Diversity and species composition of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in sand prairies and reconstructed tallgrass prairies of west-central Illinois

Reconstructed prairies and prairie remnants represent important habitats for maintaining diversity of grassland animal life. Carabid beetles are an abundant, diverse, and functionally important component of grassland ecosystems. We examined sand and reconstructed tallgrass prairie carabid diversity and species composition using multiple diversity measures. Overall, sand and tallgrass prairies did not differ in diversity but differed significantly in species composition, primarily due to differences in abundant species. Site-level diversity also varied significantly based on diversity measures that are relatively sensitive to abundant species. Results of this study indicate that sand prairies provide habitat for a carabid assemblage that is substantially different from that of reconstructed tallgrass prairies, lending support for protection of remnant sand prairies. Our results also underscore the importance of using multiple measures to obtain a more complete picture of spatial and temporal species composition, diversity, and similarity. The additional information associated with abundance data is often critical in revealing such patterns.