MOVEMENTS OF ABAX-PARALLELEPIPEDUS (COLEOPTERA, CARABIDAE) IN WOODY HABITATS OF A HEDGEROW NETWORK LANDSCAPE - A RADIO-TRACING STUDY

Interaction between local populations is of prime importance for speci es survival in fragmented rural landscapes. In the hedgerow networks o f Brittany, several forest carabid beetles were shown to use some line ar woody elements as dispersal corridors. This paper reports on the lo ng-term movements of a forest carabid beetle, Abax parallelepipedus (P iller and Mitterpacher, 1783), which survives as metapopulations. The aim of the study was to assess whether or not movements were similar i n four different types of woody habitats. The walking patterns and int ensity of movements were examined by radio-tracing individuals. Walkin g patterns were similar but movements differed significantly. Mean dis tances covered per time unit as well as the area occupied during the s tudy were highest in the woodlot and decreased as vegetation cover in the linear element decreased. The presence of hedgerows in rural lands capes is of importance for forest species survival but, as hedgerow qu ality influences its efficiency for species diffusion, attention shoul d be paid to their management in order to maintain functional links be tween natural remnants.