The species richness, taxonomic composition, rare species, and taxonomic constancy at family level were studied in communities of Coleoptera in Vila Velha, Ponta Grossa, Paraná, as part of PROVIVE project. The data were gathered through malaise traps in the understory stratum of five sites with different floristic conditions product of anthropogenic effects, from September/1999 to August/2000. The 52 weeks sampling in the five sites produced 10,822 specimens of 1,659 species. All areas present high species richness and high diversity as indicated by various indices. The area in advanced condition of vegetation succession was less rich than ones in early/middle stage. According to different species richness estimators, the number of observed species could be increased by 22-123% if more time colleting effort had been made. The early successional stage areas were richer in rare species (singletons, doubletons and uniques) than the more preserved ones. In the five areas there were a taxonomic constancy among the richest families (Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae, Cerambycidae, Staphylinidae, Mordelidae, Elateridae, Scarabaeidae, Coccinellidae and Tenebrionidae) involving 60% of the total species as observed with the specimens abundance. If the existence of this pattern is confirmed, it will be easier and faster to study Coleoptera communities and soon apply this order as a forest environmental indicator taxon.
Alpha and gamma diversity; Araucaria forest; bioindicator; family and species richness; PROVIVE
