Strong pressure for economic development in rural southeast Ohio is leading to extensive construction in the area. Many construction projects entail the creation of corridors in forested regions. This research addressed two issues: the effects of the construction of an oil pipeline corridor in southeastern Ohio forest on ground beetle populations, and the process of insect succession in and near the corridor. Carabidae were collected in pitfall traps placed in the corridor, in the edge habitat at the borders of the corridor, and in intact adjoining forest. Beetles were collected May through November 2001-2002 after the corridor was constructed. Carabids from each of the three habitats were identified in order to determine the composition of the ground beetle community in each habitat. Preliminary results suggest that species of ground beetles ordinarily present in open fields have invaded the corridor, that the edge areas have a mixture of forest and open area species, and that the ground beetle assemblage in the intact forest continued to be composed of species typical of forests.
Species 1: Coleoptera Carabidae
Keywords: forest ecology, faunal succession
Back to Display Presentations, Section Cd. Behavior and Ecology
Back to Posters
Back to The 2003 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition