Peculiarities in the Organization of the Population of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the Gradient of Urbanization

Gardening of urbanized areas by creating a system of protective plantings of different types is important to solve the problem of the protection of the environment and the preservation of biological diversity. Relationships between herpetobionts and plants in protective plantations can be demonstrated from the example of representatives of the family of the ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae). We analysed the traits of the taxonomic composition and ecological structure of complexes of ground beetle in different types of plantings in the urbanized territory of Volgograd taking into account the gradient of technogenic and recreational impact. Amara and Harpalus genera were the leaders in the fauna diversity of ground beetles in recreational plantings and forest belts. An increase of the level of technogenic and recreational press on urban plantings was accompanied by an increase in the number of predatory ground beetles. The common dominant species in the plantations of different categories in the urbanized territory of Volgograd were Calathus distinguendus and C. ambiguus. Meadow-field species predominated in species abundance in the ecological structure of ground beetle complexes inhabiting habitats with an elevated level of anthropogenic press, and eurybiont species predominated in numerical abundance in the same ecological structure. The spectrum of life forms of the fauna of Carabidae was represented by two classes: zoophages and myxophytophages, with the dominance of the quantitative abundance of predatory ground beetles.