Abstract
Ground beetle assemblages were monitored at four tallgrass prairie sites burned on 3-year cycles in northeastern Iowa. The objectives of this study were to quantify differences in carabid communities between original and reconstructed tallgrass prairies, and to determine the responses of ground beetles to 3-year cycles of early spring fire commonly used to manage tallgrass prairies. Using pitfall traps, ground beetle assemblages in two original and two reconstructed tallgrass prairies were compared between 1994 and 1998, where beetles were sampled annually (0-, 1-, and 2-year post-fire conditions) from plots burned every 3 years. When burned, the greatest abundance, activity density, and species richness of carabid beetles occurred the year immediately following a spring burn, with abundance declining steadily with increased time since burning. Overall ground beetle diversity as determined by Shannon's diversity index was greatest in original tallgrass prairies several years after a fire. Some species of ground beetles were found only in original prairies, while others were found primarily in reconstructed prairie. Similarly, some species were more abundant the year immediately following a burn, while others were found in greater abundance with increased time since fire. NMS ordination and indicator species analysis clearly show differences in carabid species between original and reconstructed tallgrass prairies, but did not show differences among burn treatments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anonymous 1999. PC-ORD, version 4.14. Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, Oregon.
Anderson R.C.1990. The historic role of fire in the North American grassland. In: Collins S.L. and Wallace L.L. (eds), Fire in North American Prairies, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, pp. 8–18.
Bousquet Y. and Larochelle A.1993. Catalogue of the Geadephaga (Coleoptera: Trachypachidae, Rhysodidae, Carabidae including Cicindelini) of America North of Mexico. Mem. Entomol. Soc. Can.167: 1–397.
Brand R.H. and Dunn C.P.1998. Diversity and abundance of springtails (Insecta: Collembola) in native and restored tallgrass prairies. Am. Midl. Nat.139: 235–242.
Clarke K.R.1993. Non-parametric multivariate analysis of changes in community structure. Aust. J. Ecol.18: 117–143.
Collins S.L.1990. Introduction: fire as a natural disturbance in tallgrass prairie ecosystems. In: Collins S.L. and Wallace L.L. (eds), Fire in North American Tallgrass Prairies, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, pp. 3–7.
Colwell R.K.1997. Estimates: Statistical Estimation of Species Richness and Shared Species from Samples, version 5, User's Guide and application published at: http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/estimates.
Debinski D.M. and Babbit A.M.1997. Butterfly species in native prairie and restored prairie. Prair. Nat.29: 219–227.
Dufrêne M. and Legendre P.1997. Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol. Monogr.67: 345–366.
Greenslade P.J.M.1964. Pitfall trapping as a method for studying populations of Carabidae (Coleoptera). J. Anim. Ecol.33: 301–310.
Harris D.L. and Whitcomb W.H.1974. Effects of fire on populations of certain species of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Flor. Entomol.57: 97–103.
Holliday N.J.1984. Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from a burned spruce forest (Picea spp.). Can. Entomol.116: 919–922.
Holliday N.J.1991. Species responses of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) during post-fire regeneration of boreal forest. Can. Entomol.123: 1369–1389.
Hulbert L.C.1988. Causes of fire effects in tallgrass prairies. Ecology69: 46–58.
Hutcheson K.1970. A test for comparing diversities based on the Shannon formula. J. Theor. Biol.29: 151–154.
Krebs C.J.1989. Ecological Methodology, Harper Collins, New York.
Larochelle A.1990. The food of carabid beetles. Fabreries Suppl.5: 1–132.
Larsen K.J. and Williams J.B.1999. Influence of fire and trapping effort on ground beetles in a reconstructed tallgrass prairie. Prair. Nat.31: 75–86.
Larsen K.J., Work T.T. and Purrington F.F.2003. Habitat use patterns by ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of northeastern Iowa. Pedobiologia47: 288–299.
Lavigne R.J. and Campion M.K.1978. The effect of ecosystem stress on the abundance and biomass of Carabidae (Coleoptera) on the shortgrass prairie. Environ. Entomol.7: 88–92.
Lindroth C.H.1961–1969. The ground beetles (Carabidae, excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska, parts 1–6. Opus. Ent. Suppl. 20, 24, 29, 33, 34, 35, Lund, Sweden.
Lövei G.L. and Sunderland K.D.1996. Ecology and behavior of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Annu. Rev. Entomol.41: 231–256.
