Beetles fulfil these criteria and appear to provide nearly half of insect species in many if not most geographic areas. In New Zealand systems, Malaise trapped beetles taken over a four week period in summer have been found to provide samples characteristic of systems and habitats. The site specific nature of the approach enables close habitat linkages to be established and interpreted using species autecology. Further discussion is given in the references below. As communities change with time, monitoring requires temporal definition.
Annual cycles are an appropriate first point on the time gradient.
The beetle sampling time mentioned above reduces temporal variation within the yearly cycle to a level where spatial variation can be meaningfully evaluated against it during classification. System level research increasingly shows that within the abiotic environment, it is the particular biotic linkages that enable a particular configuration of life to persist. Although we may regard competition within closely related taxa to be the primary lesson from evolution, collaboration potential defines individual genotype fitness. This serves as a more appropriate model for human society. The potential value of indicator species in New Zealand Conservation.