Ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) as bioindicators of anthropogenic environmental stress

Summary

Responsible humankind’s behavior to the environment is essential to preserve the civilization and the life on Earth in the current state. The tools for description of the exact human influences to different biotopes are intensively searched. One option for estimation of these influences, usually called anthropogenic stress, is monitoring of the bio-indicator organisms which are strongly affected by the humankind activities. It was shown, that family Carabidae can be used as applicable bio-indicator and the methods for calculation of the indexes showing biotope quality and ratio of its affection were established. The aim of this thesis is to show anthropogenic effects on three different locations close to the town Vamberk as well as to compare the results with the pedological analysis data obtained from the examined biotope’s soil samples.

The soil types were classed according to soil probe samples analysis. Cambisol distric was found on the forest biotope, cambisol haplic was found on the grassfield biotope and stagnosol haplic was found on the agricultural biotope. The basic data from the individual soil horizons were measured, including the humus content and quality, pH, exchange acidity and cationic exchange capacity.

The catching traps were installed on the same biotopes and the samples were picked with a two week frequency within the April 2009 to October 2009 period. Species and individuals quantity in the samples was analyzed. In the studied period thirteen family Carabidae species were found on the forest biotope - Autocarabus cancellatus, Chrysocarabus auronitens, Orinocarabus sylvestris, Oreocarabus hortensis, Oreocarabus glabratus, Megodontus violaceus, Nothiophilus aquaticus, Nothiophilus biguttatus, Cicindela campestris, Cicindela sylvicola, Abax parallepipedus, Pterostichus melanarius and Pterostichus burmeisteri. Twelve species were abundant on the grassfield biotope – Carabus granulatus, Autocarabus cancellatus, Archicarabus nemoralis, Chrysocarabus auronitens, Megodontus violaceus, Clivina collaris, Clivina fossor, Poecilus cupreus, Poecilus kugellani, Poecilus versicolor, Pterostichus burmeisteri and Pterostichus melanarius. Finally on the agricultural biotope the five species were observed – Megodontus violaceus, Poecilus cupreus, Poecilus kugellani, Poecilus lepidus, Poecilus versicolor and Pterostichus melanarius.

The species were classed to the relict (R), adaptable (A) and eurytope (E) groups with rising respect to the human influence acceptance. The forest biotope was habited by twelve A group and single E group species. On the grassfield biotope were observed species belonging to all groups with one, five and four members of R, A and E groups respectively. The agricultural biotope supported one R, one A and four E species. The biotopes were compared by the Carabidae Community Index. The results showed agricultural and grassfield biotopes as highly human affected, but the forest biotope was ranked as minimally affected. The species quantity along the experimental period showed spring rise and autumn fall in the Carabidae quantity as well as species abundance changes with the time.

Carabidae and soil data from the observed biotopes were mutually correlated. By the linear regress analysis of the data was indicated that the soil pH may affect positively numbers of individuals on the location. Percent abundance of R and A species was positively affected by the exchange acidity and humus content, but negatively with the rising pH. The opposite relationships were obtained for the percent of E species. Surprisingly no correlation between number of species and soil data was observed. Carabidae Community Index is affected by the same soil parameters as abundance of R and A species.

Relationships between quantitative soil parameters and animal markers on the same biotope were found in this thesis. We hope this work to be a base for the future studies of the mutual relationship of the humankind effect to the soils and organisms on the same biotopes.

Keywords

Carabidae – Anthropogenic Stress – Soil Properties - Vamberk

Fulltext

Střevlíkovití (Coleoptera, Carabidae) jako bioindikátoři antropogenní zátěže prostředí