Ecological preferences and movement patterns of carabid beetles along a river bank

In 1995 we studied the ground beetle coenosis of the floodplain of a small prealpine river, containing a network of different habitats including intensively managed meadows, forest areas and spread willow copses connected by an unmown corridor along the river. Representative species were examined using pitfall trapping and individual marking techniques to obtain data on patterns of movement and choice of habitat by carabid beetles. Some forest species use the unwooded river bank as a movement corridor (e.g. Abax parallelus), some use it as secondary habitat (e.g. Abax parallelepipedus), while others prefer copses as stepping stones between wooded habitats (e.g. Platynus assimilis). For a meadow species (Carabus granulatus) the function of wooded areas as hibernation places could be demonstrated.