Seed predation increases with ground beetle diversity in a Wisconsin (USA) potato agroecosystem

2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 329-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah R. Gaines ◽  
Claudio Gratton
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Ground Beetle

Habitat and Time Are More Important Predictors of Weed Seed Predation than Space on a Diversified Vegetable Farm in Maine, USA

Weed Science ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 916-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja K. Birthisel ◽  
Eric R. Gallandt ◽  
Randa Jabbour ◽  
Francis A. Drummond
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Vegetative Cover ◽  
Weed Seed ◽  
Seed Predators ◽  
Vegetable Farm ◽  
Predation Rates

Postdispersal weed seed predation is a significant source of weed mortality in agroecosystems. The magnitude of seed predation, however, is variable. Understanding the relative importance of factors driving variability in seed predation rates will increase the potential utility of seed predation to farmers. We conducted landscape-scale field experiments to quantify and compare the effects of space, time of sampling, and habitat on weed seed predation. Seed predation assays, with and without vertebrate exclosures, measured seed predation rates at spatially explicit sample sites across 8.5 ha of crop and noncrop habitats on a diversified organic vegetable farm in Maine. Total and invertebrate seed predation averaged 8% and 3% d−1, respectively. Vertebrate seed predators detected by motion-sensing cameras included small mammals and birds. A ground beetle,Harpalus rufipes, was highly dominant in pitfall traps, comprising 66% of invertebrate seed predators captured within crop fields. Seed predation was randomly distributed in space. However, time of sampling and habitat were highly significant predictors of seed predation. Variance partitioning indicated that habitat factors explained more variation than did time of sampling. Total seed predation was greater in crop and riparian forest habitats than in mowed grass, meadow, or softwood forest. Generally, invertebrate seed predation was greatest at sites with an intermediate degree of vegetative cover, whereas habitat type was the chief biotic determinant of vertebrate seed predation rates. These results suggest cover cropping and wetland conservation as practices that may bolster seed predation rates.

Depth of Seed Burial and Gender Influence Weed Seed Predation by Three Species of Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Weed Science ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 910-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharavari S. Kulkarni ◽  
Lloyd M. Dosdall ◽  
John R. Spence ◽  
Christian J. Willenborg
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Burial Depth ◽  
Weed Seed ◽  
Seed Burial ◽  
Buried Seeds ◽  
Pterostichus Melanarius ◽  
And Gender

Ground beetles are postdispersal weed seed predators, yet their role in consuming buried seeds is not well studied. We conducted greenhouse experiments to investigate how seed burial affects consumption of weed seeds (volunteer canola) by adult ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Seed burial depth influenced seed consumption rates as demonstrated by a significant interaction between seed burial depth, carabid species, and gender of the carabid tested. We observed higher seed consumption by females of all species, and greater consumption of seeds scattered on the soil surface compared with seeds buried at any depth. However, there was evidence of seed consumption at all depths. Adults ofPterostichus melanarius(Illiger) andHarpalus affinis(Schrank) consumed more buried seeds than did those ofAmara littoralisMannerheim. Agricultural practices, such as tillage, bury seeds at different depths and based on the results of this study, these practices may reduce seed consumption by carabids. Soil conservation practices that reduce tillage (conservation or zero tillage) will favor greater weed seed predation due, in part, to the high availability of seeds at the soil surface or at shallow soil depths.

A distribution atlas of legally protected ground beetle species (Coleoptera: Carabidae) occurring in the Łódź Province, central Poland

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-112
Author(s):  
Radomir Jaskuła ◽  
Anna Stępień ◽  
Przemysław Włodarczyk ◽  
Iwona Słowińska-Krysiak
Keyword(s):  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Beetle Species ◽  
Central Poland ◽  
Distribution Atlas

scholarly journals Effects of soil abiotic factors and plant chemical defences on seed predation on sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xoaquín Moreira ◽  
Ignacio M. Pérez-Ramos ◽  
Luis Matías ◽  
Marta Francisco ◽  
Alberto García-González ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Plant Chemical

scholarly journals Relicts from Glacial Times: The Ground Beetle Pterostichus adstrictus Eschscholtz, 1823 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Austrian Alps

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Paill ◽  
Stephan Koblmüller ◽  
Thomas Friess ◽  
Barbara-Amina Gereben-Krenn ◽  
Christian Mairhuber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Austrian Alps ◽  
Alpine Regions ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Limited Dispersal

The last ice age considerably influenced distribution patterns of extant species of plants and animals, with some of them now inhabiting disjunct areas in the subarctic/arctic and alpine regions. This arctic-alpine distribution is characteristic for many cold-adapted species with a limited dispersal ability and can be found in many invertebrate taxa, including ground beetles. The ground beetle Pterostichus adstrictus Eschscholtz, 1823 of the subgenus Bothriopterus was previously known to have a holarctic-circumpolar distribution, in Europe reaching its southern borders in Wales and southern Scandinavia. Here, we report the first findings of this species from the Austrian Ötztal Alps, representing also the southernmost edge of its currently known distribution, confirmed by the comparison of morphological characters to other Bothriopterus species and DNA barcoding data. Molecular data revealed a separation of the Austrian and Finish specimens with limited to no gene flow at all. Furthermore, we present the first data on habitat preference and seasonality of P. adstrictus in the Austrian Alps.

Nickel oxide nanoparticles induce genotoxicity and cellular alterations in the ground beetle Blaps polycresta (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

2021 ◽  
pp. 074823372110009
Author(s):  
Dalia Abdel Moneim Kheirallah ◽  
Awatef Mohamed Ali ◽  
Salah Eldein Osman ◽  
Amal Mohamed Shouman
Keyword(s):  
Nickel Oxide ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Biological Tissues ◽  
Treated Group ◽  
Sublethal Dose ◽  
Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Nio Nps ◽  
The Impact

Nickel nanoparticles (Ni-NPs) have advantageous applications in the industry; however, little is known of their adverse effects on biological tissues. In the present study, the ground beetle Blaps polycresta was employed as a sensitive indicator for nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) toxicity. Adult male beetles were injected with six dose levels of NiO-NPs (0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, and 0.06 mg/g body weight). Mortality was reported daily over 30 days under laboratory conditions to establish an LD50. Nickel was detected in the testicular tissues of the beetles using X-ray analysis and transmission electronic microscopy. Beetles treated with the sublethal dose of 0.02 mg/g were selected to observe molecular, cellular, and subcellular changes. Gene transcripts of HSP70, HSP90, and MT1 were found to be increased >2.5-, 1.5-, and 2-fold, respectively, in the treated group compared with the controls. Decreased gene expression of AcPC01, AcPC02, and AcPC04 (≤1.5-, ≤2-, and < 2.5-fold, respectively, vs. controls) also were reported in the treated group. Under light microscopy, various structural changes were observed in the testicular tissues of the treated beetles. Ultrastructure observations using scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed severe damage to the subcellular organelles as well as deformities of the heads and flagella of the spermatozoa. Therefore, the present study postulated the impact of NiO-NPs in an ecological model.

Individual crop size increases predispersal predation by beetles in a tropical palm

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Morgana Maria Arcanjo Bruno ◽  
Klécia Gili Massi ◽  
Alexander V. Christianini ◽  
John du Vall Hay
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Crop Size ◽  
Seed Predators ◽  
Plant Trait ◽  
Predispersal Seed Predation ◽  
Total Seed ◽  
Number Of Seeds

Abstract Predispersal seed predation is one of the main causes of seed mortality in plant populations, contributing to decreased plant recruitment. Seed loss has previously been found to be related to crop size. Thus, we examined the influence of individual crop size on predispersal seed predation by beetles in the palm Syagrus flexuosa in the Brazilian savanna. The study was carried out in three tropical woodland savanna sites, where we sampled the total seed crop of 46 fruiting palms and checked the presence of beetle larvae inside all seeds per plant. We observed predispersal seed predation of S. flexuosa from all sites and a high variation in the number of seeds preyed on per individual palm. Crop size had a positive influence on the number of seeds lost to predispersal seed predators. Variations in levels of predispersal seed predation may also be accounted for by the reproductive phenology of S. flexuosa. If fruits are not available at the same time, less resource is available for predators and therefore a high proportion of seeds may be preyed on. Thus, our study demonstrates that an individual plant trait, crop size, is an important predictor of beetle seed damage per palm and a driver of the number of seeds lost to predispersal seed predators.

Body size and mean individual biomass variation of ground-beetles community (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as a response to increasing altitude and associated vegetation types in mountainous ecosystem

Biologia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Cvetkovska-Gjorgjievska ◽  
Slavčo Hristovski ◽  
Dana Prelić ◽  
Lucija Šerić Jelaska ◽  
Valentina Slavevska-Stamenković ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Geologic History ◽  
White Oak ◽  
Mountain Ecosystems ◽  
Individual Biomass

AbstractCarabid fauna is not sufficiently explored in Central and Western Balkan areas, especially in mountain ecosystems with unique biodiversity which is a result of specific environmental factors and geologic history. Furthermore, distribution of species and adaptation to varying environmental parameters change along the altitudinal gradients. All this highlights the need for biodiversity and ecological studies in order to assess the state of the mountain ecosystems and conservation significance. Carabids as good bioindicator group can be used as a tool for monitoring those changes. The aim of this study was to analyse the differences of body size distribution and mean individual biomass (MIB) of ground beetle assemblages as a response of changing conditions and vegetation types along an altitudinal gradient on Belasitsa Mountain in south Macedonia. Both parameters significantly decreased with increasing altitude and were consequently associated with the vegetation type. Larger bodied individuals and higher values of MIB were recorded in the white oak and oriental hornbeam forest stands with the values decreasing in sessile oak forests towards submontane and montane beech forest stands. This research yielded first list of carabid species inhabiting Belasitsa Mountain with insight of carabid body length and biomass distribution along altitudinal gradient.

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