Zagrożenie mezofauny powodowane turystycznym zaśmiecaniem lasów

The experiment analysed magnitude and structure of invertebrate fauna caught in different empty bottles and cans left by tourists in the four different forest ecosystems. Empty boxes that previously had contained several types of beverage (mineral water, apple juice, bread derived dark brown beverage, coke and beer) were installed. Each bottle was repeated three times. They were subsequently examined on three occasions for invertebrates every two weeks. A total of 1069 specimens belonging to 27 species or taxa were captured. The highest catchability was recorded in fresh mixed coniferous forest. The presence of saprophagous and predatory species in the emptied beverage boxes suggests the establishment of detritus trophic chains. The species composition similarity of invertebrates captured in the empty bottles depended on the site fertility and, only to a minor degree, on the type of beverage. The PCA showed that another factor influential in the species composition of captured fauna was the degree of transparency of the box. The dominant species was A. sterocorosus; this beetle was most frequently captured in the mixed coniferous forest type. The experiment showed very high danger for the forest invertebrate fauna from the side of empty bottles left by tourists.