Journal article
Are only the strong surviving? Little influence of restoration on beetles (Coleoptera) in an agricultural landscape
S Jellinek, KM Parris, DA Driscoll
Biological Conservation | Published : 2013
Abstract
Habitat restoration has become an important part of biodiversity conservation in the face of extensive habitat loss and fragmentation, especially in agricultural landscapes. Study of invertebrates such as beetles (Coleoptera) may be important to assess the effectiveness of restoration techniques in maintaining native fauna, because they provide a variety of trophic roles and ecosystem services. In this study we examined the conservation value for beetles of revegetation in linear strips and alongside remnant patches compared with remnant vegetation and cleared roadsides. We also assessed how habitat variables structured beetle community composition. Beetle species richness and abundance did ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This research was conducted with the support of funding from the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. SJ undertook this project with the assistance of the Norman Wettenhall Foundation, The University of Melbourne Albert Shimmins Postgraduate Scholarship, Greening Australia Victoria, the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority and VicRoads. This article was supported by a University of Melbourne Albert Shimmins postgraduate writing-up award (S.J.). We thank the landholders who gave us access to their properties and volunteers who helped with this research, Tom Weir at CSIRO Entomology and Dr Michael Nash at CESAR who assisted with beetle identification and lab space. Thanks also to Fabian Douglas for initial beetle identification, A/Professor Michael McCarthy and A/Professor Brendan Wintle for assistance with WinBUGS code, and Professor Geoff Cumming for assistance with the interpretation of credible intervals.