Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost... more Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost all terrestrial ecosystems, are responsive to environmental variables, and satisfy the criteria for useful bioindicators. Carabid biodiversity studies are now active nationally and internationally, but sampling regimes are rarely standardized and are often costly and time-consuming. We describe how a pitfall sampling protocol for carabids that is simple and easily repeatable by non-specialists can be used for the rapid assessment of site biodiversity quality baselines for the detection of change. Using this methodology, change in carabid beetle biodiversity quality is revealed, which would not be detected by simple registration of species richness or the presence of rare species.
The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring differenc... more The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring difference and change. The authors suggest that well-sampled data can be used to generate a range of numerical indices reflecting species group characteristics/functionality (Species Richness, Simpson's Index, Population Density, Biomass and Species Conservation Value) that can be viewed in combination to create a picture of Biodiversity Quality. This overall approach has considerable advantages over the currently accepted Convention on Biological Diversity definition, based on the "variability" of genes, species and ecosystems, since the numerical expression of the indices allows the probability of difference between biodiversity quality trends and values over time, and between sites or taxonomic groups, to be assessed for statistical inference of difference.
Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost... more Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost all terrestrial ecosystems, are responsive to environmental variables, and satisfy the criteria for useful bioindicators. Carabid biodiversity studies are now active nationally and internationally, but sampling regimes are rarely standardized and are often costly and time-consuming. We describe how a pitfall sampling protocol for carabids that is simple and easily repeatable by non-specialists can be used for the rapid assessment of site biodiversity quality baselines for the detection of change. Using this methodology, change in carabid beetle biodiversity quality is revealed, which would not be detected by simple registration of species richness or the presence of rare species.
The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring differenc... more The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring difference and change. The authors suggest that well-sampled data can be used to generate a range of numerical indices reflecting species group characteristics/functionality (Species Richness, Simpson's Index, Population Density, Biomass and Species Conservation Value) that can be viewed in combination to create a picture of Biodiversity Quality. This overall approach has considerable advantages over the currently accepted Convention on Biological Diversity definition, based on the "variability" of genes, species and ecosystems, since the numerical expression of the indices allows the probability of difference between biodiversity quality trends and values over time, and between sites or taxonomic groups, to be assessed for statistical inference of difference.
Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost... more Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost all terrestrial ecosystems, are responsive to environmental variables, and satisfy the criteria for useful bioindicators. Carabid biodiversity studies are now active nationally and internationally, but sampling regimes are rarely standardized and are often costly and time-consuming. We describe how a pitfall sampling protocol for carabids that is simple and easily repeatable by non-specialists can be used for the rapid assessment of site biodiversity quality baselines for the detection of change. Using this methodology, change in carabid beetle biodiversity quality is revealed, which would not be detected by simple registration of species richness or the presence of rare species.
The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring differenc... more The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring difference and change. The authors suggest that well-sampled data can be used to generate a range of numerical indices reflecting species group characteristics/functionality (Species Richness, Simpson's Index, Population Density, Biomass and Species Conservation Value) that can be viewed in combination to create a picture of Biodiversity Quality. This overall approach has considerable advantages over the currently accepted Convention on Biological Diversity definition, based on the "variability" of genes, species and ecosystems, since the numerical expression of the indices allows the probability of difference between biodiversity quality trends and values over time, and between sites or taxonomic groups, to be assessed for statistical inference of difference.
Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost... more Carabid beetles meet the requirements of many ecological studies because they are found in almost all terrestrial ecosystems, are responsive to environmental variables, and satisfy the criteria for useful bioindicators. Carabid biodiversity studies are now active nationally and internationally, but sampling regimes are rarely standardized and are often costly and time-consuming. We describe how a pitfall sampling protocol for carabids that is simple and easily repeatable by non-specialists can be used for the rapid assessment of site biodiversity quality baselines for the detection of change. Using this methodology, change in carabid beetle biodiversity quality is revealed, which would not be detected by simple registration of species richness or the presence of rare species.
The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring differenc... more The internationally accepted definition of biodiversity creates difficulty in measuring difference and change. The authors suggest that well-sampled data can be used to generate a range of numerical indices reflecting species group characteristics/functionality (Species Richness, Simpson's Index, Population Density, Biomass and Species Conservation Value) that can be viewed in combination to create a picture of Biodiversity Quality. This overall approach has considerable advantages over the currently accepted Convention on Biological Diversity definition, based on the "variability" of genes, species and ecosystems, since the numerical expression of the indices allows the probability of difference between biodiversity quality trends and values over time, and between sites or taxonomic groups, to be assessed for statistical inference of difference.
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Papers by Tim Aldred