Ecology and conservation of blue ground beetles: from microhabitat use to landscape connectivity

极具魅力的蓝地甲虫是英国最大、最稀有的地面甲虫物种之一，分布非常有限，主要分布在达特穆尔。然而，对它的生物学，特别是特定的(微型)栖息地要求、种群规模和结构以及觅食生态，人们知之甚少。这些知识对于能够实施成功的保护做法以增加人口来说是必不可少的。将解决的关键问题包括：蓝地甲虫如何利用现有的栖息地？这在不同的年份和不同的林地是否有所不同？不同的生命阶段是否有不同的栖息地要求？栖息地的利用是如何季节性变化的？为什么？人口有多大，他们是如何构成的(性别、年龄)？这些人群的联系/分散程度如何？大型步甲类物种之间的竞争有多大？温度、降雨量、湿度和食物供应等气候变量在解释蓝地甲虫的行为和生态方面有多重要？在为期三年的春夏期间，将在两个或两个以上地点(可能是Dendles树林和博维山谷树林)进行蓝地甲虫和主要猎物物种(特别是树懒)的实地调查工作，同时进行微生境调查。遇到的甲虫将被捕获，并被赋予一个唯一的ID，然后作为标记-释放-重新捕获研究的一部分释放，以估计种群数量和确定种群结构(性别和年龄)。此外，我们计划使用无线电跟踪来补充调查和微生境工作，以评估成年蓝地甲虫在春季和夏季的活动以及觅食生态。除了春季和夏季的实地考察外，还将在冬季收集调查数据，以确定成虫越冬所使用的微生境偏好和特征。收集的数据将有助于就如何管理自然资源保护区内现有林地栖息地的重要决策，包括放牧的广泛性、枯木资源和任何新的可持续管理技术，方法是确定决定蓝地甲虫栖息地使用和偏好的关键因素、种群特征和可能的种群扩张障碍。这将有助于创造一个有弹性的达特穆尔景观，并确定需要多大规模的林地栖息地恢复和新的连接来帮助建立这种‘弹性’。

The charismatic Blue ground beetle Carabus intricatus is the largest and one of the rarest species of ground beetle in the UK with a very restricted distribution, mostly on Dartmoor. However, relatively little is known about its biology, particularly specific (micro-)habitat requirements, population size and structure and foraging ecology. Such knowledge is essential in order to be able to implement successful conservation practices to boost populations. Key questions that will be addressed include: How do Blue ground beetles utilize available habitat? Does this vary across years and different woodland sites? Do different life stages have different habitat requirements? How does the utilization of habitat change seasonally and why? How large are populations and how are they structured (sex, age)? How well connected/fragmented are these populations? How much competition is there between large carabid species? How important are climatic variables such as temperature, rainfall and humidity and food availability in explaining Blue ground beetle behaviour and ecology? Field survey work of Blue ground beetles and key prey species (tree slugs Lehmannia marginata, in particular) in conjunction with microhabitat surveys will be conducted at two or more sites (likely to be Dendles wood and Bovey Valley woods) during spring and summer over three years. Beetles encountered will be captured and given a unique ID then released as part of a mark-release-recapture study to estimate population sizes and determine population structure (sex and age). Furthermore we plan to use radio-tracking to complement the survey and microhabitat work to assess movements of adult blue ground beetles in spring and summer as well as foraging ecology. In addition to fieldwork in spring and summer survey data will also be collected during the winter to determine microhabitat preferences and characteristics of overwintering sites used by adult Blue ground beetles. The data collected will help inform vital decisions about how to manage existing woodland habitat within the NNRs including the extensiveness of grazing, the dead wood resource and any new sustainable management techniques by identifying key factors that determine Blue ground beetle habitat use and preferences, population characteristics and likely impediments to population expansion. It will help create a resilient Dartmoor landscape and establish what scale of woodland habitat restoration and new connections are needed to help build that 'resilience'.