Do corridors increase movements between forest patches?: A study on between habitat migration of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Corridors certainly decrease isolation, when they serve as habitats for target species. However, linear landscape elements without habitat properties could still serve as functional corridors, when they increase the likelihood of emigration out of the preferred habitat compared with the surrounding matrix. This potential effect of corridors on emigration is tested for forest carabid beetles. Animals were. trapped alive and released inside the forest at the two entries to a small hedge and in the forest edge. When the hedge is directly connected to the forest,, an increased number of Abax parallelepipedus specimen could be recaptured into the hedgerow. Emigration probability into the corridor over a small unpaved road, however, did not differ from emigrations into a meadow. This suggests, that corridors without habitat, properties (indicated by low species abundance) can increase emigration of this invertebrate species, but that it is sensitive against gaps in the corridor. Emigration of Abox parallelus was not positively affected by the presence of the hedgerow.