The distribution, zoogeography, and composition of Prince Edward Island Carabidae (Coleoptera)

Abstract

AbstractFourteen species of Carabidae are added to Prince Edward Island’s (P.E.I.) faunal list, bringing the known fauna to 167 species. Bembidion nitidum (Kirby) and Bembidion obtusum Audinet-Serville are newly recorded for the Maritime Provinces. Six species are removed from P.E.I.’s faunal list. The history of collecting of Carabidae on P.E.I. is briefly recounted. Despite differences in land area and distance from the mainland between P.E.I., Cape Breton Island, and insular Newfoundland, their carabid faunas exhibit many similarities in size and composition. The native carabid fauna of P.E.I. comprises 49% of the species in the combined Maritime Provinces fauna, perhaps reflecting an island-related diminution of species diversity. The proportion of flightless species on P.E.I. (4.9%) is less than that in the Maritime Provinces as a whole (7.1%), an apparent indication that the Northumberland Strait has been a barrier to colonization. Twenty-seven introduced species are found on P.E.I., 26 of which can be classified as synanthropic and may have originated in dry-ballast quarries in southwestern England. Although the earliest dates of detection of many introduced species on P.E.I. are substantially later than elsewhere in the Maritimes, this reflects the paucity of early collecting. Land-management practices on P.E.I. (large-scale and early forest clearances, intensive agriculture, and the extensive use of biocides) may have had an impact on P.E.I.’s carabid fauna.