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A ZOOGEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THE NOCTUIDAE (LEPIDOPTERA) OF BERINGIA, AND SOME INFERENCES ABOUT PAST BERINGIAN HABITATS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

J.D. Lafontaine  and
D.M. Wood
J.D. Lafontaine
Affiliation:
Biosystematics Research Centre, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6
D.M. Wood
Affiliation:
Biosystematics Research Centre, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6
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Abstract

The 245 species of Noctuidae known from Beringia, i.e. northwestern North America and northeastern Asia, are arranged in six groups based on their habitat preferences. These groups are analysed in terms of their distribution, endemism within Beringia, and zoogeographic affinities. The fauna associated with taiga, boreomontane forests and southern steppe (prairie) habitats shows only limited evidence of continuous occurrence in Beringia, and limited exchange during the Pleistocene between the Nearctic and Palaearctic. We have concluded therefore that this fauna has entered the Beringian area in Recent times following deglaciation of western and central Canada. In wet and dry tundra habitats, in contrast, there is abundant evidence of trans-Beringian faunal exchange. A high degree of endemism in dry tundra habitats within Beringia today is evidence of long-term stability of this habitat. These patterns, as well as evidence from a limited fossil sample of mid-Wisconsinan age, allow us to speculate on Beringian habitats during Wisconsinan times. We further conclude that the eastern Palaearctic and Beringia was the source area for the fauna that repopulated the Canadian Arctic after deglaciation. By contrast, non-Beringian refugia of the Nearctic have contributed little to the fauna of the Arctic.

Résumé

Les 245 espèces de Noctuidae de Béringie, c'est à dire du nord-ouest de l'Amérique du Nord et du nord-est de l'Asie, sont réparties dans six groupes d'après leur habitat préféré. On a analysé ces groupes en tenant compte de leur distribution, leur endémisme en Béringie et leurs affinités zoogéographiques. Les faunes typiques de la taïga, des forêts boréo-montagneuses et des steppes du sud (prairies) révèlent peu d'indices d'une présence continue en Béringie, et peu de cas d'échange entre les régions Néarctique et Paléarctique au cours du Pléistocène. On a donc conclu que cette faune a pénétré la Béringie au cours de l'époque Récente, après la déglaciation de l'ouest et du centre du Canada. Au contraire, dans les habitats toundroïdes secs et humides, il existe des preuves nombreuses d'échanges fauniques trans-Béringiens. L'endémisme prononcé observé dans les milieux toundroïdes secs de la Béringie actuelle est une indication de la grande stabilité de ces milieux dans le temps. Ces relations ainsi qu'une preuve fondée sur un échantillon fossile limité datant du Wisconsinien permettent de reconstruire les habitats Béringiens des époques Wisconsiniennes. On conclut aussi que la région Paléarctique de l'est et la Béringie constituent le foyer d'origine de la faune qui a repeuplé l'Arctique canadien après la déglaciation. Par opposition, les refuges non-Béringiens de la région Néarctique ont peu contribué à la faune de l'Arctique.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada , Volume 120 , Supplement S144 , 1988 , pp. 109 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1988

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