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Monitoring of the saproxylic beetle Morimus asper (Sulzer, 1776) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) with freshly cut log piles

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Abstract

Quantitative information on population size, structure and dynamics are urgently needed for assessing species extinction risk and developing monitoring measures, especially for beetles belonging to the threatened guild of saproxylic organisms. Here freshly cut log piles (FCLP) were tested for the monitoring of the longhorn beetle Morimus asper (Sulzer, 1776) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Novel mathematical models based on presence–absence or count data were compared with the most commonly used capture–recapture methods to investigate if less invasive and easier approaches may be suitable for large-scale monitoring of this species and other large saproxylic beetles. The use of FCLP as bait was reliable to detect the presence and abundance of M. asper, and capture events were not influenced by the phenomena of trap-happiness or trap-shyness. In order to obtain accurate presence–absence estimates of M. asper at a reasonable cost piles of at least 0.25 m3 are suggested. Models which take into account the abundance of the species without marking individuals were the best compromise between costs and accuracy of estimation. Therefore, a reliable assessment of the population size of M. asper, can be based on count data without marking individuals. Because FCLP attract adults of M. asper and other saproxylic beetles, they could act also as potential ecological traps if chipped and/or removed after the sampling season. Therefore, if FCLP are used in monitoring as a part of conservation programmes, the piles should be left until completely decayed.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to M. Ascari, O. Conti and S. Valerio who cut trees and made the FCLP, and to D. Avanzi, P. Ferretti, R. Fezzardi, E. Minari, R. Pesti and D. Whitmore who helped us with the fieldwork. We are also grateful to the two anonymous referees whom, thanks to their suggestions and constructive comments, improved the manuscript. Thanks to Arthur Muliro who improved the English style. This projects is supported by the National Forest Service (Corpo Forestale dello Stato), Unit 6th, CONECOFOR, Rome, Italy (A. Farina and E. Pompei) within the framework of the Italian National Forest Inventory and of the Carbon Sink. The work of SC is supported by the VABAS project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Biotechnologies ‘Charles Darwin’, Sapienza University of Rome, Via A. Borelli 50, 00161, Rome, RM, Italy

    Stefano Chiari & Alessandro Campanaro

  2. Corpo Forestale dello Stato, Centro Nazionale per lo Studio e la Conservazione della Biodiversità Forestale ‘Bosco Fontana’, Strada Mantova 29, 46045, Marmirolo, MN, Italy

    Stefano Chiari, Marco Bardiani, Sönke Hardersen, Laura Spada & Alessandro Campanaro

  3. Department of Sciences, University Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146, Rome, RM, Italy

    Agnese Zauli

  4. Corpo Forestale dello, Stato Centro Nazionale per lo Studio e la Conservazione della Biodiversità Forestale, Via Carlo Ederle 16/a, 37126, Verona, VR, Italy

    Franco Mason

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  1. Stefano Chiari
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Chiari, S., Bardiani, M., Zauli, A. et al. Monitoring of the saproxylic beetle Morimus asper (Sulzer, 1776) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) with freshly cut log piles. J Insect Conserv 17, 1255–1265 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-013-9606-4

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