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PATTERNS OF DIVERSITY IN THE CANADIAN INSECT FAUNA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

H.V. Danks
H.V. Danks*
Affiliation:
Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), Canadian Museum of Nature, PO Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6P4
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Abstract

The diversity of the Canadian insect fauna decreases and its composition (at all taxonomic levels) changes as climates become progressively more harsh toward the north. This climatic trend dominates patterns of diversity, but many other factors interact to produce the observed patterns. In the arctic, species richness is greatest in the west. Farther south, overall species richness is greatest in the west (especially British Columbia), associated with coastal and cordilleran habitats, and to a somewhat smaller degree in the southeast (especially Ontario), associated with deciduous forests and particularly with transitional forests which occupy a large area of southeastern Canada. However, certain taxa are better represented in the west or in the east, depending on present-day habitats and on historical factors. These conclusions, based chiefly on a sample of taxa of different types, are possible only because basic systematic work has been carried out to distinguish and map the species. Preliminary data on numerical patterns, such as the numbers of species relative to different potential resources such as host plants in different zones, tend to suggest that the occurrence of species in the north may depend so heavily on climatic factors that potential resources are not fully exploited and the effects of interspecific interactions on diversity are reduced.

Résumé

La diversité de la faune entomologique canadienne diminue et sa composition (à tous les rangs taxinomiques) se modifie en fonction des conditions climatiques qui deviennent progressivement plus rigoureuses vers le nord. Cette tendance du climat détermine les patterns de diversité, mais plusieurs autres facteurs y contribuent également. Dans l'arctique, la richesse en espèces est plus considérable vers l'ouest. Plus au sud, la richesse globale en espèces est plus grande dans l'ouest (surtout en Colombie-Britannique) où elle est associée aux habitats de la côte et à ceux de la cordillère, et, à un degré moindre, dans le sud-est (particulièrement en Ontario) où elle est associée aux forêts décidues, notamment aux forêts mixtes qui recouvrent une grande surface du sud-est canadien. Cependant, certains taxons sont mieux représentés dans l'ouest ou dans l'est, à cause des habitats qu'ils y trouvent et à la suite de l'action de facteurs historiques. De telles conclusions, basées en grande partie sur un échantillon de taxons divers, ne peuvent être avancées que grâce aux études systématiques qui ont permis de distinguer et de cartographier les espèces. Des données numériques préliminaires, telles le nombre d'espèces présentes relativement aux différentes ressources potentielles, par exemple les plantes hôtes dans des zones différentes, semblent indiquer que la présence d'espèces dans le nord peut être reliée de façon tellement étroite aux facteurs climatiques que les ressources potentielles ne sont pas totalement exploitées et les effets des interactions interspécifiques sur la diversité sont alors réduits. [Traduit par la rédaction]

Type
Research Article
Information
The Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada , Volume 125 , Supplement S165 , 1993 , pp. 51 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1993

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