Lussenhop J.1976. Soil arthropod response to prairie burning. Ecology57: 88–98.
McCoy E.D.1987. The ground-dwelling beetles of periodically-burned plots of sandhill. Insect Behav. Ecol.70: 31–39.
McCullough D.G., Werner R.A. and Neumann D.1998. Fire and insects in northern and boreal forest ecosystems of North America. Annu. Rev. Entomol.43: 107–127.
Mushinsky H.R. and Gibson D.J.1991. The influence of fire periodicity on habitat structure. In: Bell S.S., McCoy E.D. and Mushinsky H.R. (eds), Habitat Structure: The Physical Arrangement of Objects in Space, Chapman and Hall, New York, pp. 237–259.
Nekola J.C.2002. Effects of fire management on the richness and abundance of central North American grassland land snail faunas. Anim. Biodiv. Conserv.25: 53–66.
Noonan G.R.1991. Classification, Cladistics and Natural History of the Native North American Harpalus Latreille (Insecta: Coleoptera: Carabidae: Harpalini), Excluding Subgenera Glanodes and Pseudophonus. Thomas Say Foundation Monograph, Vol. XIII, Entomological Society of America, Lanham, Maryland.
Opler P.A.1981. Management of prairie habitats for insect conservation. J. Nat. Areas Assoc.1: 3–6.
Orwig T. and Schlicht D.1999. The last of the Iowa skippers. American Butterflies7: 4–12.
Panzer R.1988. Managing prairie remnants for insect conservation. Nat. Areas J.8: 83–90.
Panzer R.2002. Compatibility of prescribed burning with the conservation of insects in small, isolated prairie preserves. Conserv. Biol.16: 1296–1307.
Panzer R. and Schwartz M.2000. Effects of management burning on prairie insect species richness within a system of small, highly fragmented reserves. Biol. Conserv.96: 363–369.
Reed C.C.1997. Responses of prairie insects and other arthropods to prescription burns. Nat. Areas J.17: 380–385.
Rickard W.H.1974. Ground dwelling beetles in burned and unburned vegetation. J. Range Manag.23: 293–294.
Samson F. and Knopf F.1994. Prairie conservation in North America. Bioscience44: 418–421.
Samson F.B. and Knopf F.L. (Eds.) 1996. Prairie Conservation: Preserving North America's Most Endangered Ecosystem, Island Press, Washington, DC.
Seastedt T.R., Hayes D.C. and Petersen N.J.1986. Effects of vegetation, burning and mowing on soil macroarthropods of tallgrass prairie. In: Clambey G.K. and Pemble R.H. (eds), The Prairie: Past, Present and Future–Proceedings of the Ninth North American Prairie Conference, Tri-College University Center for Environmental Studies, Fargo, North Dakota, pp. 99–102.
Smith D.D.1998. Iowa prairie: original extent and loss, preservation and recovery attempts. J. Iowa Acad. Sci.105: 94–108.
Swengel A.B.1996. Effects of fire and hay management on abundance of prairie butterflies. Biol. Conserv.76: 73–85.
Swengel A.B. and Swengel S.R.2001. Effects of prairie and barrens management on butterfly faunal composition. Biodiv. Conserv.10: 1757–1785.
Towne G. and Owensby C.1984. Long-term effects of annual burning at different dates in ungrazed Kansas tallgrass prairie. J. Range Manag.37: 392–397.
Van Amburg G.L., Swaby J.A. and Pemble R.H.1981. Response of arthropods to a spring burn of a tallgrass prairie in northwestern Minnesota. In: Stuckey R.L. and Reese K.J. (eds), The Prairie Peninsula–“In the shadow” of Transeau. Proceedings of the Sixth North American Prairie Conference, Ohio Biological Survey Biological Notes No. 15, The Ohio State University Press, Columbus, Ohio, pp. 240–243.
Warren S.D., Scifres C.J. and Teel P.D.1987. Response of grassland arthropods to burning: a review. Agri. Eco. Environ.19: 105–130.
Zar J.H.1999. Biostatistical Analysis, 4th edn. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Larsen, K.J., Work, T.W. Differences in ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of original and reconstructed tallgrass prairies in northeastern Iowa, USA, and impact of 3-year spring burn cycles. Journal of Insect Conservation 7, 153–166 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027309101653
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027309101653