Abstract
The distribution, habitat and conservation requirements of an endangered stag beetle, Lissotes latidens (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), in south-east Tasmania were investigated. This study trebled the known range of the species to 280 km2, of which 15% constituted potential habitat. The beetle was found to inhabit a range of wet forest types including damp eucalypt forest, wet eucalypt forest, rainforest and riparian areas amongst drier forest types. Relative to other Tasmanian lucanids, L. latidens was found to occur at quite low population densities. The species had a preference for forest with a well-developed overstorey and greater than 10% ground cover of coarse woody debris (CWD). Although L. latidens is soil-dwelling throughout its life-cycle, it has a close association with CWD, occurring under logs at the interface of soil and CWD. Suitable forest habitat for L. latidens is poorly reserved, with 48% managed under clearfell, burn and sow forestry regimes; a practice that is likely to lead to the depletion of CWD over successive harvesting rotations. Recommendations are made for the conservation management of habitat utilised by L. latidens in ‘off-reserve’ areas. The need for conservation strategies to incorporate the temporal dynamics of habitat important to forest-dependent threatened species is discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alcorn P.J., Dingle J.K. and Hickey J.E.2001. Age and stand structure in a multi-aged wet eucalypt forest at the Warra silvicultural systems trial. Tasforests13: 245–260.
Amaranthus M.P., Parrish D.S. and Perry D.A.1989. Decaying logs as moisture reservoirs after drought and wildfire. In: Alexander E. (ed.), Stewardship of Soil, Air and Water Resources: Proceedings of Watershed 89, Forest Service Region 10, Juneau, pp. 191–194.
Andersson L.I. and Hytteborn H.1991. Bryophytes and decaying wood–a comparison between managed and natural forest. Holarctic Ecol.14: 121–130.
Bader P., Jansson S. and Jonsson B.G.1995. Wood-inhabiting fungi and substratum decline in selectively logged boreal spruce forests. Biol. Cons.72: 355–362.
Brereton R.N.1997. Management prescriptions for the swift parrot in production forests. Report to the Tasmanian RFA Environment and Heritage Technical Committee, Hobart.
Buchanan A.M.1999. A Census of the Vascular Plants of Tasmania and Index to the Student's Flora of Tasmania. Tasmanian Herbarium, Hobart.
Campbell A.J. and Tanton M.T.1981. Effects of fire on the invertebrate fauna and litter of a eucalypt forest. In: Gill A.M., Groves R.H. and Noble I.R. (eds), Fire and the Australian Biota, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, pp. 215–241.
Caughley G. and Gunn A.1996. Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice, Blackwell Science, Cambridge.
Commonwealth of Australia and State of Tasmania, 1997. Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Tasmania, Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Tasmania, Canberra.
Department of Environment and Planning and Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage, 1993. Maria Island National Park: map and notes, Tasmap, Hobart.
Driscoll D., Mikovits G. and Freudenberger D.2000. Impact and Use of Firewood in Australia, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra.
Dufrene M.1990. Zoogeographical analysis of carabid beetles in Belgium. In: Stork N.E. (ed.), The Role of Ground Beetles in Ecological and Environmental Studies, Intercept, Andover, pp. 383–387.
Duncan F.1991. Forest Botany Manual for Nature Conservation Region 7. Forestry Commission, Hobart.
Elith J. and Burgman M.A.2002. Predictions and their validation: rare plants in the Central Highlands, Victoria, Australia. In: Scott J.M., Heglund P.J., Morrison M.L., Raphael M.G., Wall W.A. and Samson F.B. (eds), Predicting Species Occurrences: Issues of Accuracy and Scale, Island Press, Covelo, pp. 303–314.
Elton C.H.1966. Dying and dead wood. In: Elton C. (ed.), The Pattern of Animal Communities, Methuen, London, pp. 279–305.
Fager E.W.1968. The community of invertebrates in decaying oak wood. J. Anim. Ecol.37: 121–142.
Forest Practices Board, 2001. Threatened Fauna Manual for Production Forests in Tasmania, 2nd edition, Forest Practices Board, Hobart.
Forest Practices Board, 2002. Threatened Fauna Manual, web-based version, www.fpb.tas.gov.au accessed 31/10/2002.
Forestry Commission, 1994. Silvicultural Systems. Native Forest Silviculture Technical Bulletin No. 5, Forestry Commission (now Forestry Tasmania), Hobart.
