Arthropod monitoring on Herschel Island

Modified Malaise traps are used to capture surface active and low-flying arthropods. Five-trap transects are established in two dominant shorebird foraging habitats that are used during the brood rearing period, i.e. wetlands and dry upland heath (1 transect/habitat), and run continuously from mid-June to early August. In 2009 we ran only 3 traps in a wetland habitat from mid-June to Mid-July. Traps are emptied every 48 hrs. Arthropods collected are classified to order. Some orders, such as Diptera and Collembola, are further classified to family and separated into size classes. Focussed collection of adult Lepidoptera is undertaken with hand nets, and specimens are identified to species.