Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Monitoring presence, abundance and survival probability of the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, using visual and odour-based capture methods: implications for conservation

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

Abstract

A capture-mark-recapture study on the threatened saproxylic beetle Lucanus cervus was carried out in a chestnut (Castanea sativa) woodland located in northern Italy, using visual encounter surveys (VES) as well as aerial flight interception traps and pitfall traps (PT), both of which were baited with different odour lures. In total, 111 males and 25 females were captured, and VES was by far the most efficient method, accounting for 93 % of first captures, and 95 % of all captures. Stag beetles were not significantly attracted to any tested odour, and many PT were damaged by wild boars (Sus scrofa). Flying males were the most frequent adults observed during the season. The use of a net is necessary to capture the stag beetles, in order to evaluate the population parameters and to assess the local status of threat for the species. Capture data revealed that body size (i.e. body weight and elytron length) influences the survival probability of stag beetles, showing a lower survival probability for larger males. Felt-tip pen marking on the ventral sclerites of head and pronotum is a reliable and long lasting method for marking beetles, as proved by the use of an independent marking procedure with a small drill. Assessing the presence and threat status of L. cervus across Europe is urgently needed, and with no efficient odour-based strategy available, collection of adult beetles, dead or alive, by VES is the most reliable way to monitor this emblematic species.

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
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander KNA (2008) Tree biology and saproxylic Coleoptera: issues of definitions and conservation language. Rev Ecol (Terre Vie) 10:9–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Amstrup SC, McDonald TL, Manly BFJ (2005) Handbook of capture-recapture analysis. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Andren H (1992) Corvid density and nest predation in relation to forest fragmentation: a landscape perspective. Ecology 73:794–804

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrewartha HG, Birch LC (1954) The distribution and abundance of animals. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg A, Ehnstrom B, Gustafsson L, Hallingback T, Jonsell M, Weslien J (1994) Threatened plant, animal, and fungus species in Swedish forests—distribution and habitat associations. Conserv Biol 8:718–731

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brustel H, Clary J (2000) ‘Oh, cette Grésigne!’, Acquisitions remarquables pour cette forêt et le sud-ouest de la France: données faunistiques et perspectives de conservation (Coleoptera), (premier supplément au catalogue de Jean Rabil, 1992, 1995). Bull Soc Entomol Fr 105:357–374

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information—theoretic approach. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Campanaro A, Bardiani M (2012) Walk transects for monitoring of Lucanus cervus in an Italian lowland forest. Saproxylic beetles in Europe: monitoring, biology and conservation. Studia Forestalia Slovenica, pp 17–22

  • Campanaro A, Hardersen S, Toni I, Grasso DA (2010) Monitoring of Lucanus cervus by means of Remains of Predation (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Entomol Gen 33:79–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Campanaro A, Bardiani M, Spada L, Carnevali L, Montalto F, Antonini G, Mason F, Audisio P (2011) Linee guida per il monitoraggio e la conservazione dell’entomofauna saproxilica. Quaderni Conservazione Habitat, 6. Cierre Grafica, Verona, p 8. + CD-ROM

  • Chapman JW, Birkett MA, Pickett JA, Woodcock CM (2002) Chemical ecology and conservation of the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus. Chemical communication: from hormones to semiochemicals. Comp Biochem Physiol A 132:63–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiari S, Zauli A, Mazziotta A, Luiselli L, Audisio P, Carpaneto GM (2013) Surveying an endangered saproxylic beetle, Osmoderma eremita, in Mediterranean woodlands: a comparison between different capture methods. J Insect Conserv 17:171–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (2001) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies ZG, Tyler C, Stewart GB, Pullin AS (2008) Are current management recommendations for saproxylic invertebrates effective? A systematic review. Biodivers Conserv 17:209–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drag L, Hauck D, Pokluda P, Zimmermann K, Cizek L (2011) Demography and dispersal ability of a threatened saproxylic beetle: a mark-recapture study of the rosalia longicorn (Rosalia alpina). PLoSONE 6:e21345. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021345

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen DJ, Nijhout F (2000) The development and evolution of exaggerated morphologies in insects. Rev Ecol (Terre Vie) 45:661–708

