Abstract
Ecological traps are serious, anthropogenic threats to animal populations. However, in certain cases it is difficult to determine whether they really act in the expected manner. This applies to the harmful effects of beech timber stacked in forests on the endangered saproxylic beetle Rosalia longicorn Rosalia alpina, which have been mentioned in numerous scientific articles, conservation action plans and similar publications. The aim of this paper is to determine whether beech timber stacks meet the criteria of an ecological trap for the Rosalia longicorn. Two basic criteria of such a trap are analysed: the attractiveness of timber stacks and the impossibility of complete larval development. The results show that beech timber stacks are highly attractive to Rosalia longicorn imagines. Moreover, the time during which the timber is stacked is shown to be significantly shorter than the species’ larval development period. These results suggest that timber stacks can be treated as operative ecological traps for the Rosalia longicorn, even though the extent of their influence on the demographic parameters of this beetle’s population has not been estimated. Forest management practices, i.e. increasing amounts and shifts in timing of wood storage, could intensify this threat.
Highlights
The condition of saproxylic beetle populations is related to forest management practices (Grove 2002; Jonsell 2008; Jurc et al 2008; Lassauce et al 2012)
Ecological traps are regarded as an important factor endangering populations, and their elimination has become a valid aspect of conservation practice (Mills 2012)
Our results indicate that the Rosalia longicorn perceives timber stacks as an attractive oviposition site in Bieszczady; this conirms earlier predictions (Gutowski 2004; Starzyk 2004; Michalcewicz and Ciach 2012) and is consistent with the results obtained by Duelli and Wermelinger (2005)
Summary
The condition of saproxylic beetle populations is related to forest management practices (Grove 2002; Jonsell 2008; Jurc et al 2008; Lassauce et al 2012). An ecological trap is deined as a sink habitat that an organism inds as attractive as, or more so than, another source habitat (Robertson et al 2013; Gilroy and Sutherland 2007). The question of an ecological trap usually arises when an organism indirectly assesses habitat quality for reproductive purposes. This happens if the estimation of habitat quality is not based on the presence and abundance of actual resources (e.g. food, shelter), but of other parameters only indirectly correlated with the crucial ones (Gilroy and Sutherland 2007; Kokko and Sutherland 2001; Robertson et al 2010; Schlaepfer et al 2002). Ecological traps are regarded as an important factor endangering populations, and their elimination has become a valid aspect of conservation practice (Mills 2012)
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