Abstract
Abstract The decreasing number of veteran trees in Europe threatens old‐growth habitats and the fauna they support. This includes rare taxa, such as the violet click beetle, Limoniscus violaceus (Müller, 1821). Samples of wood mould were taken from all beech trees in Windsor Forest previously confirmed to have contained L. violaceus larvae, and from trees where L. violaceus had not previously been detected, the latter categorised as having high, medium or low likelihood of containing the beetle during recent surveys. Habitat characteristics were measured, and volatile profiles determined using gas‐chromatography mass‐spectrometry. Water content significantly differed between tree hollows of different violet click beetle status, high‐potential habitats having higher and relatively stable water content compared with habitats with medium or low potential of beetle occupancy. Several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were significantly associated with L. violaceus habitats. No differences in other characteristics were detected. The distinction in water regime between habitats highlights that recording this quantitatively could improve habitat surveys. Several potential L. violaceus attractant VOCs were identified. These could potentially be integrated into existing monitoring strategies, such as through volatile‐baited emergence traps or volatile‐based surveying of habitats, for more efficient population monitoring of the beetle.
Highlights
Deforestation of British woodland in the 20th Century, during the war periods (1914–1918 and 1939–1945), has resulted in a generation gap between young and veteran trees (Rotherham, 2013)
This study has shown, for the first time, that specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are associated with the habitat of the violet click beetle
Whilst no overall significant difference was found between the whole volatile profiles between habitats of different L. violaceus status, coarse distinctions were evident in the canonical analysis of principal components visualisation (Fig. 2)
Summary
Deforestation of British woodland in the 20th Century, during the war periods (1914–1918 and 1939–1945), has resulted in a generation gap between young and veteran trees (Rotherham, 2013). Many invertebrate taxa require specific biotic and abiotic characteristics for their development, heterogeneity of these conditions is a major driver of invertebrate diversity in dead wood habitats (Quinto et al, 2014; Seibold et al, 2016). Hollow organisms such as fungi produce habitat cues (specific stimuli which attract invertebrates), including volatile organic compounds (VOCs; Leather et al, 2014; Webster & Cardé, 2017). Understanding the requirements of the fauna dependent on these habitats, and what makes these environments attractive, is essential for developing effective conservation strategies
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