The effect of alpine ski-slopes on epigeic beetles: does even a nature-friendly management make a change?

Unique alpine ecosystems are threatened by skiing activities all over the world. We studied the effect of alpine ski-slopes on epigeic beetles by pitfall trapping in the Praděd National Nature Reserve (Czech Republic) where the management of ski-slopes has never caused any disturbance to the vegetation cover. Using a mixed modelling approach, we demonstrate a significant effect of ski-slope management on the epigeic beetle community, including its functional diversity. Beetle species responded to the ski-slope individually. We found a noticeable decline in the abundance of most species in the patches with artificially increased accumulation of snow, i.e. close to the interior edges of the ski-slopes. Above all, the ski-slopes were not preferred by relict species such as Neagolius limbolarius , Minota carpathica and Liotrichus affinis but vagile widespread carabids ( Amara lunicollis , Poecilus versicolor ) and herbivores associated with nitrophilous plants ( Gastrophysa viridula ) were more abundant on the ski-slopes. A few stenotypic carnivorous and herbivorous species were found on the ski-slopes. A high abundance of mountain herbivores such as leaf beetle Timarcha metallica reflected an increased occurrence of their host plants and carnivores such as Carabus sylvestris and Pterostichus oblongopunctatus could prefer ski-slopes due to the locally increased food supply. With respect to both uniqueness of alpine communities and to the small extent of alpine treeless zone, we recommend considering very cautiously any potential expansion of ski resorts, even those with reasonable ‘nature-friendly’ practices.