Diversidad y patrones de distribución de coleópteros en la Región del Biobío, Chile: una aproximación preliminar para la conservación de la diversidad

beetles constitute bioindicators because of their association with plant formations, their high abundance, ecological diversity, restricted geographic ranges and high endemism. the biobío region is a critical area for conserving the biodiversity because it represents a biotic transition zone and a hotspot of biodiversity, nevertheless the studies related with the taxonomic richness and distribution of beetles are very scarce. in this paper, we determined the taxonomic composition, the regional representation, and the species richness of beetles in this region. on the other hand, we determined areas that concentrate the majority of the species and the distribution patterns of insects related to plant formations and regional protected wild areas. a digitalized map of the region divided in quadrants and a database of distribution data of beetles were used to elaborate a matrix of presence/absence of species. the number of species contained in each quadrant was determined, and parsimony analysis of endemicity (pae) was performed to determine areas concentrating the species richness, and its relation with plant formations. a total of 53 families, 361 genera and 664 species of beetles were found; staphylinidae and curculionidae were the most diverse families. chillán, concepcion and nahuelbuta are localities with the highest species richness. parsimony analysis of endemicity grouped species into three areas: (1) a coastal sector, (2) an andean mountain range, and (3) the nahuelbuta coastal range. these concentration areas of species are not related with regional protected wild areas