Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Restricted dispersal in a flying beetle assessed by telemetry

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Many insects living in ancient trees are assumed to be threatened as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. It is generally expected that species in habitats with low temporal variability in carrying capacity have lower degree of dispersal in comparison to those in more ephemeral habitats. As hollow trees are long-lived, species in that habitat are expected to be sensitive to habitat fragmentation, due to a low capacity to establish new populations far from present ones. Using radio telemetry, we studied the dispersal for a beetle, Osmoderma eremita, living in hollow trees. O. eremita exhibited philopatry and only dispersed over short ranges. About 82–88% of the adults remained in the tree where they were caught. All observed dispersal movements ended up in nearby hollow trees and 62% in the neighbouring hollow tree. These results corroborate the suggestion that habitat fragmentation may be detrimental to insects living in temporally stable but spatially variable habitats. In order to preserve such species, we propose that conservation efforts should be focused on maintaining or increasing the number of suitable trees in and near presently occupied stands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anonymous (1992) Directive 92/43 of the council of the European Community on the conservation of habitats and wild flora. European Community, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonsson K, Hedin J, Jansson N, Nilsson SG, Ranius T (2003) Läderbaggens (Osmoderma eremita) förekomst i Sverige [Occurrence of the hermit beetle (Osmoderma eremita) in Sweden. In Swedish, English abstract]. Entom Tidskr 124:225–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrowclough GF (1978) Sampling bias in dispersal studies based on a finite area. Bird Banding 49:333–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg Å, Ehnström B, Gustafsson L, Hallingbäck T, Jonsell M, Weslien J (1995) Threat levels and threats to red-listed species in Swedish forests. Conserv Biol 9:1629–1633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creighton JC, Schnell GD (1998) Short-term movement patterns of the endangered American burying beetle Nicrophorus americanus. Biol Conserv 86:281–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin JT, Reeve JD, Wilkens R, Turchin P (2000) The pattern and range of movement of a checkered beetle predator relative to its bark beetle prey. Oikos 90:127–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dajoz R (2000) Insects and forests – the role and diversity of insects in the forest environment. Intercept, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Eliasson P, Nilsson SG (2002) ‘You should hate young oaks and young noblemen’ –the environmental history of oaks in 18th and 19th century Sweden. Environ Hist 7:659–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanski I (2001) Population dynamic consequences of dispersal in local populations and in metapopulations. In: Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (eds) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 283–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedin J, Ranius T (2002) Using radio telemetry to study dispersal of the beetle Osmoderma eremita, an inhabitant of tree hollows. Comput Electron Agric 35:171–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huxel GR, Hastings A (1999) Habitat loss, fragmentation and restoration. Restor Ecol 7:309–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson ML, Gaines MS (1990) Evolution of dispersal: theoretical models and empirical tests using birds and mammals. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 21:449–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Key RS, Ball SG (1993) Positive management for saproxylic invertebrates. In: Kirby KJ, Drake CM (eds) Dead wood matters: the ecology and conservation of saproxylic invertebrates in Britain. English Nature Science No. 7. English Nature, Peterborough, pp 89–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig WD, van Vuren D, Hooge PN (1996) Detectability, philopatry, and the distribution of dispersal distances in vertebrates. Trends Ecol Evol 11:514–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsson MC, Hedin J, Svensson GP, Tollasch T, Francke W (2003) The characteristic odour of Osmoderma eremita (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) identified as a male released pheromone. J Chem Ecol 29:575–587

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luce JM (1996) Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli, 1763). In: van Helsdingen PJ, Willemse L, Speight MCD (eds) Background information on invertebrates of the Habitats directive and the Bern convention. Part 1: Crustacea, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Council of Europe, Strasbourg, pp 64–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald DW, Johnson DDP (2001) Dispersal in theory and practice: consequences for conservation biology. In: Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (eds) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 341–357