Forestry Tasmania, 1998a. Forest Growth Plan, Forestry Tasmania, Hobart.
Forestry Tasmania, 1998b. Derwent Forest District Draft Forest Management Plan–Draft October 1998, Forestry Tasmania, Hobart.
Forestry Tasmania, 2001. Thinning Regrowth Eucalypts. Native Forest Silviculture Technical Bulletin No. 13, Forestry Tasmania, Hobart.
Forestry Tasmania, 2002. Sustainable High Quality Eucalypt Sawlog Supply from Tasmanian State Forest–Review no. 2, Planning Branch, Forestry Tasmania, Hobart.
French B.W. and Elliott N.C.1999. Spatial and temporal distribution of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages in riparian strips and adjacent wheat fields. Comm. Ecosystem Ecol28(4): 597–607.
Gardner S.M.1991. Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities on upland heath and their association with heathland flora. J. Biogeogr.18: 281–289.
Gerell R.1988. Faunal diversity and vegetation structure of some deciduous forests in South Sweden. Holarctic Ecol.11: 87–95.
Graham S.A.1925. The felled tree trunk as an ecological unit. Ecology6: 397–411.
Grant J.C., Laffan M.D., Hill R.B. and Nielsen W.A.1995. Forest Soils of Tasmania: A Handbook for Identification and Management, Forestry Tasmania, Hobart.
Grove S.J.2002. The influence of forest management history on the integrity of the saproxylic beetle fauna in an Australian lowland tropical rainforest. Biol. Cons.104: 149–171.
Grove S.J., Meggs J.M. and Goodwin A.2002. A review of biodiversity conservation issues relating to coarse woody debris management in the wet eucalypt production forests of Tasmania, Technical Report No. 22. Forestry Tasmania, Hobart.
Hamilton W.D.1978. Evolution and diversity under bark. Symp. Roy. Soc. Lond.9: 154–175.
Hancock C.N., Ladd P.G. and Froend R.H.1996. Biodiversity and management of riparian vegetation in Western Australia. For. Ecol. Management85: 239–250.
Hansen A.J., Spies T.A., Swanson F.J. and Ohmann J.L.1991. Conserving biodiversity in managed forests: lessons from natural forests. BioScience41 (6): 382–392.
Hickey J.E., Su W., Rowe P., Brown M.J. and Edwards L.1999. Fire history of the tall eucalypt forests of the Warra ecological research site, Tasmania. Australian Forestry62: 66–71.
Hill C.J.1995. Linear strips of rain forest vegetation as potential dispersal corridors for rain forest insects. Cons. Biol.9(6): 1559–1566.
Ings T.C. and Hartley S.E.1999. The effect of habitat structure on carabid communities during the regeneration of a native Scottish forest. For. Ecol. Management119: 123–136.
IUCN Species Survival Commission, 1994. IUCN Red list categories, IUCN Council, Switzerland.
Jackson J. and Taylor R.J.1995. Threatened fauna manual for production forests in Tasmania, Forest Practices Board, Hobart.
Jonsell M. and Nordlander G.2002. Insects in polypore fungi as indicator species: a comparison between forest sites differing in amounts and continuity of dead wood. For. Ecol. Management157: 101–118.
Krankina O.N., Harmon M.E. and Griazkin A.V.1999. Nutrient stores and dynamics of woody detritus in a boreal forest: modelling potential implications at the stand level. Can. J. For. Res.29: 20–32.
Laaka S.1992. The threatened epixylic bryophytes in old primeval forests in Finland. Biol. Cons.59: 151–154.
Lang G.E. and Forman R.T.T.1978. Detrital dynamics in a mature oak forest: Hutcheson Memorial Forest, New Jersey. Ecology59(3): 580–595.
Lea A.M.1910. Notes on the genus Lissotes, with descriptions of new species. Pap. Proc. Roy. Soc. Tas.1910: 346–366.
Lindenmayer D.B. and Franklin J.F.2002. Conserving Forest Biodiversity, A Comprehensive Multiscaled Approach, Island Press, Sydney.
Luff M.L., Eyre M.D. and Rushton S.P.1992. Classification and prediction of grassland habitats using ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). J. Environ. Manage.35: 301–315.
McCarthy M.A. and Burgman M.A.1995. Coping with uncertainty in forest wildfire planning. For. Ecol. Management74: 23–36.
