Abstract: We compared the phytase transgenic maize and its isogenic maize to examine the effect of phytase transgenic maize on the carabid beetles in the growing seasons (June to September) of 2012. Using the pitfall traps, beetles were collected from 12 plots along six replicated blocks for each maize. Each block was composed of two plots which were planted with phytase transgenic maize and its isogenic maize, respectively. Two sample locations with five traps for each location were set in each plot, and traps were emptied twice each month. A total of 8 012 specimens were collected, belonging to 7 genera and 23 species. Chlaenius micans represented 87.54% of the total capture and was the most abundant species. Dolichus halensis, Chlaenius posticalis and Scarites terricola occupied 34.77%, 31.16% and 6.21% of the total specimens, respectively, when the individuals of C. micans were excluded, and were also considered as common species in this study. Most carabid beetles showed a similar pattern in seasonal changes in phytase transgenic maize. There were no significant differences in richness, abundance, Shannon-Winner diversity index and evenness index of carabid beetles between phytase transgenic maize and its isogenic maize. Repeated ANOVA analysis showed that C. posticalis had significantly higher abundance in phytase transgenic maize compared with its isogenic maize, but other abundant species did not show significant differences between the two maize fields. Multivariate analysis (NMDS) also indicated that high similarity in carabid assemblages were shared between phytase transgenic maize and its isogenic maize. These results suggest that phytase transgenic maize has no significantly adverse effect on carabid beetles.

Key words: Carabid beetles, phytase transgenic maize, species diversity, common species, community dynamics