Carabid beetle communities in Flower bulb fields: enhancing biodiversity through small-scale landscape elements

Where biodiversity loss has on average been halted in nature reserves, biodiversity of rural areas keeps declining. The larger aim of this project (Living Lab B7 https://www.Livinglabb7.nl) is to enhance biodiversity in the rural part of The Flower Bulb Region.  

Carabid beetles in the flower bulb fields

The Flower Bulb Region in the Netherlands is a region where agricultural land is expected to currently sustain a low biodiversity when compared to surrounding land use. Pesticide application and tillage are examples of known factors negatively affecting insect abundance and diversity.

Carabid beetles are a diverse and well-studied group, especially in terms of their ecology. The composition of a carabid beetle community might be indicative for the presence of lower trophic levels and the state of biodiversity. Currently, no information about carabid communities in flower bulb cultivation is available. By studying carabid beetles across a gradient of land-use, a comparison between functional ecology can be given. Furthermore, carabid beetles are interesting for controlling plague species in agriculture. Research questions focus on functional agrobiodiversity and on effects of land-use intensity and small-scale landscape elements on the abundance and diversity of beetles.

We are looking for someone to help with field work, measure abiotic parameters, identify pitfall trap catches and analyse data.

Application

If you are interested in this project, please contact Hugo Langezaal, PhD-candidate at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.

• Type of work: Field work, species identification and data analysis
• Level: MSc & University of applied sciences
• Location(s): Wageningen and field work in the Flower Bulb Region (west of The Netherlands)
• Duration: 4-6 months, starting in spring (Roughly from March – December). Suitable for a thesis and/or internship.
• Having a Dutch driver’s license (B) is prefered