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fitz-Earle M, Barclay HJ (1989) Is there an optimal sex ratio for insect mass rearing? Ecol Model 45:205–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franciscolo ME (1997) Coleoptera Lucanidae. Collana “Fauna d’Italia”,Volume XXXV, Calderini, Bologna

  • Fremlin M, Hendriks P (2011) Sugaring for stag beetles—different feeding strategies of Lucanus cervus and Dorcus parallelipipedus. Bull Amat Entomol Soc 70:57–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardersen S, Macagno ALM, Sacchi R, Toni I (2011) Seasonal constraints on the mandible allometry of Lucanus cervus (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Eur J Entomol 108:461–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey DJ, Gange AC (2006) Size variation and mating success in the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus L. Physiol Entomol 31:218–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey DJ, Gange AC, Hawes CJ, Rink M (2011a) Bionomics and distribution of the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus (L.) across Europe. Insect Conserv Diver 4:23–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey DJ, Hawes CJ, Gange AC, Finch P, Chesmore D, Farr I (2011b) Development of non-invasive monitoring for larvae and adults of the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus. Insect Conserv Diver 4:4–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawes CJ (2008) The stag beetle Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Lucanidae): a mark-release-recapture study undertaken in one United Kingdom residential garden. Rev Ecol (Terre Vie) 63:131–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Heimpel GE, Lundgren JG (2000) Sex ratios of commercially reared biological control agents. Biol Control 19:77–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansson N (2011) Attraction of stag beetles with artificial sap in Sweden. Bull Amat Entomol Soc 70:51–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolly GM (1965) Explicit estimates from capture-recapture data with both death and immigration-stochastic model. Biometrika 52:225–247

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Juliano SA (1986) Food limitation of reproduction and survival for populations of Brachinus (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Ecology 67:1036–1045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ (2001) Ecology: the experimental analysis of distribution and abundance, 5th edn. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, California

    Google Scholar 

  • Krenn HW, Pernstich A, Messner T, Hannappel U, Paulus HF (2002) Kirschen als Nahrung des männlichen Hirschkäfers, Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus 1758) (Lucanidae: Coleoptera). Entomologische Zeitschrift Stuttgart 112:165–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuussaari M, Nieminen M, Hanski I (1996) An experimental study of migration in the Glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia. J Anim Ecol 65:791–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lagarde F, Corbin J, Goujon C, Poisbleau M (2005) Polymorphisme et performances au combat chez les mâles de Lucane cerf-volant (Lucanus cervus). Rev Ecol (Terre Vie) 60:127–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsson MC, Svensson GP (2009) Pheromone monitoring of rare and threatened insects: exploiting a pheromone-kairomone system to estimate prey and predator abundance. Conserv Biol 23:1516–1525

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie DI, Nichols JD (2004) Occupancy as a surrogate for abundance estimation. Anim Biodivers Conserv 27:461–467

    Google Scholar 

  • Nieto A, Alexander KNA (2010) European red list of saproxylic beetles. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Belgium

    Google Scholar 

  • Percy C, Bassford G, Keeble V (2000) Findings of the 1998 national stag beetle survey. People’s Trust for Endangered Species, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratt CR (2000) An investigation into the status history of the stag beetle Lucanus cervus Linneus (Lucanidae) in Sussex. Coleopt 9:75–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranius T (2001) Constancy and asynchrony of Osmoderma eremita populations in tree hollows. Oecologia 126:208–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rink M, Sinsch U (2007) Radio-telemetric monitoring of dispersing stag beetles: implications for conservation. J Zool (London) 272:235–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rink M, Sinsch U (2011) Warm summers negatively affect duration of activity period and condition of adult stag beetles (Lucanus cervus). Insect Conserv Diver 4:15–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe L, Ludwig D (1991) Size and timing of metamorphosis in complex life histories, time constraints and variation. Ecology 72:413–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer ML (1981) Minimum population size for species conservation. Bioscience 31:131–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shibata E (1986) Adult populations of the sugi bark borer, Semanotus japonicus Lacordaire (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), in Japanese cedar stands: population parameters, dispersal, and spatial distribution. Res Popul Ecol (Kyoto) 28:253–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MN (2003) National Stag Beetle Survey 2002. People’s Trust for Endangered Species, London

