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Microhabitat mosaics are key to the survival of an endangered ground beetle (Carabus nitens) in its post-industrial refugia

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Abstract

Biota dependant on early seral stages or frequently disturbed habitats belong to the most rapidly declining components of European biodiversity. This is also the case for Carabus nitens, which is threatened across Western and Central Europe. We studied one of the last remaining populations of this ground beetle in the Czech Republic, which inhabits post-extraction peat bogs. In line with findings from previous studies, we show that C. nitens prefers patches characterized by higher light intensity and lower vegetation cover. Abundance of females was positively correlated with the cover of plant species requiring higher temperature. In addition, we demonstrate its preference for periodically moist, but not wet or inundated plots, suggesting that the transition between dry heathland and wet peat bog might be the optimal habitat for this species. This hypothesis is further supported by results showing a positive correlation between the abundance of C. nitens and vegetation cover comprising of a mix of species typical for heathland, peat bog, and boreal habitats. Our results show that C. nitens mobility is comparable to other large wingless carabids. The maximum covered distance was ~ 500 m in a month. To ensure the survival of this population, sites of recent peat extraction should be spared from reclamation and afforestation. In contrast, active measures should be taken to facilitate nutrient removal, disturbance of vegetation cover, and the creation of depressions with a humid microclimate. These actions will create a mosaic of heath, bog, and bare ground, which seems to be the preferred habitat of C. nitens at our study site.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic and Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Grant Number RVO: 60077344). We thank Jan Hubáček, Tereza Vachová, and Vojtěch Kolář for help with the sampling; Pavel Krásenský, Oldřich Odvárka, and Miloš Trýzna for sharing their experience with the beetle, Conor Redmond for language corrections; and the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre CAS, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Martin Volf, Lukáš Drag, Pavel Šebek & Lukáš Čížek

  2. Molecular Interaction Ecology Group, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Martin Volf

  3. Faculty of Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Králova Výšina 3132/7, 40096, Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic

    Michal Holec & Diana Holcová

  4. Institute of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Mining and Geology, VŠB - Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 15/2172, 70833, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic

    Pavel Jaroš

  5. Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, Kaplanova 1931/1, 14800, Prague, Czech Republic

    Radek Hejda

  6. České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Blízek

  7. Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Lukáš Čížek

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  1. Martin Volf
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Volf, M., Holec, M., Holcová, D. et al. Microhabitat mosaics are key to the survival of an endangered ground beetle (Carabus nitens) in its post-industrial refugia. J Insect Conserv 22, 321–328 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-018-0064-x

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