Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as bioindicators of human impact

Abstract :

Bioindicators are broadly used in scientific research to quantify environmental impacts such as the effects of disturbances due to anthropogenic activities. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are frequently used to indicate habitat alteration since they are affected by anthropogenic activities such as urbanization, crop and forest management, overgrazing by domestic livestock, tourist flow in natural landscapes and soil pollution. Moreover carabids are well known both taxonomically and ecologically, are extremely sensitive to several abiotic and biotic factors, respond quickly to habitat alteration and can be easily and cost-effectively collected by using classic pitfall traps. For these reasons this group of ground-dwelling arthropods are increasingly being used in ecological studies in order to evaluate the environmental impacts of man in terrestrial ecosystems. In this work we present several case studies where carabids were employed as a bioindicator group of metal pollution


Keyword :

bioindicators, carabid, environmental impacts, pollution


Author(s) : Avgın, S., Luff, M. L.
Downloads : 4278
Published Issue : 2010 Vol. 5 Number 1


2010 Vol. 5 Number 1