5. CONCLUSIONS
The present study provides the first approach that attempts at
investigating the effect of various independent variables on beetle
community composition and richness along contrasted landscape types
across Laos. A potential limitation of the study is that sampling did
not follow a standardized protocol across the country. On the contrary,
we compiled here a dataset of beetle specimens collected using different
sampling efforts and methods. It was clear that both composition and
abundance differed depending on the trapping method. In this case, a
good sampling should probably use several complementary approaches to
sample the whole diversity of beetles. For instance, while light traps
are probably suitable for sampling flying insects, pitfall traps are
adapted for ground-dwelling species. Still, we were able to make use of
this dataset by employing various approaches to account for these
unequal sampling strategies: country-scale and local family richness
were estimated from accumulation curves, trapping methods were always
included as covariables, and sampling effort was incorporated as an
offset in statistical models. The main outcome of the present study is
that the conversion of natural forests to plantations is harmful for
beetle communities, at least in terms of their abundance. More studies
are needed to better understand this pattern and to understand how
species richness is also impacted. This may be achieved in the future by
implementing long-term monitoring of beetles across Laos following a
simple protocol that can be used by many volunteers, and by
incorporating a better taxonomic resolution (i.e., species) in analyses.