Carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities in Tasmania: classification for nature conservation

Typically, reserve selection is based on representative community types classified primarily by vegetation. Whether they contain representative faunal communities has been little tested. The distribution and abundance of carabid beetles from 41 sites, representing a range of plant community types in two land systems in Tasmania, were used to classify sites by TWINSPAN. This study found that ground beetle distributions were not linked to plant community type. Communities defined by classification may predict only the presence of common and widespread species unless our understanding of carabid-habitat associations improves. Representation of all biota in reserves requires the inclusion of carabids in conservation assessments.