Y. Ayal et O. Merkl, SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF TENEBRIONID SPECIES (COLEOPTERA)IN THE NEGEV HIGHLANDS, ISRAEL, Journal of arid environments, 27(4), 1994, pp. 347-361
Tenebrionid species composition and activity level were studied, using
pitfall traps, in two sandy (dune and stabilized sand field) and four
compact soil (wadi, north- and south-facing slopes, and loess plain)
habitats in the Negev Desert Highlands, Israel. Each soil type had a d
istinctive species composition but habitats within soil types were sim
ilar both in species composition and phenologies. The number of specie
s was not correlated with habitat primary production; it was low in sa
ndy habitats (19 spp.) and high in compact soil (33 spp.) habitats. Wi
thin the compact soil habitats, large-size species were abundant only
in the high plant-cover wadi, and the low plant-cover slopes and plain
were dominated by smaller species. We suggest that low plant cover on
the slopes and plain exposes large tenebrionids to predation by birds
and limits them to the wadi where they are concealed and find refuge
in the plant cover.