Abstract
The use of saproxylic beetle community as a metric to evaluate nature conservation measures in forests requires efficient methods. We first compare traditional bark sieving to a potential improvement (extracting beetles from whole bark with Tullgren funnels) to determine the most efficient. Secondly we compare this most efficient bark sampling to eclector and window traps. At the species, family, and functional group levels, we consider species richness, abundance and practical aspects. Traditional bark sieving missed >50% of the individual beetles compared to whole bark sampling so we recommend the latter. Window traps caught large numbers of mobile saproxylic beetles, but a high proportion of non-saproxylics results in high sorting cost; bark sampling and eclector traps had a high proportion of saproxylics and obligate saproxylics. Compared to bark sampling, eclector traps are non-destructive, and monitor the whole saproxylic assemblage (i.e. also beetles inside the wood). Overall, window traps are useful because they capture saproxylic beetles attracted to dead wood and sample the local species pool, whereas eclector traps capture the saproxylics that actually emerge from a particular piece of dead wood, and thus are suited to detailed studies. Overall, we suggest that a combination of these two best methods is highly complementary.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Albrecht L (1990) Grundlagen, Ziele und Methodik der Waldökologischen Forschung in Naturwaldreservaten. Naturwaldreservate in Bayern, Schreitenreihe 1:1–220 [In German]
Atlegrim O, Sjöberg K (2004) Selective felling as a potential tool for maintaining biodiversity in managed forests. Biodivers Conserv 13:1123–33
Bakke A (1999) High diversity of saproxylic beetles in a hemiboreal mixed forest reserve in the south of Norway. Scand J For Res 14:199–208
Dahlberg A, Stokland JN (2004) Vedlevande arters krav på substrat – sammanställning och analys av 3600 arter. Skogsstyrelsen, Jönlöping [In Swedish]
Gibb H, Ball JP, Johansson T, Atlegrim O, Hjältén J, Danell K (2005) Effects of management on coarse woody debris volume and composition in boreal forests in northern Sweden. Scand J For Res 20:213–222
Hammond HEJ (1997) Arthropod biodiversity from Populus coarse woody material in north-central Alberta – a review of taxa and collection methods. Can Entomol 129:1009–33
Johansson T, Gibb H, Hilszczanski J, Pettersson RB, Hjältén J, Atlegrim O, Ball JP, Danell K (2006) Conservation-oriented manipulations of coarse woody debris affect their value as habitat for spruce-infesting bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) in Northern Sweden. Can J For Res 36: 174–185
Kaila L (1993) A new method for collecting quantitative samples of insects associated with decaying wood or wood fungi. Ent Fenn 4:21–23
Kaila L, Martikainen P, Punttila P, Yakovlev E (1994) Saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) on dead birch trunks decayed by different polypore species. Ann Zool Fenn 31:97–107
Larsson S, Danell K (2001) Science and the management of boreal forest diversity. Scand J For Res Suppl 3:5–9
Magurran AE (1988) Ecological diversity and its measurement. Chapman and Hall, London
Martikainen P, Siitonen J, Kaila L, Punttila P, Rauh J (1999) Bark beetles (Coleoptera, Scolytidae) and associated beetle species in mature managed and old-growth boreal forests in southern Finland. For Ecol Manage 116:233–245
Nilsson SG, Hedin J, Nicklasson M (2001) Biodiversity and its assessment in boreal and nemoral forests. Scand J For Res Suppl 3:10–26
Økland B (1996) A comparison of three methods of trapping saproxylic beetles. Eur J Entomol 93:195–209
Palm T (1951) Die Holz- und Rinden-käfer der nordschwedischen Laubbäume. Medd St Skogsforsk Inst 40:1–242
Palm T. (1959) Die Holz- und Rinden-käfer der sud und mittelschwedischen Laubbäume. Opusc Entomol Suppl 16:1–420
Ranius T, Jansson N (2002) A comparison of three methods to survey saproxylic beetles in hollow oaks. Biodivers Conserv 11:1759–1771
Saalas U (1917) Die Fichtenkäfer Finlands I. Ann Acad Sci Fenn (A) 8:1–566
Scheigg K (2000) Effects of dead wood colume and connectivity on saproxylic insect species diversity. Ecoscience 7:290–298
Scheigg K, Obrist M, Duelli P, Merz B, Ewald KC (1999) Diptera and coleoptera collected in the forest reserve Sihlwald ZH. Mitt Schweizer Entomol Gesellschaft 72:289–302
Schmitt M (1992) Buchen-Totholz als lebensraum für xylobionte Käfer. Waldhygiene 19:97–191
Siitonen J (1994) Decaying wood and saproxylic Coleoptera in two old spruce forests: a comparison based on two sampling methods. Ann Zool Fenn 31:89–95
Siitonen J (2001) Forest management, coarse woody debris and saproxylic organisms: Fennoscandian boreal forests as an example. Ecol Bull 49:11–41
Söderström L (1988) Sequence of bryophytes and lichens in relation to substrate variables of decaying coniferous wood in northern Sweden. Nord J Bot 8:89–97
Speight MCD (1989) Saproxylic invertebrates and their conservation. Saproxylic invertebrates and their conservation 42:1, Nature and Environmental Series, Strasbourg, 81 pp
Svedrup-Thygeson A (2002) Key habitats in the Norwegian production forest: a case study. Scand J For Res 17:166–178
Tabachnik BG, Fidell LS (2001) Using multivariate statistics, 4th edn. Allyn and Bacon, Needham Heights, MA
Underwood AJ (1997) Experiments in ecology: Their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Wikars LO, Sahlin E, Ranius T (2005) A comparison of three methods to estimate species richness of saproxylic beetles in logs and high stumps of Norway spruce. Can Ent 137:304–324
Acknowledgements
Support for this project came from the project “Conservation of Biodiversity in Managed Forests” financed by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) through a grant to Kjell Danell and Stig Larsson. Jacek Hilszczañski and Stig Lundberg helped identify coleoptera. We thank the forestry companies Holmen Skog AB, Sveaskog AB, Scaninge for their support, and Eric Andersson and Åke Nordström for invaluable assistance with the fieldwork.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alinvi, O., Ball, J.P., Danell, K. et al. Sampling saproxylic beetle assemblages in dead wood logs: comparing window and eclector traps to traditional bark sieving and a refinement. J Insect Conserv 11, 99–112 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-006-9012-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-006-9012-2