{"id":{"repo_id":"aachen","oai_identifier":"oai:publications.rwth-aachen.de:62064"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/aachen/oai:publications.rwth-aachen.de:62064","repository":{"repo_id":"aachen","name":"RWTH Aachen University","base_url":"https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/oai2d"},"display":{"title":"Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Lichtfangs bei der ökologischen Bewertung von Nachtfalter-Artenspektren : ein Vergleich zwischen der räumlichen Verteilung von Nachtfalterimagines und der ihrer Präimaginalstadien","abstract":"The object of this study lasting several years was to evaluate the suitability of light-trapping methods for studying the ecology of moths in general as well as questions concerning nature conservation in particular. It addresses the question as to whether and to what extent the habitats of adult moths and their respective pre-imaginal stages coincide. To answer this question the small-scale spatial distributions of pre-imaginal and imaginal stages of moths were compared on the basis of field data obtained in a 16,9 ha study area situated to the west of the city of Aachen, Germany. Whilst pre-imaginal stages were searched by means of many species-specific methods throughout the whole study area, adult moths were mainly light-trapped at a few selected sites. They were sampled with the help of six weekly and simultaneously operated Minnesota-type light-traps equipped with 8-W blacklight lamps. In addition a so-called “gauze tower” with high-powered light sources was used fortnightly at one site in the centre of the study area. In the course of some additional mark-recapture experiments 13.281 adult moths trapped in the study area as well as 450 laboratory-grown moths were individually marked and released. A total of 30.086 individuals and 326 species was recorded throughout the whole study period: 19.586 adult moths and 10.500 pre-imaginal individuals of 301 and 215 species respectively. 198 species were found in a preimaginal stage at eight different study sites (16 to 103 per study site). Their spatial distribution not only depended on the definite stage of development (egg, larval instars, pupa), but sometimes it even varied subject to generation and specific sampling date (before or after hibernation). By means of detailed autecological data analysis it could be shown that the habitat preferences of many species are narrower than generally assumed. A total of 277 species of adult moths was caught in the core study area by means of light-trapping: 246 species (102 to 167 per site) in the traps and 218 at the “gauze tower”. The six light-traps proved to be almost as effective as the “gauze tower” and have the additional advantage of providing data on the spatial distribution and thus habitat preferences of the moths. The results of the mark-recapture experiments showed that the probability of recapture was highest at the release site when released at the trapping site whilst artificially transferred moths often showed a tendency to return to their original trapping-sites. Including other results this leads to the conclusion that the habitat preferences of moths are not only due to mere site fidelity but also to real close ties with their habitats, which, however, seem to be much weaker than those of their pre-imaginal stages. The comparison between the adult and larval fauna of moths revealed extensive overlapping. For example, one can assume that more than 90% of the light-trapped moth species can at least occasionally reproduce and develop within the study area. The species overlapping between the adult fauna of the light-trap sites and the pre-imaginal fauna of the related surrounding areas increased with expanding radius of the area under consideration mainly in consequence of the higher number of observed pre-imaginal individuals and species in the larger areas, but the species overlapping often met a maximum at a radius of only 100 m. The majority of moth species even showed a positive correlation between the spatial distribution of pre-imaginal and adult stages: the more specimens of pre-imaginal stages were found in the surroundings of a specific light-trap site, the more adult individuals of the same species were collected in the respective light-trap. All in all the light-trapped moth fauna can be regarded as a good copy of the pre-imaginal fauna inhabiting the vicinity of the respective light-trapping site. There is much evidence that the majority of the light-trapped adult moths had already entered the biotopes adjacent to the trapping site without having been influenced by the light. The light-trap catches of so-called “guest species” (= species which do not reproduce in the vicinity of the light-trapping site) are therefore rather based on the natural vagility of the adult moths than on the attracting effect of the light. However, the mobility of adult moths seems to be limited, and even though the adult moths seem to have much weaker ties with their habitats than their pre-imaginal stages, they often stay in the vicinity of their larval habitats. This site fidelity of adult moths seems to be the main reason for the observed spatial overlap of the imaginal and pre-imaginal habitat spectra whereas the “habitat fidelity” of the moths makes only a small contribution to this phenomenon. However, for a better understanding of the specific habitat requirements of both larval and adult moths light-trapping can neither substitute the labour-intensive search for the larval stages nor the direct observation of the behaviour of adult moths. Nevertheless, light-trapping can be a useful tool in ecological research and therefore it should not be regarded as a purely faunistic collecting method.","abstract_html":"The object of this study lasting several years was to evaluate the suitability of light-trapping methods for studying the ecology of moths in general as well as questions concerning nature conservation in particular. It addresses the question as to whether and to what extent the habitats of adult moths and their respective pre-imaginal stages coincide. To answer this question the small-scale spatial distributions of pre-imaginal and imaginal stages of moths were compared on the basis of field data obtained in a 16,9 ha study area situated to the west of the city of Aachen, Germany. Whilst pre-imaginal stages were searched by means of many species-specific methods throughout the whole study area, adult moths were mainly light-trapped at a few selected sites. They were sampled with the help of six weekly and simultaneously operated Minnesota-type light-traps equipped with 8-W blacklight lamps. In addition a so-called “gauze tower” with high-powered light sources was used fortnightly at one site in the centre of the study area. In the course of some additional mark-recapture experiments 13.281 adult moths trapped in the study area as well as 450 laboratory-grown moths were individually marked and released. A total of 30.086 individuals and 326 species was recorded throughout the whole study period: 19.586 adult moths and 10.500 pre-imaginal individuals of 301 and 215 species respectively. 198 species were found in a preimaginal stage at eight different study sites (16 to 103 per study site). Their spatial distribution not only depended on the definite stage of development (egg, larval instars, pupa), but sometimes it even varied subject to generation and specific sampling date (before or after hibernation). By means of detailed autecological data analysis it could be shown that the habitat preferences of many species are narrower than generally assumed. A total of 277 species of adult moths was caught in the core study area by means of light-trapping: 246 species (102 to 167 per site) in the traps and 218 at the “gauze tower”. The six light-traps proved to be almost as effective as the “gauze tower” and have the additional advantage of providing data on the spatial distribution and thus habitat preferences of the moths. The results of the mark-recapture experiments showed that the probability of recapture was highest at the release site when released at the trapping site whilst artificially transferred moths often showed a tendency to return to their original trapping-sites. Including other results this leads to the conclusion that the habitat preferences of moths are not only due to mere site fidelity but also to real close ties with their habitats, which, however, seem to be much weaker than those of their pre-imaginal stages. The comparison between the adult and larval fauna of moths revealed extensive overlapping. For example, one can assume that more than 90% of the light-trapped moth species can at least occasionally reproduce and develop within the study area. The species overlapping between the adult fauna of the light-trap sites and the pre-imaginal fauna of the related surrounding areas increased with expanding radius of the area under consideration mainly in consequence of the higher number of observed pre-imaginal individuals and species in the larger areas, but the species overlapping often met a maximum at a radius of only 100 m. The majority of moth species even showed a positive correlation between the spatial distribution of pre-imaginal and adult stages: the more specimens of pre-imaginal stages were found in the surroundings of a specific light-trap site, the more adult individuals of the same species were collected in the respective light-trap. All in all the light-trapped moth fauna can be regarded as a good copy of the pre-imaginal fauna inhabiting the vicinity of the respective light-trapping site. There is much evidence that the majority of the light-trapped adult moths had already entered the biotopes adjacent to the trapping site without having been influenced by the light. The light-trap catches of so-called “guest species” (= species which do not reproduce in the vicinity of the light-trapping site) are therefore rather based on the natural vagility of the adult moths than on the attracting effect of the light. However, the mobility of adult moths seems to be limited, and even though the adult moths seem to have much weaker ties with their habitats than their pre-imaginal stages, they often stay in the vicinity of their larval habitats. This site fidelity of adult moths seems to be the main reason for the observed spatial overlap of the imaginal and pre-imaginal habitat spectra whereas the “habitat fidelity” of the moths makes only a small contribution to this phenomenon. However, for a better understanding of the specific habitat requirements of both larval and adult moths light-trapping can neither substitute the labour-intensive search for the larval stages nor the direct observation of the behaviour of adult moths. Nevertheless, light-trapping can be a useful tool in ecological research and therefore it should not be regarded as a purely faunistic collecting method.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wirooks, Ludger"],"institution":"Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kirchner, Walter"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004","date_published":"2004","updated_at":"2026-07-30T19:43:19Z","subjects":["info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/590","Aachen <Region>","Nachtschmetterlinge","Verbreitungsökologie","Artenreichtum","Lichtfang","Tiere (Zoologie)","Lepidoptera","Schmetterlinge","Nachtfalter","Raupen","light-trapping","moth","caterpillar"],"languages":["ger"],"rights":["info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-123660%22"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-123660%22","href":"https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-123660%22","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/62064","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kirchner, Walter"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wirooks, Ludger"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:coverage","label":"Dc Coverage","values":["DE"]},{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2004"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.18154/RWTH-CONV-123660","info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/urn/urn:nbn:de:hbz:82-opus-10058"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis","info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/590","Aachen <Region>","Nachtschmetterlinge","Verbreitungsökologie","Artenreichtum","Lichtfang","Tiere (Zoologie)","Lepidoptera","Schmetterlinge","Nachtfalter","Raupen","light-trapping","moth","caterpillar"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["ger"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/62064","https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-123660%22"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The object of this study lasting several years was to evaluate the suitability of light-trapping methods for studying the ecology of moths in general as well as questions concerning nature conservation in particular. It addresses the question as to whether and to what extent the habitats of adult moths and their respective pre-imaginal stages coincide. To answer this question the small-scale spatial distributions of pre-imaginal and imaginal stages of moths were compared on the basis of field data obtained in a 16,9 ha study area situated to the west of the city of Aachen, Germany. Whilst pre-imaginal stages were searched by means of many species-specific methods throughout the whole study area, adult moths were mainly light-trapped at a few selected sites. They were sampled with the help of six weekly and simultaneously operated Minnesota-type light-traps equipped with 8-W blacklight lamps. In addition a so-called “gauze tower” with high-powered light sources was used fortnightly at one site in the centre of the study area. In the course of some additional mark-recapture experiments 13.281 adult moths trapped in the study area as well as 450 laboratory-grown moths were individually marked and released. A total of 30.086 individuals and 326 species was recorded throughout the whole study period: 19.586 adult moths and 10.500 pre-imaginal individuals of 301 and 215 species respectively. 198 species were found in a preimaginal stage at eight different study sites (16 to 103 per study site). Their spatial distribution not only depended on the definite stage of development (egg, larval instars, pupa), but sometimes it even varied subject to generation and specific sampling date (before or after hibernation). By means of detailed autecological data analysis it could be shown that the habitat preferences of many species are narrower than generally assumed. A total of 277 species of adult moths was caught in the core study area by means of light-trapping: 246 species (102 to 167 per site) in the traps and 218 at the “gauze tower”. The six light-traps proved to be almost as effective as the “gauze tower” and have the additional advantage of providing data on the spatial distribution and thus habitat preferences of the moths. The results of the mark-recapture experiments showed that the probability of recapture was highest at the release site when released at the trapping site whilst artificially transferred moths often showed a tendency to return to their original trapping-sites. Including other results this leads to the conclusion that the habitat preferences of moths are not only due to mere site fidelity but also to real close ties with their habitats, which, however, seem to be much weaker than those of their pre-imaginal stages. The comparison between the adult and larval fauna of moths revealed extensive overlapping. For example, one can assume that more than 90% of the light-trapped moth species can at least occasionally reproduce and develop within the study area. The species overlapping between the adult fauna of the light-trap sites and the pre-imaginal fauna of the related surrounding areas increased with expanding radius of the area under consideration mainly in consequence of the higher number of observed pre-imaginal individuals and species in the larger areas, but the species overlapping often met a maximum at a radius of only 100 m. The majority of moth species even showed a positive correlation between the spatial distribution of pre-imaginal and adult stages: the more specimens of pre-imaginal stages were found in the surroundings of a specific light-trap site, the more adult individuals of the same species were collected in the respective light-trap. All in all the light-trapped moth fauna can be regarded as a good copy of the pre-imaginal fauna inhabiting the vicinity of the respective light-trapping site. There is much evidence that the majority of the light-trapped adult moths had already entered the biotopes adjacent to the trapping site without having been influenced by the light. The light-trap catches of so-called “guest species” (= species which do not reproduce in the vicinity of the light-trapping site) are therefore rather based on the natural vagility of the adult moths than on the attracting effect of the light. However, the mobility of adult moths seems to be limited, and even though the adult moths seem to have much weaker ties with their habitats than their pre-imaginal stages, they often stay in the vicinity of their larval habitats. This site fidelity of adult moths seems to be the main reason for the observed spatial overlap of the imaginal and pre-imaginal habitat spectra whereas the “habitat fidelity” of the moths makes only a small contribution to this phenomenon. However, for a better understanding of the specific habitat requirements of both larval and adult moths light-trapping can neither substitute the labour-intensive search for the larval stages nor the direct observation of the behaviour of adult moths. Nevertheless, light-trapping can be a useful tool in ecological research and therefore it should not be regarded as a purely faunistic collecting method."]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Aachen : Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University 265 S. : Ill., graph. Darst. (2004). doi:10.18154/RWTH-CONV-123660 = Aachen, Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2004"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Lichtfangs bei der ökologischen Bewertung von Nachtfalter-Artenspektren : ein Vergleich zwischen der räumlichen Verteilung von Nachtfalterimagines und der ihrer Präimaginalstadien"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kirchner, Walter"],"dc:coverage":["DE"],"dc:creator":["Wirooks, Ludger"],"dc:date":["2004"],"dc:description":["The object of this study lasting several years was to evaluate the suitability of light-trapping methods for studying the ecology of moths in general as well as questions concerning nature conservation in particular. It addresses the question as to whether and to what extent the habitats of adult moths and their respective pre-imaginal stages coincide. To answer this question the small-scale spatial distributions of pre-imaginal and imaginal stages of moths were compared on the basis of field data obtained in a 16,9 ha study area situated to the west of the city of Aachen, Germany. Whilst pre-imaginal stages were searched by means of many species-specific methods throughout the whole study area, adult moths were mainly light-trapped at a few selected sites. They were sampled with the help of six weekly and simultaneously operated Minnesota-type light-traps equipped with 8-W blacklight lamps. In addition a so-called “gauze tower” with high-powered light sources was used fortnightly at one site in the centre of the study area. In the course of some additional mark-recapture experiments 13.281 adult moths trapped in the study area as well as 450 laboratory-grown moths were individually marked and released. A total of 30.086 individuals and 326 species was recorded throughout the whole study period: 19.586 adult moths and 10.500 pre-imaginal individuals of 301 and 215 species respectively. 198 species were found in a preimaginal stage at eight different study sites (16 to 103 per study site). Their spatial distribution not only depended on the definite stage of development (egg, larval instars, pupa), but sometimes it even varied subject to generation and specific sampling date (before or after hibernation). By means of detailed autecological data analysis it could be shown that the habitat preferences of many species are narrower than generally assumed. A total of 277 species of adult moths was caught in the core study area by means of light-trapping: 246 species (102 to 167 per site) in the traps and 218 at the “gauze tower”. The six light-traps proved to be almost as effective as the “gauze tower” and have the additional advantage of providing data on the spatial distribution and thus habitat preferences of the moths. The results of the mark-recapture experiments showed that the probability of recapture was highest at the release site when released at the trapping site whilst artificially transferred moths often showed a tendency to return to their original trapping-sites. Including other results this leads to the conclusion that the habitat preferences of moths are not only due to mere site fidelity but also to real close ties with their habitats, which, however, seem to be much weaker than those of their pre-imaginal stages. The comparison between the adult and larval fauna of moths revealed extensive overlapping. For example, one can assume that more than 90% of the light-trapped moth species can at least occasionally reproduce and develop within the study area. The species overlapping between the adult fauna of the light-trap sites and the pre-imaginal fauna of the related surrounding areas increased with expanding radius of the area under consideration mainly in consequence of the higher number of observed pre-imaginal individuals and species in the larger areas, but the species overlapping often met a maximum at a radius of only 100 m. The majority of moth species even showed a positive correlation between the spatial distribution of pre-imaginal and adult stages: the more specimens of pre-imaginal stages were found in the surroundings of a specific light-trap site, the more adult individuals of the same species were collected in the respective light-trap. All in all the light-trapped moth fauna can be regarded as a good copy of the pre-imaginal fauna inhabiting the vicinity of the respective light-trapping site. There is much evidence that the majority of the light-trapped adult moths had already entered the biotopes adjacent to the trapping site without having been influenced by the light. The light-trap catches of so-called “guest species” (= species which do not reproduce in the vicinity of the light-trapping site) are therefore rather based on the natural vagility of the adult moths than on the attracting effect of the light. However, the mobility of adult moths seems to be limited, and even though the adult moths seem to have much weaker ties with their habitats than their pre-imaginal stages, they often stay in the vicinity of their larval habitats. This site fidelity of adult moths seems to be the main reason for the observed spatial overlap of the imaginal and pre-imaginal habitat spectra whereas the “habitat fidelity” of the moths makes only a small contribution to this phenomenon. However, for a better understanding of the specific habitat requirements of both larval and adult moths light-trapping can neither substitute the labour-intensive search for the larval stages nor the direct observation of the behaviour of adult moths. Nevertheless, light-trapping can be a useful tool in ecological research and therefore it should not be regarded as a purely faunistic collecting method."],"dc:identifier":["https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/62064","https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-123660%22"],"dc:language":["ger"],"dc:publisher":["Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University"],"dc:relation":["info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.18154/RWTH-CONV-123660","info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/urn/urn:nbn:de:hbz:82-opus-10058"],"dc:rights":["info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess"],"dc:source":["Aachen : Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University 265 S. : Ill., graph. Darst. (2004). doi:10.18154/RWTH-CONV-123660 = Aachen, Techn. 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