McCarthy M.A. and Lindenmayer D.B.1998. Multi-aged mountain ash forest, wildlife conservation and timber harvesting. For. Ecol. Management104: 43–56.
McCarthy M.A., Gill A.M. and Lindenmayer D.B.1999. Fire regimes in mountain ash forest: evidence from forest age structure, extinction models and wildlife habitat. For. Ecol. Management124: 193–203.
McCracken D.I.1994. A fuzzy classification of moorland ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and plant communities. Pedobiologia38: 12–27.
McCullagh P. and Nelder J.A.1989. Generalised Linear Models, 2nd Edition, Chapman and Hall, London.
McCullough H.A.1948. Plant succession on fallen logs in a virgin spruce-fir forest. Ecology29: 508–518.
McKenny H.J.A. and Kirkpatrick J.B.1999. The role of fallen logs in the regeneration of tree species in Tasmanian mixed forest. Aust. J. Bot.47: 745–753.
Madden J.L., Hickman J.L., Richardson A.M.M. and Hill L.1976. Effect of cutting and regeneration practice on the invertebrate fauna of litter and soil. Woodchip Symposium Papers. 47th A.N.Z.A.A.S. Congress, Forestry Commission, Hobart.
Magura T.2002. Carabids and forest edge: spatial pattern and edge effect. For. Ecol. Management157: 23–37.
Meggs J.M.1996. Pilot study of the effects of modern logging practices on the decaying-log habitat in wet eucalypt forest in south-east Tasmania, Report to the Tasmanian RFA Environment and Heritage Technical Committee, Hobart.
Meggs J.M. and Taylor R.J.1999. Distribution and conservation status of the Mt Mangana stag beetle, Lissotes menalcas (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Pap. Proc. Roy. Soc. Tas.133(1): 23–28.
Meggs J.M., Munks S.A. and Corkrey R. (in press). The distribution and habitat characteristics of a threatened lucanid beetle, Hoplogonus simsoni, in north-east Tasmania. Pac. Cons. Biol.9.
Mesibov R.1996. Invertebrate bioregions in Tasmania, Report to the Tasmanian RFA Environment and Heritage Technical Committee, Hobart.
Mesibov R. and Ruhberg H.1991. Ecology and conservation of Tasmanipatus barretti and T. anophthalmus, parapatric onychophorans (Onychophora: Peripatopsidae) from northeastern Tasmania. Pap. Proc. Roy. Soc. Tas.125: 11–16.
Mesibov R., Taylor R.J. and Brereton R.N.1995. Relative efficiency of pitfall trapping and hand-collecting from plots for sampling of millipedes. Biodiv Cons4: 429–439.
Michaels K.1996. The occurence of the endangered stag beetle Lissotes latidens (Westwood) (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in selected areas in the Wielangta Forest Block, Tasmania, Report to Forestry Tasmania, Hobart.
Michaels K.1999. Carabid Beetles as Biodiversity and Ecological Indicators. PhD thesis, University of Tasmania, Hobart.
Michaels K. and Bornemissza G.1999. Effects of clearfell harvesting on lucanid beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in wet and dry sclerophyll forests in Tasmania. J. Insect Cons.3: 85–95.
Michaels K. and McQuillan P.B.1995. Impact of commercial forest management on geophilous carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in tall, wet Eucalyptus obliqua forest in southern Tasmania. Aust. J. Ecol.20: 316–323.
Mitchell M.1996. An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms, MIT Press, Cambridge.
Moldenke A.R. and Lattin J.D.1990. Dispersal characteristics of old-growth soil arthropods: the potential for loss of diversity and biological function. The Northwest Environ. J.6(2): 408–409.
Munks S.A. and Taylor R.J.2000. Conserving threatened fauna in production forests: the Tasmanian process. In: Craig J.L., Mitchell N. and Saunders D.A. (eds), Nature Conservation 5: Nature Conservation in Production Environments: Managing the Matrix, Surrey, Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, pp. 670–674.
Munks S.A., Richards K., Meggs J.M. and Brereton R.N. (in press). The importance of adaptive management in ‘off-reserve’ conservation for forest fauna: Implementing, monitoring and upgrading swift parrot, Lathamus discolor, conservation measures in Tasmania. In: Lunney D. (ed.), Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, 2nd edition, Roy. Zool. Soc. NSW, Sydney.
Naiman R.J. and Decamps H.1997. The ecology of interfaces: riparian zones. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.28: 621–658.
Neyland M.G.1991. Relict rainforest in eastern Tasmania, Tasmanian NRCP report no. 6. Dept. Parks, Wildlife and Heritage, Hobart.
Niemela J.K. and Spence J.R.1994. Distribution of forest dwelling carabids (Coleoptera): spatial scale and the concept of communities. Ecography17: 166–175.
Niemela J.K., Spence J.R. and Spence D.H.1992. Habitat associations and seasonal activity of ground-beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in central Alberta. Can. Ent.124: 521–540.
Peters D. and Thackway R.1998. A New Biogeographic Regionalisation for Tasmania, Report to the National Reserve System Program, Hobart.
PLUC, 1997. Tasmania-Commonwealth Regional Forest Agreement Supplement to Environment & Heritage Report Vol VI: Processes and guidelines for determining the conservation requirements for priority flora and fauna species in the Tasmanian comprehensive regional assessment, Public Land Use Commission and Commonwealth Forests Taskforce, Hobart.
RPDC, 2002. Inquiry on the Progress with Implementation of the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (1997), Background Report. Resource Planning and Development Commission, Hobart.
Sanderson R.A., Rushton S.P., Cherrill A.J. and Byrne J.P.1995. Soil, vegetation and space: an analysis of their effects on the invertebrate communities of a moorland in north-east England. J. Appl. Ecol.32: 506–518.
Savely H.E.1939. Ecological relations of certain animals in dead pine and oak logs. Ecol. Monogr.9: 321–385.
Southwood T.R.E., Brown V.K. and Reader P.M.1979. The relationships of plant and insect diversities in succession. Biol. J. Linn. Soc.12: 327–348.
Speight M.C.D.1989. Saproxylic Invertebrates and their Conservation, Council of Europe, Strasbourg.
Stone M.G.1998. Forest-type mapping by photo-interpretation: a multi-purpose base for Tasmania's forest management. Tasforests10: 15–32.
Taylor R.J.1991. The role of retained strips for fauna conservation in production forests in Tasmania. In: Lunney D. (ed.), Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, Roy. Zool. Soc. NSW, Sydney, pp. 265–270.
Taylor R.J. and Bryant S.L.1997. Compilation of a list of threatened invertebrates: the Tasmanian experience. Mem. Mus. Vic.56(2): 605–609.
Taylor R.J., Mesibov R. and Growns I.1994. Local distribution patterns of land snails in relation to vegetation: implications for reserve design. Mem. Qld. Mus.36(1): 215–220.
Taylor R., Michaels K. and Bashford D.2000. Occurrence of carabid beetles in retained unlogged strips within production forests of southern Tasmania. In: Craig J.L., Mitchell N. and Saunders D.A. (eds), Nature Conservation 5: Nature Conservation in Production Environments: Managing the Matrix, Surrey, Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, pp. 120–127.
Wallace H.R.1953. The ecology of the insect fauna of pine stumps. J. Anim. Ecol.22: 154–169.
Westwood J.O.1855. Descriptions of some new species of exotic Lucanidae. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (ns)3: 197–221.
Whitaker D.M., Carroll A.L. and Montevecchi W.A.2000. Elevated numbers of flying insects and insectivorous birds in riparian buffer strips. Can. J. Zool.78: 740–747.
Yee M., Yuan Z.-Q. and Mohammed C.2001. Not just waste wood: decaying logs as key habitats in Tasmania's wet sclerophyll Eucalyptus obliqua production forests: the ecology of large and small logs compared. Tasforests13: 119–128.
Yen A.L.1987. A preliminary assessment of the correlation between plant, vertebrate and Coleoptera communities in the Victorian mallee. In: Majer J.D. (ed.), The Role of Invertebrates in Conservation and Biological Survey, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth, pp. 73–82.
York A.1999. Ecologically sustainable management: the utility of habitat surrogates for assessing terrestrial invertebrate diversity in temperate forests. In: Ponder W. and Lunney D. (eds), The Other 99%. The Conservation and Biodiversity of Invertebrates, Transactions of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, pp. 34–39.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meggs, J.M., Munks, S.A. Distribution, habitat characteristics and conservation requirements of a forest-dependent threatened invertebrate Lissotes latidens (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Journal of Insect Conservation 7, 137–152 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027333323362
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027333323362