Interspecific Competition in Ground-Beetle Assemblages (Carabidae): What Have We Learned?

Studies of interspecific competition and resource partitioning among ground-beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) are reviewed. Half of the 32 papers reported that interspecific competition was operating in extant carabid assemblages or was responsible for apparent resource partitioning. However, severe effects, such as competitive exclusion, were not demonstrated. Although action of competition in the past was often invoked to explain apparent resource partitioning, in general evidence is weak. Overall, many authors emphasized the role of competition in their systems but could not dismiss alternative explanations for community patterns