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

迷人的蓝色地甲虫Carabus intertricatus是英国最大和最稀有的地甲虫之一，分布非常有限，主要分布在达特穆尔。然而，人们对它的生物学知之甚少，特别是具体的（微）栖息地要求，种群规模和结构以及觅食生态学。这些知识对于能够实施成功的保护做法以增加种群至关重要。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地点会有所不同吗？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随季节变化的，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？大型步甲物种之间的竞争有多大？气候变量，如温度，降雨量和湿度以及食物供应在解释蓝地甲虫的行为和生态方面有多重要？在三年的春季和夏季，将在两个或多个地点（可能是Dendles wood和Bovey Valley woods）对蓝地甲虫和主要猎物物种（特别是Lehmannia marginata）进行实地调查，并进行微生境调查。遇到的甲虫将被捕获，并给予一个唯一的ID，然后作为标记释放再捕获研究的一部分释放，以估计种群规模和确定种群结构（性别和年龄）。此外，我们计划使用无线电跟踪，以补充调查和微生境工作，以评估成年蓝色地面甲虫在春季和夏季的运动以及觅食生态。除了春季和夏季的实地调查外，还将在冬季收集调查数据，以确定成年蓝地甲虫越冬场所的微生境偏好和特征。收集的数据将有助于为如何管理NNR内现有林地栖息地的重要决策提供信息，包括放牧的广泛性，枯木资源和任何新的可持续管理技术，确定决定蓝地甲虫栖息地使用和偏好的关键因素，人口特征和可能的人口扩张障碍。它将有助于创造一个有弹性的达特穆尔景观，并建立什么规模的林地栖息地恢复和新的连接需要帮助建立这种“秩序”。

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'.