Assessing ant assemblages: pitfall trapping versus nest counting (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. C. Schlick-Steiner ◽  
F. M. Steiner ◽  
K. Moder ◽  
A. Bruckner ◽  
K. Fiedler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Ant Assemblages

scholarly journals Relative Efficiency of Pitfall vs. Bait Trapping for Capturing Taxonomic and Functional Diversities of Ant Assemblages in Temperate Heathlands

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
Axel Hacala ◽  
Clément Gouraud ◽  
Wouter Dekoninck ◽  
Julien Pétillon
Keyword(s):  
Relative Efficiency ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Quadratic Entropy ◽  
Complementary Method ◽  
Ant Assemblages ◽  
Functional Richness

Whereas bait and pitfall trappings are two of the most commonly used techniques for sampling ant assemblages, they have not been properly compared in temperate open habitats. In this study, taking advantage of a large-scale project of heathland restoration (three sites along the French Atlantic Coast forming a north-south gradient), we evaluated the relative efficiency of these two methods for assessing both taxonomic and functional diversities of ants. Ants were collected and identified to species level, and six traits related to morphology, behavior (diet, dispersal and maximum foraging distance), and social life (colony size and dominance type) were attributed to all 23 species. Both observed and estimated species richness were significantly higher in pitfalls compared to spatially pair-matched bait traps. Functional richness followed the same pattern, with consistent results for both community weighted mean (CWM) and Rao’s quadratic entropy. Taxonomic and functional diversities from pitfall assemblages increased from north to south locations, following a pattern frequently reported at larger spatial scales. Bait trapping can hardly be considered a complementary method to pitfall trapping for sampling ants in open temperate habitats, as it appears basically redundant with the latter sampling method, at least in coastal heathlands of the East-Atlantic coast.

Function of coprophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Geotrupidae, Hydrophilidae) in cattle pastures inferred from pitfall trapping data

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Šlachta ◽  
Jan Frelich ◽  
Tomáš Tonka
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Seasonal Distribution ◽  
The Other ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Nested Anova ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Dung Decomposition

Function of coprophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Geotrupidae, Hydrophilidae) in cattle pastures inferred from pitfall trapping dataAn analysis of data on the dry weight biomass of coprophagous beetles in standardized dung (4.5 l) was conducted in order to characterize the spatial and the seasonal distribution of the beetles' biomass in cattle pastures and to elucidate their function in dung decomposition. Nested Anova with factors of farm, site (nested in farm), seasonal period and year was used to evaluate the effect of these factors on the biomass of four functional species groups: the dung dwellers ofScarabaeidae(subfamilyAphodiinae), the dung dwellers ofHydrophilidae, the small tunnellers ofScarabaeidae(subfamilyCoprinae) and the large tunnellers ofGeotrupidae. The spatial variation of biomass (between the sites and the farms) was insignificant (P>0.05) in the two dung-dweller groups and in the large-tunnellers group. On the other hand, a significant (P<0.05) seasonal variation of biomass was found in all but the large tunneller group. In dung dwellers, the spring biomass was formed mainly by two species,Aphodius prodromusandA. sphacelatus. In summer, most of the biomass was accounted for bySphaeridium lunatum, S. scarabaeoidesandA. rufipes. In the two tunneller groups,Onthophagus fracticornis, Geotrupes stercorariusandG. spinigerformed a majority of the biomass in dung.

THE EFFECT OF SOD TYPE ON THE OCCURRENCE OF GROUND BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE) IN A PEST MANAGEMENT APPLE ORCHARD

1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Holliday ◽  
E. A. C. Hagley
Keyword(s):  
Pest Management ◽  
Pitfall Trap ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Apple Orchard ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Soil Sampling ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Trap Catches

AbstractThe effects on carabids of natural, fescue, and rye sod types and of tillage were investigated in a pest management apple orchard. Carabids were sampled before and after the treatments by pitfall trapping and by two types of soil sampling. There were no significant effects of sod type on pitfall trap catches; however the abundance of all common species in soil samples was significantly affected by sod types. Usually in soil samples carabids were most abundant in natural sod and least abundant in tilled plots; numbers were intermediate in fescue and rye. Sod type did not affect structure or diversity of the carabid fauna.

