Plant Community Influence on Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Species Richness and Abundance

Pitfall traps were used to sample ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from adjacent climax big sagebrush and disturbed cheatgrass dominated communities at the Hanford Site, which is located in southcentral Washington. Although the number of species captured was the same (S=15) in each plant community, the composition and abundance of species were dramatically different. Herbivorous species dominated the cheatgrass stand while predaceous species were dominant in the sagebrush. These findings, while preliminary, suggest that long-term changes in vegetation alone can affect ground beetle communities.