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Carabid beetles ( C oleoptera: C arabidae) in coniferous plantations in H okkaido, J apan: effects of tree species and environmental factors
Author(s) -
Kaizuka Jun,
Iwasa Mitsuhiro
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
entomological science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1479-8298
pISSN - 1343-8786
DOI - 10.1111/ens.12104
Subject(s) - biology , botany , food science
The distribution, species composition and abundance of carabid beetles in monospecific plantations of three different coniferous tree species ( J apanese spruce, S akhalin fir and larch) were investigated by baited pitfall traps in H okkaido, J apan. In total, 16 150 carabid beetles consisting of 31 species in 13 genera were collected in 2011 and 2012. The most predominant species was P terostichus thunbergii M orawitz, followed by S ynuchus melantho ( B ates) and C arabus opaculus ( P utzeys). Average numbers of beetles per trap were significantly reduced in larch. Large‐sized C arabus species ( C . arboreus arboreus L ewis and C . opaculus ) were collected in large numbers in J apanese spruce. There was no significant difference in diversity and equitability among the three kinds of plantation. The ordination of redundancy analysis showed that medium‐sized forest generalists, P terosticus subovatus ( M otschulsky) and P . thunbergii , were highly associated with J apanese spruce and S akhalin fir, and the forest specialist S ynuchus nitidus ( M otschulsky) was with S akhalin fir. In contrast, in larch there was no such associated forest species, and some species of C arabus , P terostichus and S ynuchus were considerably reduced in number, suggesting that larch has unfavorable effects on some forest species. The most important environmental variables influencing carabid assemblages were soil moisture and foliage layer cover. Practices in forest management to minimize the effects of plantations on carabid assemblages are discussed.