Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Are mist nets a menace for threatened insects? A first attempt to gather quantitative data

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
Journal of Insect Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We attempt to identify the threat to flying beetles imposed by mist nets deployed for bird studies in an area of Mediterranean mosaic of evergreen scrub and deciduous forest in Italy. The present paper is the first attempt to identify the non-target species which die in these artificial traps. A large number of large scarab beetles was entangled in mist nets during a complete ringing session. The seasonal trend of beetle populations and their daily flight activity were also recorded. The results lead us to suggest that the populations of some threatened dung beetles can be impoverished at local level and represent a bycatch of mist net techniques, especially in early spring and at sunrise, when their swarming and reproductive activity is high. When summed with other factors affecting these beetles, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, this tool may represent a threat for vulnerable insect populations. Trapping effects may also represent a depletion of food resource for some insectivorous birds. For these reasons we recommend cooperative research between ornithologists and entomologists to fully study the bycatch effects of mist netting on flying insects and their effects on food availability for insectivorous birds.

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
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alerstam T (1990) Bird migration. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbero E, Palestrini C, Rolando A (1993) Variability of the entomatic diet of Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix in the Western Po Valley. Avocetta 17:29–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard E (2001) Vertical stratification of bat communities in primary forests of Central Amazon, Brazil. J Trop Ecol 17:115–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernard E, Fenton MB (2007) Bats in a fragmented landscape: species composition, diversity and habitat interactions in savannas of Santarem, Central Amazonia, Brazil. Biol Conserv 134:332–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthold P (2001) Bird migration: a general survey. Oxford University Press Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake JG, Loiselle BA (2001) Bird assemblages in second-growth and old-growth forests, Costa Rica: perspectives from mist nets and point counts. Auk 118:304–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpaneto GM, Maltzeff P, Piattella E, Pontuale G (1998) I Coleotteri Lamellicorni della Tenuta Presidenziale di Castelporziano e delle aree limitrofe (Coleoptera, Lamellicornia). Boll Assoc Rom Entomol 52:9–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpaneto GM, Maltzeff P, Piattella E, Facchinelli L (2001) Nuovi reperti di Coleotteri Lamellicorni della Tenuta Presidenziale di Castelporziano e delle aree limitrofe (Coleoptera, Lamellicornia). Boll Assoc Rom Entomol 56:311–329

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpaneto GM, Mazziotta A, Valerio L (2007) Inferring species decline from collection records: the study case of roller dung beetles in Italy (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Divers Distrib 13:903–919

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll SK, Carter TC, Feldhamer GA (2002) Placement of nets for bats: effects on perceived fauna. Southeast Nat 1:193–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deslauriers JV, Francis CM (1991) The effect of time of day on mist-net captures of passerines on spring migration. J Field Ornithol 67:107–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Fayt P, Machmer MM, Steeger G (2005) Regulation of spruce bark beetles by woodpeckers—a literature review. Forest Ecol Manag 206:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glue DE (1977) Feeding ecology of the short-eared owl in Britain and Ireland. Bird Study 24:70–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golawski A (2006) Comparisons of methods for diet analysis and prey preferences: a case study on the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio. Ornis Fennica 83:108–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ, Entsminger GL (2009) EcoSim: null models software for ecology. Version 7. Acquired Intelligence Inc. and Kesey-Bear. Jericho, VT 05465. http://garyentsminger.com/ecosim.htm

  • Horgan FG, Berrow SD (2004) Hooded crow foraging from dung pats: implications for the structure of dung beetle assemblages. Biology and environment. Proc R Ir Acad 104b:119–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knowlton GF, Telford PE (1947) Insect food of the eastern Sparrow Hawk in Cache Valley, Utah. Auk 64:311

    Google Scholar 

  • Kristin A (1994) Breeding biology and diet of the bee-eater (Merops apiaster) in Slovakia. Biologia 49:273–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Legendre L (1998) Numerical ecology. Second English Edition. Elsevier Science BV, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey AA (1939) Food of the starling in central New York State. Wilson Bull 51:176–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Lobo JM (2001) Decline of roller dung beetle (Scarabaeinae) populations in the Iberian Peninsula during the 20th century. Biol Conserv 97:43–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobo JM, Lumaret JP, Jay-Robert P (2001) Diversity, distinctiveness and conservation status of the Mediterranean coastal dung beetle assemblage in the Regional Natural Park of the Camargue (France). Divers Distrib 7:257–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lukas J, Leuenberger M, Rampazzi F (1996) Capture efficiency of mist nets with comments on their role in the assessment of passerine habitat use. J Field Ornithol 67:263–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Martikainen P (2000) Flight period and ecology of Trypodendron proximum (Niijima) (Col., Scolytidae) in Finland. J Appl Ecol 124:57–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Newton I, Davis PE, Davis JE (1982) Ravens and buzzards in relation to sheep-farming and forestry in Wales. J Appl Ecol 19:681–706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen DF (1956) The food of nestling jays and magpies. Bird Study 3:257–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmera D, Tóth M, Subchev M, Sredkov I, Szarukán I, Jermy T, Szentesi Á (2004) Importance of visual and chemical cues in the development of an attractant trap for Epicometis (Tropinota) hirta Poda (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Crop Prot 23:939–944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svestka M, Drapela K (2009) The effect of environmental conditions on the abundance of grubs of the cockchafer (Melolontha hippocastani F.). J For Sci 55:330–338

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiollay JM (1994) Structure, density and rarity in an Amazonian rain-forest bird community. J Trop Ecol 10:449–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tidmarsh R (2003) Nest box contents as an indicator of nestling diet in the European Roller Coracias garrulus. Synthèse des études et travaux de conservation a Rocha France 2003

  • Trnka A, Szinai P, Hošek V (2006) Daytime activity of reed passerine birds based on mist-netting. Acta Zool Acad Sci Hung 52:417–425

    Google Scholar 

  • Verdú JR, Galante E (eds) (2006) Libro rojo de los invertebrados de España. Dirección general para la Biodiversidad. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Madrid

    Google Scholar 

  • Village A (1982) The diet of Kestrels in relation to vole abundance. Bird Study 29:129–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson JD, Morris AJ, Arroyo BE, Clark SC, Bradbury RB (1999) A review of the abundance and diversity of invertebrate and plant foods of granivorous birds in northern Europe in relation to agricultural change. Agr Ecosyst Environ 75:13–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the management authorities of the natural reserve of Castelporziano who authorized the fieldwork (Dr. De Michelis, Ing. L. Tinelli) and the coordinator of the ‘Progetto di Monitoraggio Ambientale della Tenuta Presidenziale di Castelporziano’ (Prof. A. Fanfani). We are also indebted with the warden staff of the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano, in particular Giuseppe Landucci, for their help in the fieldwork. A special thank is for the ornithologists Arianna Aradis and Corrado Battisti who gave a critical reading of the first version of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biology, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146, Rome, Italy

    Giuseppe Maria Carpaneto, Adriano Mazziotta & Paolo Maltzeff

Authors
  1. Giuseppe Maria Carpaneto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adriano Mazziotta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Paolo Maltzeff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giuseppe Maria Carpaneto.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Carpaneto, G.M., Mazziotta, A. & Maltzeff, P. Are mist nets a menace for threatened insects? A first attempt to gather quantitative data. J Insect Conserv 15, 833–837 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9381-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9381-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation