Conservation status of the forest beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera) from Azores, Portugal

Island biodiversity is under considerable pressure due to the ongoing threats of invasive alien species, land use change or climate change. The few remnants of Azorean native forests harbour a unique set of endemic beetles, some of them possibly already extinct or under severe long term threat due to the small areas of the remaining habitats or climatic changes. In this contribution we present the IUCN Red List profiles of 54 forest adapted beetle species endemic to the Azorean archipelago, including species belonging to four speciose families: Zopheridae (12 species), Carabidae (11 species), Curculionidae (11 species) and Staphylinidae (10 species).

Most species have a restricted distribution (i.e. 66% occur in only one island) and a very small extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO). Also common to most of the species is the severe fragmentation of their populations, and a continuing decline in EOO, AOO, habitat quality, number of locations and subpopulations caused by the ongoing threat from pasture intensification, forestry, invasive species and future climatic changes. Therefore, we suggest as future measures of conservation: (1) a long-term monitoring plan for the species; (2) control of invasive species; (3) species-specific conservation action for the most highly threatened species.