Tracking movement of ground predators using an immuno-labeling technique

Mark-recapture techniques are useful for evaluating the movement of animals, but there is a persistent difficulty with the typically low recapture rate, especially for arthropods, because relatively few can be initially marked, producing only a small amount of recapture data. The mark-recapture method used in this study uses proteins novel to the environment and readily detectable with ELISA. The protein is applied as a liquid spray to an area, and arthropods are captured with traps placed at expanding distances from the sprayed area, over several days. This reduces the initial time investment of marking individual arthropods, eliminating potentially deleterious impacts of marking, and produces greater numbers of captured, marked arthropods. The protein markers limit the recapture techniques that can be used, due to fear of cross-contamination between marked and unmarked individuals during collection. Therefore, most techniques rely solely on sticky traps. This study uses a sticky pitfall trap, replaced every 2-4 days, as a trapping method to track the movement of ground predators which would not be caught while foraging by yellow sticky cards. Taxa are reported at the lowest taxonomic level of identification possible while preserving the insects for ELISA testing.