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Using odour traps for population monitoring and dispersal analysis of the threatened saproxylic beetles Osmoderma eremita and Elater ferrugineus in central Italy

Zauli, Agnese ; Chiari, Stefano ; Hedenström, Erik ; Svensson, Glenn LU and Carpaneto, Guiseppe M (2014) In Journal of Insect Conservation 18(5). p.801-813
Abstract
Pheromone-based monitoring could be a very

efficient method to assess the conservation status of rare

and elusive insect species, but there are still few studies for

which pheromone traps have been used to obtain information

on presence, abundance, phenology and movements

of such insects. We performed a mark-recapture study of

two threatened saproxylic beetles, Osmoderma eremita

(Scarabaeidae) and its predator Elater ferrugineus (Elateridae),

in two beech forests of central Italy using pheromone

baited window traps and unbaited pitfall traps. Two

lures were used: (1) the male-produced sex pheromone of

O. eremita (racemic c-decalactone) to... (More)
Pheromone-based monitoring could be a very

efficient method to assess the conservation status of rare

and elusive insect species, but there are still few studies for

which pheromone traps have been used to obtain information

on presence, abundance, phenology and movements

of such insects. We performed a mark-recapture study of

two threatened saproxylic beetles, Osmoderma eremita

(Scarabaeidae) and its predator Elater ferrugineus (Elateridae),

in two beech forests of central Italy using pheromone

baited window traps and unbaited pitfall traps. Two

lures were used: (1) the male-produced sex pheromone of

O. eremita (racemic c-decalactone) to attract females of

both species, and (2) the female-produced sex pheromone

of E. ferrugineus (7-methyloctyl (Z)-4-decenoate), to

attract conspecific males. In total, 13 O. eremita and 1,247

E. ferrugineus individuals were trapped. For E. ferrugineus,

males were detected earlier than females, and

7-methyloctyl (Z)-4-decenoate was much more efficient

lure compared to racemic c-decalactone in detecting its

presence. The population size at the two sites were estimated

to 520 and 1,369 individuals, respectively. Our

model suggests a sampling effort of ten traps checked for

3 days being sufficient to detect the presence of E. ferrugineus

at a given site. The distribution of dispersal distances

for the predator was best described by the negative

exponential function with 1 % of the individuals dispersing

farther than 1,600 m from their natal site. In contrast to

studies on these beetles in Northern Europe, the activity

pattern of the two beetle species was not influenced by

variation in temperature during the season. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Conservation, Kairomone, Mark-recapture, Pheromon, e Predator–Prey, Temperature
in
Journal of Insect Conservation
volume
18
issue
5
pages
801 - 813
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • wos:000343726300005
  • scopus:84939889491
ISSN
1366-638X
DOI
10.1007/s10841-014-9687-8
project
The PheroBio project (Pheromone monitoring of Biodiversity)
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
429f11cc-eb72-4968-bc40-38c3d0c43853 (old id 4590288)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:21:17
date last changed
2024-04-10 19:16:57
@article{429f11cc-eb72-4968-bc40-38c3d0c43853,
  abstract     = {{Pheromone-based monitoring could be a very<br/><br>
efficient method to assess the conservation status of rare<br/><br>
and elusive insect species, but there are still few studies for<br/><br>
which pheromone traps have been used to obtain information<br/><br>
on presence, abundance, phenology and movements<br/><br>
of such insects. We performed a mark-recapture study of<br/><br>
two threatened saproxylic beetles, Osmoderma eremita<br/><br>
(Scarabaeidae) and its predator Elater ferrugineus (Elateridae),<br/><br>
in two beech forests of central Italy using pheromone<br/><br>
baited window traps and unbaited pitfall traps. Two<br/><br>
lures were used: (1) the male-produced sex pheromone of<br/><br>
O. eremita (racemic c-decalactone) to attract females of<br/><br>
both species, and (2) the female-produced sex pheromone<br/><br>
of E. ferrugineus (7-methyloctyl (Z)-4-decenoate), to<br/><br>
attract conspecific males. In total, 13 O. eremita and 1,247<br/><br>
E. ferrugineus individuals were trapped. For E. ferrugineus,<br/><br>
males were detected earlier than females, and<br/><br>
7-methyloctyl (Z)-4-decenoate was much more efficient<br/><br>
lure compared to racemic c-decalactone in detecting its<br/><br>
presence. The population size at the two sites were estimated<br/><br>
to 520 and 1,369 individuals, respectively. Our<br/><br>
model suggests a sampling effort of ten traps checked for<br/><br>
3 days being sufficient to detect the presence of E. ferrugineus<br/><br>
at a given site. The distribution of dispersal distances<br/><br>
for the predator was best described by the negative<br/><br>
exponential function with 1 % of the individuals dispersing<br/><br>
farther than 1,600 m from their natal site. In contrast to<br/><br>
studies on these beetles in Northern Europe, the activity<br/><br>
pattern of the two beetle species was not influenced by<br/><br>
variation in temperature during the season.}},
  author       = {{Zauli, Agnese and Chiari, Stefano and Hedenström, Erik and Svensson, Glenn and Carpaneto, Guiseppe M}},
  issn         = {{1366-638X}},
  keywords     = {{Conservation; Kairomone; Mark-recapture; Pheromon; e Predator–Prey; Temperature}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{801--813}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Journal of Insect Conservation}},
  title        = {{Using odour traps for population monitoring and dispersal analysis of the threatened saproxylic beetles <i>Osmoderma eremita</i> and <i>Elater ferrugineus</i> in central Italy}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9687-8}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10841-014-9687-8}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}