carabidae

The Canterbury Plains in the eastern South Island is one of the most modified regions of New Zealand with less than 2% of indigenous vegetation cover remaining. The critically endangered ground beetle Holcaspis brevicula Butcher, a local endemic known only from a small area in that region, is thought to be threatened by the loss and fragmentation of the formerly widespread forest and shrubland habitat. Previously, only the two type specimens, both male, were known to science. From 2000–2005, we conducted a survey for H.

We describe the use of harmonic radar in the field with simple, inexpensive tags with extended lifespan. The effects of aerial size and shape, and the detection range of several types of diodes under different conditions are described. Examples are provided of tracking short-term movement of a ground beetle, Plocamosthetus planiusculus, and long-term movement of a snail, Paryphanta busbyi watti. The potential and limitations of the method are discussed.

Gap analysis is a tool that allows conservationists to quantify the effectiveness of protected areas at representing species diversity, but the lack of distribution maps for invertebrates has precluded its application to the world’s most diverse animal groups. Here, we overcome this limitation and conduct a gap analysis, using niche modelling, on the Pterostichini (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of New Zealand, one of the most diverse and most threatened tribes of ground beetles in the nation.