Life Sciences Commons^™

Diversity And Dominant Species Of Ground Beetle Assemblages (Coleoptera: Carabidae) In Crop Rotation And Chemical Input Systems For The Northern Great Plains, Michael M. Ellsbury, Janine E. Powell, Frank Forcella, W. David Woodson, Sharon A. Clay, Walter E. Riedell

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Dominant carabid species present in crops and crop rotation sequences commonly used in the northern Great Plains were assessed as an initial step toward the management of carabids as natural control agents. Ground beetle populations were determined by pitfall trapping in 4 crop rotation treatments maintained under high, managed, and low levels of chemical fertilizer and pesticide inputs. Diversity and species richness among crops, rotations, and input levels were compared using 3 indices—the Shannon-Weaver Index, relative diversity, and the Hierarchical Richness Index (HRI). Four carabid species, Cyclotrachelus altemans (Casey), Poecilvs lucublandus Say, Harpalns pensylvanicus (DeGeer), and Bembidion quadrimaculatum L., comprising …