Ground beetles (coleoptera: carabidae) of the Chun T'oh Whudujut Park in eastern British Columbia, Canada, and their use as bioindicators of disturbance

The Chun T’Oh Wudujut is a provincial park located in the Interior Cedar-Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone. My objective was to assess the use of carabid beetles as bioindicators of change in this unique interior temperate rain forest ecosystem. Using a combination of morphotyping and DNA barcoding, I examined the diversity of carabid beetles in three different habitat types: clear-cuts, undisturbed old growth, and disturbed old growth subject to frequent human traffic. Nineteen species of carabid were observed, with the highest diversity occurring in clear-cut sites. Carabid diversity in both old growth habitats was similar, but differed from that in the clear-cuts. Temperature and relative humidity proved more variable in clear-cut sites; this may impact carabid biodiversity, and should be measured in future bioindicative studies. Several species of carabid beetles (alone and in combination) were identified as possible bioindicators, including Scaphinotus marginatus, Trechus chalybeus, Pterostichus herculaneus, and Pterostichus riparius.