  • Sodhi NS, Ehrlich PR (2010) Conservation biology for all. Oxford University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TRE (1978) Ecological methods with particular reference to the study of insect populations. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Speight MCD (1989) Saproxylic invertebrates and their conservation. Council of Europe, Strasbourg

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoks R (2001) Male-biased sex ratios in mature damselfly populations: real or artefact? Ecol Entomol 26:181–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland WJ (2006) Ecological census techniques. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson GP, Larsson MC (2008) Enantiomeric specificity in a pheromone-kairomone system of two threatened saproxylic beetles, Osmoderma eremita and Elater ferrugineus. J Chem Ecol 34:189–197

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson GP, Sahlin U, Brage B, Larsson MC (2011) Should I stay or should I go? Modelling dispersal distances in a threatened saproxylic beetle, Osmoderma eremita, based on pheromone capture and radio telemetry. Biodivers Conserv 20:2883–2902

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomaes A, Kervyn T, Maes D (2008) Applying species distribution modelling for the conservation of the threatened saproxylic Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus). Biol Conserv 141:1400–1410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tikkamäki T, Komonen T (2011) Estimating population characteristics of two saproxylic beetles: a mark-recapture approach. J Ins Conserv 15:401–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vrezec A, Kapla A (2007) Kvantitativno vzorcenje hroscev (Coleoptera) v Sloveniji: referencna studija [Quantitative beetle (Coleoptera) sampling in Slovenia: the reference study]. Acta Entomol Sloven 15(2):131–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Vrezec A, Kapla A, Grobelnik V, Govedič M (2006) Analiza razširjenosti in ocena velikosti populacije rogača (Lucanus cervus) s predlogom conacije Natura 2000 območja Goričko (SI3000221). Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Google Scholar 

  • Vrezec A, Polak S, Kapla A, Pirnat A, Grobelnik V, Šalamun A (2007) Monitoring populacij izbranih ciljnih vrst hroščev – Carabus variolosus, Leptodirus hochenwartii, Lucanus cervus in Morinus funereus, Rosalia alpina. Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Google Scholar 

  • Werren JH (1993) The Natural History of Inbreeding and Outbreeding: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois

    Google Scholar 

  • White GC, Burnham KP (1999) Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals. Bird Study 46:120–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by the project “Studio ecologico preliminare su specie saproxiliche della Direttiva Habitat, nel Parco Nazionale della Val Grande” financed by the “Parco Nazionale della Val Grande”. We thank the staff of the park, in particular Tullio Bagnati (Director) and Cristina Movalli, (Promoter of Nature Conservation and Management), who supported the project. A special thanks is given to the agent of the State Forestry Corps, Simone Torniai, for field assistance and precious help. The work of S.C. is supported by the VABAS project. G.P.S. is supported by the Swedish Research Council Formas.

Author information

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, Paolo Audisio & Alessandro Campanaro

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

    Stefano Chiari & Alessandro Campanaro

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

    Agnese Zauli, Pier Francesco Donzelli, Federico Romiti, Massimiliano Tini & Giuseppe M. Carpaneto

  4. Coordinamento Territoriale per l’Ambiente di Verbania per il Parco Nazionale della Val Grande, Corpo Forestale dello Stato, Piazza Pretorio 1, 28805, Vogogna, VB, Italy

    Pier Francesco Donzelli

  5. Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Solvegatan 37, 223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Glenn P. Svensson

Authors
  1. Stefano Chiari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Agnese Zauli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Paolo Audisio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alessandro Campanaro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Pier Francesco Donzelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Federico Romiti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Glenn P. Svensson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Massimiliano Tini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Giuseppe M. Carpaneto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefano Chiari.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chiari, S., Zauli, A., Audisio, P. et al. Monitoring presence, abundance and survival probability of the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, using visual and odour-based capture methods: implications for conservation. J Insect Conserv 18, 99–109 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9618-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9618-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation