Services
Any type of survey can be tailored to the needs of the customer. Below is a list of the standard services offered.
Biodiversity Surveys
B1. General Biodiversity Survey: survey of plants, mammals, birds & insects on a general level.
B2. General Insect Biodiversity Survey: Looking at the species of insects present at a site using methods such as pitfall trapping, suction sampling and sweep-netting.
B3. Beetle Biodiversity Survey: Much more specific survey concentrating on the Coleoptera (Beetles) with collection methods as B2.
B4. Dung Insect Biodiversity Survey: Dung sampling and dung-baited pitfall trapping to assess the quality of the Dung Insect Community.
All surveys include a comprehensive report.
Quantitative Biodiversity Surveys
QS1. Pitfall trapping of Coleoptera: Carabidae (Ground Beetles): The
Carabidae are one of the best group used to indicate general habitat
health. For this reason, they are often used as indicator species and
it is possible to use the data to make assumptions about other species.
QS2. Assessing success of insects at biological control: For example Coleoptera: Carabidae (Ground Beetle) predators of slugs,
Coleoptera: Coccinellidae (Ladybird) predators of crop aphids,
Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetle) Gastrophysa viridula (Dock Beetle) controlling Dock (Rumex spp.).
QS3. Management suggestions for encouraging beneficial insects: Suggestions regarding management of grassland, woodland, wetland,
cultivated land, hedgerows and other habitats in order to benefit
target insect species.
QS4. The impact of chemical cattle wormers on Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): Dung
sampling to survey the species present and compare between different
worming regimes. The amount of pasture fouling and nitrogen recycling
into the grass from dung burial can also be assessed.
All
quantitative surveys include a comprehensive report complete with basic
statistics. More complicated statistical analyses will be possible if
surveys are carried out on a regular basis.
Laboratory Hire
L1. Laboratory Hire: The
Laboratory is equiped with identification literature for most families
of British Coleoptera as well as more general guides to other orders
including Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera. There is a microscope
and sorting equipment (forceps, trays, sieves, mounting blocks etc).
You may also have access to a reference collection of the Coleoptera of
Pembrokeshire.
Pricing
Prices
are very competitive, but are subject to change with each individual
contract, depending on the customer's budget and the type and duration
of the work.
Please contact me
to ask about prices of the services offered. As the Pembrokeshire
County Beetle recorder, I will be more than willing to identify any
beetle speciemens sent to me free of charge. However in the case of a
large number of specimens I will have to charge.
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