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilssen AC (1984) Long-range aerial dispersal of bark beetles and bark weevils (Coleoptera, Scolytidae and Curculionidae) in northern Finland. Ann Entomol Fenn 50:37–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson SG, Baranowski R (1997) Habitat predictability and the occurence of wood beetles in old-growth beech forests. Ecography 20:491–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson SG, Hedin J, Niklasson M (2001) Biodiversity and its assessment in boreal and nemoral forests. Scand J For Res Suppl 3:10–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T (2000) Minimum viable metapopulation size of a beetle, Osmoderma eremita, living in tree hollows. Anim Conserv 3:37–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T (2001) Constancy and asynchrony of Osmoderma eremita populations in tree hollows. Oecologia 126:208–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T (2002a) Osmoderma eremita as an indicator of species richness of beetles in tree hollows. Biodivers Conserv 11:931–941

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T (2002b) Influence of stand size and quality of tree hollows on saproxylic beetles in Sweden. Biol Conserv 103:85–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T (2006) Measuring the dispersal of saproxylic insects: a key characteristic for their conservation. Popul Ecol 48:177–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T, Hedin J (2001) The dispersal rate of a beetle, Osmoderma eremita, living in tree hollows. Oecologia 126:363–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T, Kindvall O (2006) Extinction risk of wood-living model species in forest landscapes as related to forest history and conservation strategy. Landsc Ecol 21:687–698

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T, Nilsson SG (1997) Habitat of Osmoderma eremita Scop. (Coloptera: Scarabaeidae), a beetle living in hollow trees. J Insect Conserv 1:193–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T, Aguado LO, Antonsson K, Audisio P, Ballerio A, Carpaneto GM, Chobot K, Gjurašin B, Hanssen O, Huijbregts H, Lakatos F, Martin O, Neculiseanu Z, Nikitsky NB, Paill W, Pirnat A, Rizun V, Ruicănescu A, Stegner J, Süda I, Szwałko P, Tamutis V, Telnov D, Tsinkevich V, Versteirt V, Vignon V, Vögeli M, Zach P (2005) Osmoderma eremita (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) in Europe. Anim Biodivers Conserv 28.1:1–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Rink M, Sinsch U (2007) Radio-telemetric monitoring of dispersing stag beetles: implications for conservation. J Zool 272:235–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmuki C, Vorburger C, Runciman D, MacEachern S, Sunnucks P (2006) When log-dwellers meet loggers: impacts of forest fragmentation on two endemic log-dwelling beetles in south-eastern Australia. Mol Ecol 15:1481–1492

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TRE (1962) Migration of terrestrial arthropods in relation to habitat. Biol Rev 37:171–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Speight MCD (1989) Saproxylic invertebrates and their conservation. Council of Europe, Publications and Documents Division, Strasbourg

    Google Scholar 

  • Svensson GP, Larsson MC, Hedin J (2004) Attraction of the larval predator Elater ferrugineus to the sex pheromone of its prey, Osmoderma eremita, and its implication for conservation biology. J Chem Ecol 30:353–363

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas CD (2000) Dispersal and extinction in fragmented landscapes. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:139–145

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D, May R, Lehman CL, Nowak MA (1994) Habitat destruction and the extinction debt. Nature 371:65–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Travis JMJ, Dytham C (1999) Habitat persistence, habitat availability and the evolution of dispersal. Proc R Soc Lond B 266:723–728

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White GC, Burnham KP (1999) Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals. Bird Study 46:120–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank our field assistants and Bengt Hansson, Andreas Malmqvist and Håkan Ljungberg for valuable comments. Kjell Antonsson provided some data on hollow trees and lent out GPS-equipment. Jon Loman, Ulf Wiktander and Ola Olsson lent out their receivers. This study was supported by the Mistra-project SUFOR to S.G. Nilsson, Stiftelsen Eklandskapet i Linköpings kommun, Larsénska fonden and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. H. Smith and T. Ranius were supported by Formas.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Jonas Hedin

    Present address: County Administrative Board of Kronoberg, 351 86, Vaxjo, Sweden

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Animal Ecology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Jonas Hedin, Sven G. Nilsson & Henrik G. Smith

  2. Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7044, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    Thomas Ranius

Authors
  1. Jonas Hedin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas Ranius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sven G. Nilsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Henrik G. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Ranius.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hedin, J., Ranius, T., Nilsson, S.G. et al. Restricted dispersal in a flying beetle assessed by telemetry. Biodivers Conserv 17, 675–684 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-007-9299-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-007-9299-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation