Description of a robust interception trap for collecting airborne arthropods in climatically challenging regions

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Farrow, Roger, Greenslade, Penelope
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2013
• Subjects: Geology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Oceanography; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Science; Macquarie Island
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102013000084; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102013000084

Abstract An interception trap to collect airborne arthropods under extreme weather conditions is described. The trap, constructed from durable materials, is operated by wind pressure. It consists of a funnel of fine brass gauze mounted inside a cylinder of stainless steel that rotates into the wind on a mast at 1.5 m from the ground. The gauze funnel terminates in a removable, propanol-filled, collecting bottle into which airborne material accumulates. The counterbalanced cylinder rotates around a central shaft on roller bearings and faces into the wind. Two traps were successfully operated continuously for four and five years, respectively, on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and have collected large numbers of airborne arthropods and other biological material over this period.