Ant assemblages of Brazil nut trees Bertholletia excelsa in forest and pasture habitats in the Southwestern Brazilian Amazon

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-344
Author(s):  
Amanda Batista da Silva de Oliveira ◽  
Fernando Augusto Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Brazil Nut ◽  
Bertholletia Excelsa ◽  
Ant Assemblages

Edge effects on epigeic ant assemblages in a grassland–forest mosaic in southern Brazil

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther R.S. Pinheiro ◽  
Leandro da S. Duarte ◽  
Elena Diehl ◽  
Sandra M. Hartz
Keyword(s):  
Edge Effects ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Ant Assemblages ◽  
Forest Mosaic

Defining soil macrofauna composition and activity for biopedological studies - A case study on two soils in the Western Australian wheat belt

Soil Research ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAL Debruyn
Keyword(s):  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Resident Species ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Soil Macrofauna ◽  
Major Species ◽  
Australian Wheat ◽  
Species Mapping ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Good Agreement

In Durokoppin reserve and surrounding farmland, part of the central wheatbelt region, pitfall trapping and mapping of soil macrofauna activity were used to define the extent of soil macrofauna activity in these two environments. This type of study is a necessary precursor to determining the significance of certain invertebrate activity in soil modification in these habitats. The relative merits of the two techniques in determining the extent of soil macrofauna activity is assessed. The soil macrofauna groups identified by mapping and pitfall trapping as making a substantial contribution (in terms of relative abundance and activity) in all habitats were, in descending order, ants, spiders and scorpions (wandoo woodland only). In general there was good agreement between the two techniques in identifying the major species and trends in species composition between habitats, but mapping failed to identify the rare or cryptic species. Mapping more accurately identified the resident species in each habitat compared with pitfall trapping. Pitfall trapping data indicated that foraging activity of most soil macrofauna was depressed over winter, except for beetles, and was higher in the spring and summer sampling periods. However, mapping revealed a more constant level of soil macrofauna activity, especially for ant nests. It is argued that the two approaches complement one another and that each has value in interpreting the effects of soil macrofauna activity on soil properties in further studies. The discussion is based on the results of a study carried out in the Kellerberrin area of Western Australia.

scholarly journals Standardizing carabid pitfall catches for trapping effort; a meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Saska ◽  
David Makowski ◽  
David Bohan ◽  
Wopke van der Werf
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Power Exponent ◽  
List Type ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Activity Density ◽  
Abundance And Diversity

AbstractCarabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) provide important ecological services and are frequently used as a bio-indicator in monitoring environmental quality. The abundance and diversity of carabids is usually determined using pitfall trapping, but trap catches are difficult to compare between studies due to variation in trapping effort. The standardization of the catch for trapping effort has not been previously addressed in a global analysis of studies in the literature.The aims of this study are (i) to define a method for estimating the effect of trapping effort on the size of the pitfall catch, and (ii) to explore factors related to study designs, sampling method, study origin, and level of data aggregation to determine how these factors affect the catch per unit effort in pitfall trapping.We conducted a meta-analysis on the activity-density and diversity of carabids across studies, based on published data from Europe and North-America to analyse whether standardization of catch measurements might be possible. Data were extracted from 104 publications, spanning a period of 42 years.The total catch was proportional to the number of trap days, and ranged from 0.19-9.53 beetles/(trap day) across studies (95% range), with a mean of 1.33 beetles/(trap day). The number of species was allometrically related to the trapping effort defined as the product of the number of traps, their perimeter and the time of exposure in the field, and characterized by a power exponent of 0.25. Species richness ranged across studies from 2.30-13.18 species/(m day)0.25 (95% range) with a mean of 7.15 species/(m day)0.25. The size of the catch and the number of species were higher in crops with narrow as compared to wide rows. There was no significant change in abundance or diversity of carabids in arable land over the 42 years covered. We also found that increasing trapping effort may not yield more accurate results.The results show that it is possible to standardize activity-density-based catches and species diversity for trapping effort across studies using a power transformation, allowing meta-analysis of such data, e.g. to elucidate factors affecting abundance and diversity of the focal taxa.

scholarly journals Effect of Fire on Ant Assemblages in Brazilian Cerrado in Areas containing Vereda Wetlands

Sociobiology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinthia Borges Costa - Milanez ◽  
Fernanda Fonseca Ribeiro ◽  
Paulo de Tarso Amorim Castro ◽  
Jonathan D Majer ◽  
Sérvio Pontes Ribeiro
Keyword(s):  
Brazilian Cerrado ◽  
Ant Assemblages
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document