Terrestrial invertebrates as bio indicators: Selecting the best Orders and the best methods

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The present study investigated the utility of soil, litter and arboreal invertebrates for monitoring the
progress of restoration. Three different techniques were used for sampling various invertebrate orders;
pitfall trap, vacuuming and litter sampling (Tullgren funnels). This study provides data to determine the
most proper method for sampling different arthropods orders and the best order to use as a bio indicator.
A total of 79,183 arthropods were sampled from the study area by the three sampling methods. The
majority was from pitfall traps followed by vacuuming samples and litter ones. Comparisons between the
three sampling methods indicated that pitfall traps most often captured taxa considered active at ground
level, such as ants, carabids and spiders. Most of the arboreal invertebrates were collected by vacuuming
and litter sampling most frequently succeeded in collecting certain groups of arthropods associated with
moisture and sheltered areas, including beetles larvae and litter isopods. The pitfall trap method appeared
ideal for quantitative estimates, while the suction method is ideal for qualitative estimates. Certain groups
of invertebrates, notably hemipterans, beetles, ants and spiders are cost-effective to survey and
potentially high in information content.

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