How differences in the settling behaviour of moths (Lepidoptera) may contribute to sampling bias when using automated light traps

Title:

How differences in the settling behaviour of moths (Lepidoptera) may contribute to sampling bias when using automated light traps

Creator:

Wölfling, Mirko, Becker, Mira C., Uhl, Britta, Traub, Anja, and Fiedler, Konrad

Identifier:

https://cdk.lib.cas.cz/client/handle/uuid:979a6ac3-5a74-4cd5-9779-04f677273f79
uuid:979a6ac3-5a74-4cd5-9779-04f677273f79
issn:1210-5759
doi:10.14411/eje.2016.066

Subject:

Zoologie, Lepidoptera, moths, biodiversity assessment, sampling method, light-trapping, sampling bias, 2, and 59

Type:

article, články, journal articles, model:article, and TEXT

Format:

print, počítač, and online zdroj

Description:

Quantitative community-wide moth surveys frequently employ flight-interception traps equipped with UV-light emitting sources as attractants. It has long been known that moth species differ in their responsiveness to light traps. We studied how the settling behaviour of moths at a light trap may further contribute to sampling bias. We observed the behaviour of 1426 moths at a light tower. Moths were classified as either, settling and remaining still after arrival, or continually moving on the gauze for extended periods of time. Moths that did not move after settling may not end up in the sampling container of the light trap and therefore are under-represented in automated trap samples relative to their true proportions in the community. Our analyses revealed highly significant behavioural differences between moths that differed in body size. Small moths were more likely to remain stationary after settling. As a corollary, representatives of three taxa, which in Europe are predominantly small species (Nolidae, Geometridae: Eupitheciini, Erebidae: Lithosiini), usually settled down immediately, whereas most other moths remained active on or flying around the trap for some time. Moth behaviour was also modulated by ambient temperature. At high temperatures, they were less likely to settle down immediately, but this behavioural difference was most strongly apparent among medium-sized moths. These results indicate the likely extent of the sampling bias when analysing and interpreting automated light-trap samples. Furthermore, to control for temperature modulated sampling bias temperature should always be recorded when sampling moths using flight-interception traps. and Mirko Wölfling, Mira C. Becker, Britta Uhl, Anja Traub, Konrad Fiedler.

Language:

English

Rights:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
policy:public

Source:

European Journal of Entomology | 2016 Volume:113

Harvested from:

CDK

Metadata only:

false