Inventory of tiger- and ground-beetles (Coleoptera Caraboidea: Cicindelidae, Carabidae) from the Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique)

Study Extent

ECOASSESS survey focused on the four main habitat types, i.e. miombo tropical forest, mixed dry forest, transition forest and grasslands, encompassing the low plateau of the Gorongosa National Park, in a total sampling area of 56130 m2. These habitats were selected considering the ecosystem changes and complex dynamics due to seasonal flooding and human disturbance in this area of the park. Within each habitat type, 25 sampling plots were randomly distributed, with a minimum distance of 1 km between each other

Sampling

Caraboidea beetle sampling was done by using pitfall traps (Drift, 1951; Greenslade, 1964). At each sampling plot, three pitfall traps (sub-samples) were placed according to a triangle arrangement, with 5 m of separation between them. Pitfall traps consisted of plastic vials of 10cm diameter and filled to approximately 75-80% capacity with ethyleneglycol (5%). To include the seasonal effects on community dynamics, Caraboidea beetles were collected on three sampling periods: T1 (25 October to 5 November) and T2 (5-15 November), both during the dry season, and T3 (15-25 November) in the wet season, comprising ten days per sampling window. During pitfall collection, the content of each pitfall was enclosed in a cloth bag and all bags were transported in jerricans filled with 100% ethanol to the laboratory at the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (University of Lisbon, Portugal) for sorting and taxonomic identification to the species/subspecies level, or morphospecies using several specialized keys. Data from pitfall sub-samples were then pooled before data analysis

Quality Control

All carabid and cicindelid specimens were taxonomically identified by Artur R. M. Serrano.

Method steps

1. Whenever possible the identification was made to the subspecies or species level, otherwise, the specimens were separated as morphospecies

The following Classe and Order are covered: Insecta: Coleoptera; Caraboidea

1. Carabidae
   common name: ground-beetle rank: family
2. Cicindelidae
   common name: tiger-beetes rank: family

This study was carried out in the Gorongosa National Park (18°58′04.84″ S, 34°21′41.64″ E), located in the centre of Mozambique, occupying around 4000 km2 of the Sofala Province