Zróżnicowanie wielkości ciała gatunków rodzaju Carabus w Puszczy Białowieskiej

Nearly 27 000 individuals of 10 species belonging to the Carabus genus were caught on over 160 research plots in 13 different habitats in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. The body length of eight species was analysed. The mean body length ratio of two adjacent species ranged between 1.00−1.10, irrespective of the number of the number of Carabus species in the assemblage. The mean ratio of the smallest to the largest species increased with the number of species in the assemblage. To study coexistence mechanisms further, automatic traps were used to catch carabid beetles in decaying stumps and tree holes. In tree holes, the species C. hortensis was caught in the greatest numbers. Morphological differences and ecological preferences suggest spatio−temporal niche partitioning as the main coexistence mechanism for Carabus species in this forest.