A New Design and some Preliminary Results for a Flight Intercept Trap to Sample Forest Canopy Arthropods |
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Authors: | C J HILL M CERMAK |
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Institution: | Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecololgy and Management, Department of Zoology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811. |
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Abstract: | With increasing interest in describing the arthropod fauna of rainforest canopies, there is also a need for different trapping techniques which, in combination, will allow a greater proportion of the fauna to be sampled. We describe the design of a flight intercept trap which can be suspended in the rainforest canopy for long periods of time. the flying invertebrate fauna was sampled over 5 months at differing heights in rainforest of northern Queensland using this trap. Invertebrate abundance and higher taxon richness was greatest at the ground level compared to 5 and 10 m above the ground. Similar results were obtained for dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) which were sorted to species. These results contrast with those of other studies using light traps for which insect diversity and abundance was greatest in the rainforest canopy. |
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