Stag beetle conservation
In addition to hunting by collectors, stag beetles face habitat destruction and climate change which threaten their survival. For example, Lucanus datunensis Hashimoto is an endemic species that lives in once volcanically active areas where there is silvergrass growth in northern Taiwan. There is only this population and this habitat in the world. Although protected, as it lies within a national park, warming, precipitation intensity and periodic changes have led to changes in grassland ecosystem, threatening the survival of this stag beetle species.
Pictured here is Lucanus datunensis Hashimoto, which is endemic to Taiwan. Its habitat is silvergrass grassland in the Datun volcanic area in northern Taiwan. It was named in 1984. This is one of the few species of stag beetle in Taiwan that inhabits grassland.
Based on the results of studies carried out by researchers at Tunghai University and National Taiwan Normal University, genetic variation in the stag beetle species Lucanus datunensis Hashimoto is extremely low. Although it is possible to see large numbers of males active in the grasslands in the mountainous Datun area every year in June, effective population size is very small. Perhaps this is due to extreme sensitivity to changes in their habitat.
Image source: Provided by Huang Shi-Jie.
