Sampling indigenous ground-living beetles in a stand of non-native tree privet (Ligustrum lucidum) in New Zealand raises new management questions
Blanchon, Dan; Pusateri, John; Galbraith, Mel; Thorpe, Stephen
Date
2011Citation:
Blanchon, D., Pusateri, J., Galbraith, M., and Thorpe, S. (2011). Sampling indigenous ground-living beetles in a stand of non-native tree privet (Ligustrum lucidum) in New Zealand raises new management questions. Ecological Management & Restoration, Ecological Society of Australia. 12 (3) : 234 - 236.Permanent link to Research Bank record:
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/2188Abstract
Small urban forest reserves in New Zealand have been shown to have value in conserving indigenous beetle diversity. However there is little information available on the ability of non-native vegetation areas such as tree privet to support indigenous beetle assemblages. To investigate
this for one site, ground-living beetles were collected using pitfall traps over a year at a small urban
forest of the invasive tree Ligustrum lucidum (tree privet) in Auckland, New Zealand. A total of 815 beetles were found, from 20 families and 42 relative taxonomic units. Using monthly data, there was no correlation between soil moisture and diversity index (P = 0.805) or species richness (P = 0.375). These results raise the question of whether urban patches of non-native tree privet
may have potential as reservoirs of beetle diversity, if only until they are replaced with native vegetation.