At NHSN, we want to do our bit to ensure that everyone can continue to study and enjoy the natural world. That’s why, over the coming weeks, we’ll be making a number of our natural history talks available online for all to enjoy. Recognising that a daily dose of nature is important, we want to provide more opportunities for you to learn about the natural world from the comfort of your homes and to provide interesting content for you to discover over the weeks ahead.
In addition to our talks, over the coming weeks, we’ll be making available a number of papers published previously in Northumbrian Naturalist. Aiming to cover all areas of natural history, from botany to ornithology, we’ll be digging into our archive and library and making available publications that take an in-depth look at nature in the North East. All of which, we hope, will provide North East naturalists with a wealth of interesting reading material.
The Northumbrian Naturalist (known as the Transactions until 2009) has been published by NHSN since 1831. This journal contains scientific papers, research and observations about the natural world of Northumbria and is the only journal of its kind in the North East.
First up, we’re sharing a study from Gosforth Nature Reserve which takes a closer look at the beetle community present on site. Authored by Martin Luff, this paper details a 2008 study wherein 221 beetle species were found on-site during a prolonged survey that involved pitfall trapping, hand searching and sweeping netting. Whether you’re interested in entomology, or simply wish to learn something new about GNR, we hope you enjoy it.
Summary
Coleoptera were collected from the Gosforth Park Nature Reserve in 2008, and to a lesser extent 2009, using pitfall traps, an aerial interception trap, beating and sweeping of vegetation and by hand searching. A total of 221 species was recorded, including eighteen regionally notable, nine nationally notable and six new to Northumberland. Pitfall traps caught 2,577 Carabidae from thirty-nine species. Most were found in all trapping sites, except those typical of wetter habitats which were only caught near the lake. The results are compared with other records from the area and their significance is discussed.