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THE IMPORTANCE OF HABITAT STRUCTURE AND FOOD SUPPLY FOR CARABID BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, CARABIDAE) IN PEAT BOGS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Herbert Främbs*
Affiliation:
University of Bremen FB 2, D-28334 Bremen, Germany
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Abstract

During the period 1985–1989, the carabid assemblages of a raised peat bog in eastern central Sweden and of six peatlands in New York State and Maine were studied. The principal methods of investigation were pitfall trapping in summer, and quadrat sampling in winter. In addition to carabids, potential food organisms were evaluated from the pitfall catches.The bogs, although of different types and located on different continents, show similar physiognomic vegetation units. Eight of these units are considered relevant as carabid microhabitats. The carabid assemblages of open sunny, and wooded shaded habitats are clearly distinguished. Only a few species are adapted to the extreme environment of open Sphagnum L. habitats. Among them, stenotopic species are dominant. The seasonal distribution of two species on Swedish Ryggmossen [Agonum ericeti (Panzer), Pterostichus rhaeticus Heer] suggests that the carabids of open bog plateau habitats use damp Sphagnum lawns for their summer activities and migrate to drier hummocks for overwintering.On bog plateaus, larger populations of ground beetles were only found where a pronounced pattern of hummocks and hollows exists. In bogs with a prevailing uniform vegetation of Sphagnum mats, carabids were conspicuously scarce. Thus, the development of a bog indigenous carabid fauna is closely related to the presence of a hummock–hollow mosaic. The data indicate that in most bog habitats food is not a limited resource and does not play a key role as a population controlling factor.

Résumé

Au cours de la période 1985–1989, les associations de carabes ont été étudiées dans une tourbière à sphaigne surélevée du centre est de la Suède et dans six tourbières du New York et du Maine. Les pièges à fosses ont été les principaux engins d’échantillonnage au cours de l’été et, en hiver, les captures ont surtout été faites par échantillonnage de quadrats. Les échantillons recueillis dans les pièges à fosses ont servi également à mesurer l’abondance des proies disponibles.

Les tourbières, bien que de types différents et situées sur des continents différents, contiennent des communautés de plantes semblables. Huit de ces communautés sont considérés comme des microhabitats d’importance pour les carabes. Les associations de carabes des habitats ouverts-ensoleillés et boisés-ombragés sont très distinctes. Seules quelques espèces sont adaptées aux milieux de conditions extrêmes que représentent les zones découvertes de Sphagnum L. Parmi celles-ci, les espèces sténotopes dominent. La répartition de deux espèces de la tourbière Ryggmossen en Suède [Agonum ericeti (Panzer), Pterostichus rhaeticus Heer] à différentes saisons semble indiquer que les carabes des plateaux tourbeux découverts utilisent les tapis humides de Sphagnum au cours de leurs activités estivales et gagnent les boisés surélevés plus secs au cours de l’hiver.

Sur les plateaux tourbeux, les populations importantes de carabes n’ont été trouvées que là où l’on trouve à la fois des bois surélevés et des zones basses. Dans les tourbières où domine une végétation uniforme constituée de tapis de Sphagnum, les carabes sont rares. L’établissement d’une faune indigène de carabes dans les tourbières est donc étroitement lié à la présence d’une mosaïque de boisés surélevés et de zones basses. Les données indiquent que, dans la plupart des milieux tourbeux, la nourriture n’est pas une ressource limitée et ne joue donc pas un rôle très important comme facteur de contrôle démographique. [Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1994

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