Does the diurnal activity pattern of carabid beetles depend on season, ground temperature and habitat?

The influence of season, ground temperature and habitat on diurnal epigeic activity of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in floodplain forest and neighboring clear-cut area was studied in late spring and early autumn by pitfall trapping. Among the material collected were 35 species of ground beetles. We recorded a significant influence of daytime factors on epigeic activity in 16 species. The epigeic activity of 13 species was co-affected by the temperature of the soil surface. The activity of some species differed, depending on season and locality.

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Comparison of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders (Araneae) collected in pan and pitfall traps

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/n02-119 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 135 (4) ◽

pp. 609-611 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Christopher M. Buddle ◽

H.E. James Hammond

Keyword(s):

Sampling Method ◽

Ground Beetles ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Pitfall Traps ◽

Pitfall Trapping ◽

Related Research ◽

Pan Traps

Pitfall trapping is a widely used sampling method for biodiversity-related research of ground-dwelling arthropods. The trap is a container, usually with a preservative, that is sunk into the ground to collect arthropods which happen upon the trap perimeter and fall in (Lemieux and Lindgren 1999; Work et al. 2002). Two types receive the most use: deep circular pitfall traps and shallow rectangular pan traps (Marshall et al. 2001). The preserving fluid can influence trap efficacy (Deville and Wheeler 1998). Our objectives were to compare the efficiency of pitfall and pan traps with and without detergent in the preserving fluid (Marshall et al. 1994), using carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders (Araneae) as focal taxa.

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Effect of habitat type and pitfall trap installation on captures of epigaeic arthropod assemblages in the boreal forest

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/tce.2013.38 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 145 (5) ◽

pp. 547-565 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

J.A. Colin Bergeron ◽

John R. Spence ◽

W. Jan A. Volney ◽

Jaime Pinzon ◽

Dustin J. Hartley

Keyword(s):

Black Spruce ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Pitfall Trap ◽

Habitat Associations ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Pitfall Trapping ◽

Local Conservation ◽

Ecosystem Classification

AbstractIt is unrealistic to achieve high-resolution biodiversity inventories required to support local conservation strategies over large areas; however, benchmark associations between arthropods and ecosystem classification can support landscape scale biomonitoring. We investigated habitat associations of ground-dwelling spiders (Araneae), staphylinid beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), and carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in three forest ecosystems in northwestern Alberta, Canada and also studied the effect of variation in depth of pitfall trap installation on catch. Composition and diversity of all three taxa were correlated with the ecosystem classification map, and 20 species were strong indicators of particular habitats. The black spruce (Picea mariana(Miller) Britton, Sterns, and Poggenburg; Pinaceae) bog supported fewer species and individuals of beetles but this trend was not observed for spiders because of natural history traits associated with their performance in this environment. Pitfall trapping biases were constant among habitats enabling proper comparison of ground-dwelling invertebrate assemblages. Three species of beetles (Agonum retractumLeConte (Coleoptera: Carabidae),Pterostichus brevicornis(Kirby) (Coleoptera: Carabidae), andQuedius veloxSmetana (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)) were disproportionally active beneath the soil surface, as catches were greater in pitfall traps with the lip situated 15–25 cm below the soil surface. Thus, even highly standardised trap placement will influence the concept of biodiversity achieved through pitfall trapping, because some target organisms are disproportionately active in subterranean zones.

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Community composition of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in citrus orchard in North-Eastern of Algeria

ARPHA Conference Abstracts ◽

10.3897/aca.2.e38514 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Nadia Ouchtati ◽

Amel Meliani ◽

Asma Abdelkrim ◽

Zine Eddine Kolli

Keyword(s):

Food Preference ◽

Species Traits ◽

Ground Beetles ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Pitfall Trapping ◽

Citrus Orchard ◽

Spring Period ◽

Highly Sensitive ◽

North Eastern ◽

The City

Carabid beetles are natural enemies of insects pests and are weed seeds predators. They have been often used to study the ecological effects of different agricultural measures, because they are highly sensitive to habitat change. The Carabid beetle fauna is little known in Algeria, especially in agrosystems, thus we undertaken a study of this group of insects in citrus orchard located in the city of Guelma. Carabids were collected by pitfall trapping from december 2017 to may 2018. A total of 16 beetle species and 1072 individuals were recorded. The dominant species were consecutively as follows: Amara subconvexa , Brachinus sclopeta, Phyla rectangulum, Harpalus siculus and Percus lineatus. The data of the species traits as food preference and flying ability show that carnivorous and macropterous species dominate in the study area. The activity of the species was mainly observed during the spring period.

