Mobility, population size and life time pattern of <i>Carabus glabratus</i> (Coleoptera, Carabidae) under extreme northern forest conditions.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33338/ef.83985Abstract
The study was carried out in the Vaniotunturi fell area (67°44'N, 29°37 'E) under northern taiga forest conditions. The habitat, a Pinus heath is extremely poor and monotonous. Altogether 196 pitfall traps 10 metres apart (Ø 8.5 cm, height 10.3 cm, with a lid 5 cm above the trap) arranged in a quadrat were used in 1991, and the same field with an additional40 traps placed one trap at each end of a two-metre wall was used from 1992 to 1994. The individuals of Carabus glabratus were marked with a small label cut off from a traffic sign sticker in 1991 and 1992. Only these captured and marked ones were recorded in the following years. In 1994 the trapping was done by killing the beetles. 524 individuals were marked. Males dominated in both years. The recapture proportion was significantly higher for the beetles marked in 1992 than for those of the previous year. The marked beetles were recaptured within four days on average. The estimated maximal population size in 1991 was 1400 individuals, occurring at the beginning of July, while in 1992 it was 3000 exx., in the middle of June. About 15% of the beetles marked in 1991 were caught at least once during the year of marking. Two years after marking, the proportion of recaptures decreased to 2%, but one male marked in 1991 was still captured in 1994.
