How beetle diversity changes across years at Pangkor Island, Malaysia

Abstract

Tropical islands such as Pangkor Island in western Malaysia have been recently subject to numerous land cover modifications and urban development. It threatens biodiversity and their effects remain unstudied for many taxa. In this study, we assessed the abundance, species richness, and diversity of beetles at Pangkor Island, at three different years, from 2009 to 2017. Also, we analyzed species composition between years, and the specific association of beetle families and species to each year was evaluated. A total of 578 specimens, 155 species and 34 families of Coleoptera were collected from the island after three years of sampling. A significant increase in abundance, species richness, and diversity were observed from 2009 to 2016; changes between 2016 and 2017 were non-significant. However, the comparison between 2009 to 2016 indicated a higher faunistic similarity than 2016-2017. Results observed in 2009 may be originated by the increasing disturbance since 2004 as a result of land clearing for tourism development; also, changes from 2016 to 2017 may be evidence of new disturbances. The biodiversity changes and their influence on species are necessary to detect the increasing pressure on biodiversity at the island ecosystems in Malaysia.