Background

Ellipsoptera lepida, the ghost tiger beetle, is in decline throughout much of its range, especially in the northeastern United States. In New Jersey, the species was known from 18 historic coastal dune and interior upland sites, although modern collection records for the species are rare.

Aims/Methods

Because of the decline of E. lepida, the authors performed extensive surveys of historic sites, as well as potential undocumented sites based on satellite imagery during 2014–2015. One of the previously undocumented sites was an anthropogenic dune on a developed barrier island that had only been constructed 3–4 years prior. Because of its novelty, we conducted more intensive surveys at this site to document abundance and characterize adult and larval habitat.

Results

Many historic sites were apparently extirpated or contained small numbers of beetles, although several new populations were located at coastal and inland sites. Abundance of adults and larvae in constructed dunes greatly exceeded densities recorded at other coastal sites. An analysis of vegetation density based on satellite imagery indicates that E. lepida larvae and adults depend on early and mid-successional dunes for optimal habitat.

Discussion

Nearly all inland sites appear to be suitable only because of incidental anthropogenic habitat disturbance while natural disturbance processes play a greater role in maintaining habitat at coastal sites. The high densities we observed in constructed dunes are likely because the constructed dune system is at a single, highly suitable successional stage. This species is unlike another rare coastal tiger beetle native to New Jersey, Habroscelimorpha dorsalis, in that it can persist in the presence of beach vehicle and pedestrian disturbance if suitable dunes are available.

Implications for insect conservation

Our findings indicate the potential for creating and maintaining additional habitat for Ellipsoptera lepida in parts of its range where it may be declining.

中文翻译：

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在发达的障壁岛海滩保护稀有虎甲虫的新机会

背景

Ellipsoptera lepida，即鬼虎甲虫，在其大部分分布范围内都在下降，尤其是在美国东北部。在新泽西州，该物种在 18 个历史悠久的沿海沙丘和内陆高地遗址中为人所知，尽管该物种的现代收集记录很少见。

目的/方法

由于E. lepida的衰落，作者在 2014-2015 年期间根据卫星图像对历史遗址以及潜在的无证遗址进行了广泛调查。以前未记录在案的地点之一是发达的障壁岛上的一个人为沙丘，该沙丘仅在 3-4 年前建成。由于其新颖性，我们在该地点进行了更深入的调查，以记录丰度并描述成虫和幼虫栖息地的特征。

结果

许多历史遗址显然已经灭绝或含有少量甲虫，尽管一些新种群位于沿海和内陆遗址。人工沙丘中成虫和幼虫的数量大大超过了其他沿海地点记录的密度。根据卫星图像植被密度的分析表明，E. lepida幼虫和成虫早期和中期的演替沙丘的最佳栖息地依赖。

讨论

几乎所有内陆地点似乎都只是因为偶然的人为栖息地干扰而适合，而自然干扰过程在维持沿海地点的栖息地方面发挥着更大的作用。我们在人工沙丘中观察到的高密度可能是因为人工沙丘系统处于单一的、非常适合的演替阶段。该物种不同于另一种原产于新泽西州的罕见沿海虎甲虫Habroscelimorpha dorsalis，因为如果有合适的沙丘，它可以在海滩车辆和行人干扰的情况下持续存在。

对昆虫保护的影响

我们的研究结果表明，在其可能正在下降的部分范围内，有可能为鳞翅目 Ellipsoptera创造和维护额外的栖息地。