BIOTOPE PREFERENCES OF OICEOPTOMA THORACICUM (COLEOPTERA: SILPHIDAE)

Biotope or habitat preferences are important species characteristics that can be used for understanding their ecology, as well as their conservation, and even as a tool for crime investigations for detection of post-mortem body manipulation. However, the characterization of species� habitat preferences can be difficult. There are several limiting factors like lack of quantitative data and reliance on anecdotal evidence for this trait. Further, we must consider the reaction to the border between two neighboring habitats. These ecotones are important biodiversity hotspots in the landscape, which combine characteristics of both habitats, but some specialist species seem to avoid them. To characterize habitat preference of the potentially forensically important necrophagous beetle Oiceoptoma thoracicum (Linnaeus, 1758), we set up an experiment in the transition zone between the meadow and forest habitat. The individuals of O. thoracicum were collected using baited pitfall traps across two habitats and at ecotone. The traps were exposed for two weeks after which the samples were taken to the laboratory, where they were sorted and the specimens of O. thoracicum were sexed and counted. The obtained data were evaluated by a generalized linear model to establish the relationship between the presence and abundance of the focal species and distance from the ecotone. We found that the abundance of the species significantly changes along the forest-meadow gradient and shows a preference for woods. Its abundances at the ecotone and on meadows was low, showing a clear preference for forest habitats. This has important implications for the forensic use of the species, as it can be used to detect post-mortem body manipulation.