An inherent goal of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP’s, under the Endangered Species Act) is to provide for the long-term persistence of biodiversity. However, no attempts have been made to provide land managers with a tool to aid in the reserve planning process, assess the effectiveness of the design, or even provide a surrogate measure of biodiversity. The coastal sage scrub community in southern California provides a unique opportunity to investigate HCP’s through both an applied and theoretical approach. An obvious measure of biodiversity can be found in ground obligate arthropods. Specifically, the Carabid and Tenebrionid beetles show a quantifiable response to habitat fragmentation, isolation, and patch size, making them ideal candidates for “biodiversity monitoring”. A recommended strategy for “biodiversity monitoring” (focusing on ground obligate beetles) can be used in concert with existing required monitoring efforts can provide greater resolution and insight into the issues concerning HCP’s and reserve design.
Keywords: Tenebrionidae, Carabidae
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA