註釋 Abstract: Ecological risk assessment is an important tool for evaluating potentially hazardous contaminants on a site-specific basis. Few methods exist for evaluating population and community level effects of contaminants on terrestrial invertebrates, though such assessments may aid in site evaluation and subsequent decision-making with regard to site remediation. A particularly promising group of invertebrates for terrestrial site-based risk assessment is ground beetles (Carabidae) due to their high diversity in most terrestrial ecosystems. Ground beetles have also been shown to be important indicators of physical disturbances in their habitats. In the current study, we investigated the utility of ground beetles as indicators of elevated metal concentrations originating from lead-based shot in a trap and skeet shooting range. Concentration of the metals lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and antimony (Sb) were 3668, 46, and 0.28mg/kg in the shotfall and 537, 22, and 0.15mg/kg in the reference site, respectively. Ground beetles were collected in 2008 and 2009 using pitfall traps placed in the shotfall region of the shooting range and an adjacent reference site. Overall, ground beetle species richness did not differ between sites. Abundance of the most common species was either not significantly different between sites or they were more abundant in the reference site. A total of 45 species was collected in the two sites over both years. In addition to the ground beetle data, bioassays using the earthworm Eisenia andrei were used to determine bioavailability and sub-lethal effects of the metals in the shooting range. Bioavailability of Sb, As, and Pb was greater in the shotfall soil compared to the reference soil. There was no mortality in any of the test soils during the 28-day toxicity test. Earthworm cocoon production was reduced in shotfall soil relative to the soil from the reference area and Webster, a lab standard soil. Although earthworm data suggests that there are sub-lethal reproductive effects from exposure to shotfall associated metals, ground beetle diversity appeared to be robust to these environmental changes. Additional years of sampling may reveal additional trends in ground beetle distribution and abundance. 