Seasonal activity of leaf beetles in Turkey

What is it about?

Adult activity periods of the collected leaf beetle species were determined and their frequency and dominance values were provided. The results showed slight differences in terms of the seasonal activity of the species in the two national parks. According to the Shannon-Wiener index, the highest leaf beetle diversity among the studied months was found in early June (H’: 4.23) and late May (H’: 4.17). Sørensen similarity index of the species according to different seasonal periods showed three distinct seasonal periods: a) early April, b) late April to early July, c) late July to late October. Almost all leaf beetles showed a seasonal distribution, with the highest dominance during spring and early summer. The main reason for these different seasonal activities is that leaf beetle species are related to the quality and availability of host-plants.

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Why is it important?

Insect diversity is threatened by several factors, such as climate change, habitat loss, invasive alien organisms, environmental contamination and biological control (Samways 2007), in different forms. So, it is extremely important to document the characteristics of the species and environmental conditions, which every species requires to be able to move around, feed and reproduce, for insect conservation and management purposes.

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