Ground beetle (Coleoptera:Carabidae) communities along a successional gradient in southwestern Quebec and notes on the range expansion of introduced species

Species diversity is influenced by disturbance in the environment. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were used as a model taxon to study the effects of disturbance (i.e., time since disturbance) in different habitats along a successional gradient (agricultural fields, old fields, young forests and old forests). Seventy-three species (5139 individuals) were collected during both years of sampling, of which 9 species are introduced species and compose 64.8% of the total catch. In contrast to the predictions of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, diversity of ground beetles was higher in the agricultural fields and lowest in the old forests. The community composition, as seen with Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling ordination, in the agricultural fields was the most distinct, while the difference between and among other habitats was less clear, possibly influenced by the introduced species present in the area. The introduced species collected had a significant influence in the total catch as they represented more than half of the total individuals collected and in the ground beetle community composition. The distribution of seven introduced species in Quebec was studied and compared to what was reported in 1975. Five species have a similar distribution, while the distribution range of Harpalus rufipes DeGeer has expanded south and Bembidion obtusum Audinet-Serville might have been dispersing northeast since its introduction