@article {426,
	title = {Characterizing termite assemblages in fragmented forests: A test case in the Argentinian Chaco},
	journal = {Austral Ecology},
	volume = {29},
	year = {2004},
	pages = {637-646},
	abstract = {Termites are major decomposers in tropical ecosystems. To characterize their assemblages in terms of taxonomical and functional composition, Jones and Eggleton (2000, Journal of Applied Ecology 37, 191{\textendash}203) recently proposed a standardized sampling protocol based on belt transects of 100 m  2 m. We evaluated the represent- ativeness of samples obtained by this protocol, and its suitability to calculate diversity statistics, by replicating it in an area of naturally fragmented subtropical forest. We sampled six 100 m transects in separate small forest islets, and one transect extended to 500 m in a large islet, recording presence/absence data (occurrences) of termite species in successive quadrats of 5 m  2 m. In the large islet, strips of 100 m within the 500 m transect produced extremely variable species richness figures. This variability was primarily due to heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of soil- dwelling termites. Combining non-contiguous quadrats allowed us to span a broader diversity of microhabitats for an equal effort, providing less variable results and faster species accumulation. Individual transects of 100 m in small forest islets yielded too few samples to allow reliable estimations of total species richness, although these transects when pooled constituted a useful data set for comparison with other sites. In the focal habitat, a single 100 m transect appeared therefore inadequate to allow a reliable characterization of the termite assemblage, even at the level of a single forest islet. To improve the rate of species accumulation and to obtain diversity statistics allowing intersite comparisons, we suggest the use of smaller, non-contiguous quadrats, and that sampling be continued until stable diversity estimates are obtained. In the habitat studied, such an alternative protocol could be adequately combined with a standardized protocol for collecting ground-dwelling ants},
	keywords = {community composition, geneity, habitat fragmentation, isoptera, sampling standardization, spatial hetero-, species accumulation, species richness estimates},
	author = {Roisin, Y. and Leponce, M.}
}
@article {385,
	title = {Sampling saproxylic beetles: lessons from a 10-year monitoring study},
	journal = {Biological Conservation},
	volume = {120},
	year = {2004},
	pages = {171-181},
	abstract = {We sampled saproxylic beetles using trunk window traps in two birch-dominated forests in Finland during 1990{\textendash}1999. The sampling scheme, 10 traps attached to living fruiting bodies of Fomes fomentarius growing on dead birches, remained unchanged in both forests throughout the study period. Beetles belonging to 32 selected families were identified every year, whereas all species were identified during the last 4 years. Total number of identified individuals was 40,294 and number of species 583, of which 258 were saproxylic (dependent on dead wood). Species richness of rare and threatened saproxylic beetles in the samples varied a lot between the years and did not fluctuate synchronously between the forests. Variation between years was smaller when all saproxylic species were pooled together and some abundant species fluctuated synchronously in the two forests. Similarity indices and DCA- ordination did not generally suggest decreasing similarity between samples with increasing temporal isolation. Incidence-based similarities of common saproxylic species within and between forests and years were high (means 0.7{\textendash}0.8), whereas those of rare saproxylics were roughly 50\% smaller and much more variable. More than 75\% of the common saproxylic species found during the entire 10-year period were detected already after 3 years of sampling but accumulation of rare and threatened species was much slower. Our results suggest that: (1) occurrence of rare and threatened species in samples is much less predictable than that of common species and, e.g. reserve selection based on rarities should be made cautiously; (2) estimation of total number of threatened species in a forest is very difficult, because such species accumulate slowly in the samples; (3) samples from different years can be comparable in certain cases.},
	keywords = {long-term insect survey, sampling methodology, species accumulation, temporal variability, threatened coleoptera},
	author = {Martikainen, P. and Kaila, L.}
}
