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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2015

Estimating bee and wasp (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) diversity on clear-cuts in forest landscapes - an evaluation of sampling methods

Rubene, Diana; Schroeder, Martin; Ranius, Thomas

Abstract

To assess species diversity efficiently and adequately, it is important to understand how species diversity assessments are affected by sampling effort and methodology. We evaluated methods for sampling bees and wasps on clear-cuts in managed boreal forest landscapes to assess the effects of trap type, sampling effort and time within season on observed species diversity. We found that pan traps and window traps captured similar numbers of species, whereas a much lower number was captured by trap-nests. The efficiency of the trap types varied between species groups, with pollen-collecting bees being most effectively sampled by pan traps and dead wood-nesting bees and wasps by window traps. Species turnover over time was moderate, and consequently the sampling period could be reduced to 5-6weeks in boreal forests and similar habitat types without a major decrease in the number of species collected. We recommend using window traps for bees and wasps in forest habitats. Combining trap types is recommended if the aim is to collect broad species assemblages, while single types are most useful for the efficient collection of specific species groups.

Keywords

Insect diversity; managed forest; pan traps; rarefaction; sampling effort; trap-nests; window traps

Published in

Insect Conservation and Diversity
2015, Volume: 8, number: 3, pages: 261-271