Ground beetle communities (Coleoptera: Carabidae) on the banks of two rivers in the Eastern Carpathians, the Ukraine

authored by

S. Niemeier, M. Reich, H. Plachter

Abstract

We studied the ground beetle communities (Coleoptera: Carabidae) on the river banks of two rivers in the Western Ukraine: the Upper Dniester river (4 sites) and the Stryj river (1 site). 13 009 individuals, representing 80 species, were collected on defined plots within five habitat types. Mean abundance during summer and autumn 1995 ranged between 89,6 ind./m² (s = 52,2) on the outer banks of Dniester IV and 0,2 ind./m² (s = 0,3) on the mudbanks of Dniester III. The ground beetle communities of the 4 Dniester sites differ significantly from the site at the Stryj river, probably due to variations in flood frequency and magnitude. The species sets of the Ukrainian sites are compared to sites at the Isar, Lech and Danube rivers (Germany, Bavaria). Generally, the sets of stenotopic riparian species of the Ukrainian sites are very similar to those of the Upper Isar. At sites along lower reaches of Isar, Lech and Danube, although at comparable altitudes above sea level, only fragment variants of the communities recorded from the Ukrainian rivers are present, probably due to river regulation.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Environmental Planning

Type

Article

Journal

Verhandlungen - Gesellschaft fur Okologie

Volume

27

Pages

365-372

No. of pages

8

ISSN

0171-1113

Publication date

1997

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ecology