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Carabid beetles of the environs of Lake Elton: fauna, population dynamics, demography

Biodiversity Data Journal ◽

10.3897/bdj.8.e58297 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Kirill Makarov ◽

Andrey Matalin

Keyword(s):

Ground Beetle ◽

Ground Beetles ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Pitfall Traps ◽

Demographic Structure ◽

Pitfall Trapping ◽

Local Fauna ◽

Local Populations ◽

Lake Elton ◽

Sampling Event

The present paper includes the results of a year-round pitfall trapping survey of ground beetles in the region of Lake Elton, Volgograd Area, Russia. The main objectives of the project lie in studying the local fauna of Carabidae in the Lake Elton region, as well as their demographic structure and dispersal potential of the local populations of particular carabid species. A total of ten model habitats: six zonal (characteristic of that particular biogeographic area) and four azonal (present in a variety of biogeographical areas) were studied. In each model habitat, ten pitfall traps were set from 10 May 2006 until 10 May 2007 and were checked at 10-day intervals except for the period with negative temperatures (from 1 November 2006 until 31 March 2007). During the period of observation, 51,314 specimens of Carabidae, belonging to 149 species, were trapped. The resulting sampling-event dataset includes 24,291 plot-based observations (= sampling events), some of them containing zero records of particular species in a certain habitat and time. This is the first sampling-event dataset of a year-round pitfall trapping survey (from May 2006 until May 2007) of ground-beetle communities and the demographic structure of local populations of particular species in the Lake Elton region, Volgograd Area, Russia.

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Pitfall trap efficiency: do trap size, collecting fluid and vegetation structure matter?

Entomologica Fennica ◽

10.33338/ef.84167 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Matti Koivula ◽

Johan Kotze ◽

Laura Hiisivuori ◽

Hannu Rita

Keyword(s):

Propylene Glycol ◽

Salt Water ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Pitfall Trap ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Pitfall Traps ◽

Pitfall Trapping ◽

Habitat Types ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Trap Size

Apart from experimental design, the selection of pitfall trap size, collecting fluid and habitat type sampled may also influence the capture efficiency of the method. We combined three field studies from two very different geographic areas, in which the efficiency of pitfall traps, using carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), is evaluated. First, we showed that ethylene-glycol is a more efficient collecting fluid compared to commercial anti-freeze, paraffin and salt water in collecting beetles in a forest patch in South Africa. Second, we showed that larger traps (90 mm mouth diameter) are more efficient in collecting carabids than small traps (65 mm) in a meadow in Finland. We also showed that for these large traps, commercial vinegar was a better collecting fluid than propylene-glycol, but that for small traps, propylene-glycol was superior to vinegar in collecting carabids. Finally, we showed that the trappability of Pterostichus oblongopunctatus and Carabus hortensis differed in enclosures placed into two different habitat types (a forest and a clear-cut in Finland), while trappability did not differ significantly for two other species (Calathus micropterus and Pterostichus niger) in these habitat types. However, for the two Pterostichus species studied, the catches in traps placed in the centre of the enclosures were slightly higher in the clear-cut, compared to the forest, and catches were higher in enclosures with rich field-layer vegetation, compared to enclosures with poor vegetation. The three studies re-emphasise the uncertainties of using pitfall traps in ecological studies. However, with careful planning and standardisation to help avoid erroneous interpretations, pitfall trapping is an invaluable method for the field ecologist.

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

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent116165-2 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 116 (2) ◽

pp. 165-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

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.

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Nocturnal and diurnal activity of armored suckermouth catfish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys) associated with wintering Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/s1679-62252010005000014 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 893-898 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Leo G. Nico

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Activity Pattern ◽

Diel Activity ◽

Diurnal Activity ◽

Trichechus Manatus ◽

Trichechus Manatus Latirostris ◽

Size Classes ◽

Diel Activity Pattern ◽

Spring System ◽

Diel Period

Several Pterygoplichthys species, members of the Neotropical catfish family Loricariidae, have been widely introduced outside their native ranges. In this paper, I present observations on the diel activity pattern of non-native Pterygoplichthys, tentatively identified as P. disjunctivus, with respect to their attachment and grazing on endangered Florida manatees, Trichechus manatus latirostris. The study was conducted in December 2009 at Volusia Blue Spring, an artesianal spring system in the St. Johns River basin, Florida (USA). Supplemented by information gathered during previous visits to the spring site, this study revealed that adult Pterygoplichthys are active throughout the diel period (day, twilight and night). However, juvenile Pterygoplichthys were largely nocturnal and only at night did they consistently join adults in attaching to manatees. The juveniles generally remain hidden during the day, probably responding to presence of diurnal predators, mainly birds. Differences in diel behaviors among different Pterygoplichthys size classes in Florida are consistent with published observations on loricariids inhabiting clearwater streams within their native ranges.

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

10.1101/2020.07.23.216994 ◽

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.

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