Community structure of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) along an altitudinal gradient on Mt. Sobaeksan, Korea

We conducted this study to determine the diversity patterns, community structures, and seasonality of ground beetle assemblages along an altitudinal gradient (437–1420 m) on Mt. Sobaeksan, Korea. Ground beetles were collected by pitfall traps installed along an altitudinal gradient (437, 757, 1100, and 1420 m). A total of 32 species belonging to seven subfamilies were identified from 3259 collected ground beetles. The diversity pattern of the ground beetle assemblage according to altitude was neither monotonic decreased nor hump-shaped. However, subfamily assemblages and wing form diversity patterns differed according to altitude and may be correlated with altitude or some other environmental variables. The dominant species were Synuchus cycloderus (29.4%) and Eucarabus sternbergi sobaeksanensis (15.4%) and their seasonal activities according to altitude were similar. According to non-metric multidimensional scaling, ground beetles and altitudes could be divided into two distinct groups: a low altitude group (437–757 m) and a high altitude group (1100–1420 m). Some species were particularly abundant at high altitudes, such as Aulonocarabus koreanus kwonileeique and Poecilus nitidicollis, while others were highly abundant at low altitudes, such as Pterostichus audax, Pterostichus ishikawai, and Synuchus species.

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► Diversity pattern of ground beetles was neither monotonic decrease nor hump-shaped.
► Ground beetles were grouped into low (437–757 m) and high altitudes (1100–1420 m).
► A.k. kwonileeique and P. nitidicollis were abundant at high altitudes.
► P. audax, P. ishikawai, and Synuchus spp. were abundant at low altitudes.