3d4979b1bfbea6749fe0d92023-11-23T13:31:24ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-01-011416010.3390/d14010060Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)Liangxue Cheng0Yijie Tong1Yuchen Zhao2Zhibin Sun3Xinpu Wang4Fangzhou Ma5Ming Bai6School of Agriculture, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, ChinaKey Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Box 92, Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, ChinaSchool of Agriculture, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, ChinaNational Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NO.1 Nanertiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, ChinaSchool of Agriculture, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, #8 Jiang-Wang-Miao-Jie, Xuanwu, Nanjing 210042, ChinaKey Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Box 92, Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, ChinaMany studies have found that the correlation between species richness (SR) and morphological diversity (MD) is positive, but the correlation degree of these parameters is not always consistent due to differences in categories and various ecological factors in the living environment. Based on this, related studies have revealed the good performance of using higher taxa in biodiversity research, not only by shifting the testing group scale from local communities to worldwide datasets but also by adding different taxonomic levels, such as the genus level. However, it remains unclear whether this positive correlation can also be applied to other categories or groups. Here, we evaluated the applicability of higher taxa in the biodiversity study of darkling beetles by using 3407 species (9 subfamilies, 89 tribes, and 678 genera), based on the correlation between taxa richness and morphological diversity in the tribe/genus/species. In addition, the continuous features prevalent in the tenebrionids, pronotum and elytron, were selected, and the morphological diversity of various groups was obtained by the geometric morphometric approach to quantify the morphologic information of features. This study found that genus/species richness in subfamilies Pimelinae and Stenochiinae was positively correlated with the change trend of MD, and the correlation between the MD of elytron and taxa richness gradually decreased from the tribe-level to the genus-level to the species-level test. The results confirm the stable morphology and simple function of the elytron and the applicability of tribe level in biodiversity research.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/1/60biodiversityhigher taxadarkling beetlespronotumelytron |
| spellingShingle | Liangxue Cheng Yijie Tong Yuchen Zhao Zhibin Sun Xinpu Wang Fangzhou Ma Ming Bai Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Diversity biodiversity higher taxa darkling beetles pronotum elytron |
| title | Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) |
| title_full | Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) |
| title_fullStr | Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) |
| title_short | Study on the Relationship between Richness and Morphological Diversity of Higher Taxa in the Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) |
| title_sort | study on the relationship between richness and morphological diversity of higher taxa in the darkling beetles coleoptera tenebrionidae |
| topic | biodiversity higher taxa darkling beetles pronotum elytron |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/1/60 |
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