Structure and composition of a canopy-beetle community (Coleoptera) in a Neotropical lowland rainforest in southern Venezuela

Species richness, community structure, and taxonomic composition are important characteristics of biodiversity. Beetle communities show distinct diversity patterns according to habitat attributes. Tropical rainforest canopies, which are well known for their richness in Coleoptera, represent such a conspicuous life zone. Here, I describe a canopy-inhabiting beetle community associated with 23 tree species in a Neotropical lowland rainforest. Adult beetles were sampled manually and in aerial traps using a large tower crane for a cumulative year. The sample revealed 6738 adult beetles, which were assigned to 862 (morpho-)species in 45 families. The most species-rich beetle families were Curculionidae (n = 246), Chrysomelidae (n = 121), and Cerambycidae (n = 89). The most abundant families were Curculionidae (n = 2746) and Chrysomelidae (n = 1409). Dominant beetle families were found in most assemblages. The beetle community consisted of 400 singletons (46.4%). A similar proportion was evid..., The general beetle survey was conducted as part of the interdisciplinary research project \"Towards an understanding of the structure and function of a Neotropical rainforest ecosystem with special reference to its canopy\" organised by the Austrian Academy of Science. The cooperation with the Venezuelan government ended formally in 2000, as the political situation changed; therefore, the Surumoni crane project was closed. The beetle survey aimed to evaluate the association between adult beetles and their host trees over the course of a year. The field study was conducted between 1997 and 1999. Observations and collections of beetles comprised the following periods: September to November 1997; May to August and December 1998; January to April 1999, thus enabling data collection for a full cumulative year. Additional aerial trap collection targeting a single tree species was performed in October 1999.
The beetle survey includes 23 tree species representing 13 plant families in the upper (a..., , # BeetleDiversityKirmseRAWDATA

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kprr4xhc7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kprr4xhc7)

The data file contains the number of adult beetles collected from 23 Amazonian canopy-tree species by means of a tower crane for a cumulative year between 1997 and 1999. Every adult beetle has been assigned to a family and (morpho-)species. Twenty-three tree species are listed with their associated beetle assemblages. The number of individuals per beetle species is separatly given for every of the 23 tree species.

## Description of the data and file structure

**The Excel-file lists all beetle individuals collected from the 23 canopy-tree species and is structured as follows:**

The columns are entiled as follows:

Column 1: Beetle family

Column 2: Beetle species

Column 3: Tree species (indicating the start of the columns of the tree species; does not contain data)

Column 4: TG (*Tachigali guianensis*)

Column 5: MG (*Matayba guianensis*)

Column 6: HH (*Hymenopus hete...