The carabid beetle communities are compared for adjacent marsh and bog biotopes at the McLean Bogs Preserve, New York by means of pitfall trap sampling. Though the marsh and bog habitats are only 200 m distant, the resident species assemblages differ significantly between the sites. Of 62 species observed in the wetlands, 36 were found exclusively in the marsh biotope, 17 were exclusive to the bog site, and only9 were found at both sites. This level of habitat fidelity is maintained in spite of potential colonization of the two sites each spring by adult beetles dispersing from overwintering sites in surrounding forest and edge habitats. McLean Bogs also houses geographically southern, peripheral populations of the bog-specialist species Platynus mannerheimii, and four marsh/fen-inhabiting species--Trechus crassiscapus, Bembidion muscicola, B. praticola, and Bradycellus semipubescens. The distinct faunas observed in these two proximate biotopes clearly illustrate that comprehensive conservation of the carabid beetle fauna of northeastern North America should involve preservation of a variety of wetland types.
Species 1: Coleoptera Carabidae
Keywords: community, biogeography
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