Homburg-et-al_2019_Where.pdf (406.8 kB)
Where have all the beetles gone? Long-term study reveals carabid species decline in a nature reserve in Northern Germany
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 17:34 authored by Katharina Homburg, Claudia Drees, Estève Boutaud, Dorothea Nolte, Wiebke SchuettWiebke Schuett, Pascale Zumstein, Eick von Ruschkowski, Thorsten Assmann1. The drastic insect decline has received increasing attention in scientific as well as in public media. Long-term studies of insect diversity trends are still rare, even though such studies are highly important to assess extent, drivers and potential consequences of insect loss in ecosystems. 2. To gain insights into carabid diversity trends of ancient and sustainably managed woodlands, we analysed data of carabid beetles from a trapping study that has been run for 24 years in an old nature reserve of Northern Germany, the Luneburg Heath. We examined temporal changes in several diversity measures € (e.g. biomass, species richness, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity) and tested diverse species traits as predictor variables for species occurrence. 3. In contrast to recently published long-term studies of insect diversity, we did not observe a decline in biomass, but in species richness and phylogenetic diversity in carabids at our study site. Additionally, hibernation stage predicted the occurrence probability of carabids: Species hibernating as imagines or both imagines and larvae and breeding in spring showed strongest declines. 4. We assume the detected trends to be the result of external effects such as climate change and the application of pesticides in the surrounding. Our results suggest that the drivers for the insect decline and the responses are multifaceted. This highlights the importance of long-term studies with identification of the catches to, at best, species level to support the understanding of mechanisms driving changes in insect diversity and abundance.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Insect Conservation and DiversityISSN
1752-458XPublisher
WileyExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
12Page range
268-277Department affiliated with
- Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-04-15First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-04-15First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-04-12Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC