Gm. Carpaneto et S. Fattorini, Spatial and seasonal organisation of a darkling beetle (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) community inhabiting a Mediterranean coastal dune system, ITAL J ZOOL, 68(3), 2001, pp. 207-214
Darkling beetle communities were studied on the coastal dune system which b
orders a protected area (Castelporziano Presidential Estate) along the Tyrr
henian Sea. Monthly samplings were conducted in three plant associations al
ong a transect from the seaward slope of the dune to the innermost one. Wit
hin a bulk of common species found in all three plant associations, some of
them showed quantitative differences at the habitat level. Most species sh
owed similar phenology with a summer drop, only one being a temporal specia
list solely active in summer. As a whole, plant cover seems to influence sp
ecies abundance, while phenology is probably moulded by climatic changes li
ke late summer rainfalls.