scholarly journals Body volume in ground beetles (Carabidae) reflects biotope disturbance

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimír Langraf ◽  
Kornélia Petrovičová ◽  
Stanislav David ◽  
Monika Ábelová ◽  
Janka Schlarmannová

AbstractChanges in body size of living organisms can indicate changes in environmental quality. The family Carabidae is frequently used as an indicator of environmental status. We collected ground beetles in 9 Slovakian localities (in the Veporské vrchy Mts and the Juhoslovenská kotlina Basin) of various levels of disturbance, and evaluated the volume of individuals. The lowest average body volumes of individual were found for an intensively grazed pasture (locality 5) and a nitrophilous waterside vegetation (locality 6) (1,298 mm3–4,648 mm3) with predominantly macropterous species. We have confirmed the significantly higher average biovolume value of individual Carabidae in less disturbed habitats: aPicea abiesplantation (locality 1), a Carpathian oak-hornbeam forest (locality 4) and a Carpathian turkey oak forest (locality 7) (from 9,837 mm3to 13,038 mm3), where apterous and brachypterous species dominated.

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Koncz ◽  
P. Török ◽  
M. Papp ◽  
G. Matus ◽  
B. Tóthmérész

Evolution ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward E. Berg ◽  
James L. Hamrick

Author(s):  
L. N. Katiukhin

Background: The magnetobiological effect of the weakened magnetic field of the Earth is of interest due to the consequences of the long stay of astronauts in space. Objective: The rheological properties of erythrocytes in a weakened magnetic field of the Earth are investigated. Methods: Osmotic gradient ektacytometry, aggregometry. Results: A study of the rheological properties of erythrocytes of blood rats in vitro, exposed at a temperature of 0°C in a natural and weakened magnetic field of the Earth, was carried out. It is established that a weakened magnetic field leads to a decrease in the rate of hemolysis, the average body volume, transformation, and decrease in the specific surface of the erythrocyte, potentiates the weakening of the deformation and aggregation properties. Conclusions: The results of the work should be taken into account not only to predict the rheological behavior of the blood system when the natural magnetic field is weakened but also to optimize the conditions for the long-term storage of donor blood.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (5) ◽  
pp. 68-78
Author(s):  
Bogdan KUZNYAK ◽  

It is determined that the most common form of organization of production is the family farming. First, it is based on the unity of ownership and labor, which generates an interest in the efficiency of management. Secondly, this is an area where people deal with nature, living organisms that require special care, attention and rapid response to changing weather conditions. The owner and his family cope with all these unstable situations most successfully. It is revealed that modern farmers are managers who have professional equipment and agronomic, zoo-technical, and economic education, since without appropriate knowledge it is impossible to win in a tough competition. The state supports farmers financially, legally, provides and guarantees the right of ownership. It is substantiated that an important role in the development of farming is played by service cooperatives that are created by farmers in order to jointly sell products in the domestic and foreign markets in large lots at bargain prices, as well as to purchase means of production and create processing enterprises. This allows farmers to focus on production, to study and implement the achievements of science and technology, which increases the efficiency of production. The author shows that, in Ukraine, farms began to emerge after gaining independence and the country’s transition to market economy. However, this process is contradictory. The development of farming is hampered by the lack of price parity for agricultural and industrial products, state material and legal support, the lack of appropriate personnel as well as by corruption and raiding. It is proved that the creation of service cooperatives is important for the development of farming. It is analyzed that their development is hampered by the lack of: the state support, knowledge about cooperation and the benefits it provides to peasants, an understanding of the essence of cooperation by the highest bodies of agricultural structures. The author reveals that (i) the world experience of the development of farming and service cooperatives should be taken into account and (ii) it should be stated in the Constitution of Ukraine that the basis of the agrarian structure are farms, which in the long run should become the main producer of agricultural products, and service cooperatives as their constituent part.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Balasubramanian ◽  
V.E. Nethaji Mariappan ◽  
D. Keisar Lourdusamy ◽  
C.R. Chinnamuthu ◽  
S. Swetha

Peanut is a legume crop that belongs to the family of Fabaceae, genus Arachis, and botanically named as Arachis hypogaea L. Peanuts are considered as a vital source of nutrients plays an important role in growth and energy gain of living organisms. They are rich in calories and contain many nutrients, minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. All these biomolecules are essential for pumping vital nutrients into the human body for sustaining normal health. This paper presents an overview of the peanut composition in terms of the constituent biomolecules and their biological functions, also discusses about the relationship between consumption of peanuts and their effect on human metabolism and physiology. It highlights the usefulness of considering peanuts as an essential component in human diet considering its nutritional values. 


Acarologia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-251
Author(s):  
Julia Baumann

The members of the family Scutacaridae (Acari, Heterostigmatina, Pygmephoroidea) are soil-living, fungivorous mites, and some of them are known to be associated with other animals. After reviewing the mites’ behavioural and morphological adaptations to their animal-associated lifestyle, the present publication shows the result of a thorough literature research on scutacarids living in different kinds of associations with other animal taxa. It revealed that within the more than 800 scutacarid species that have been described so far, about the half of them can be found together with various animal taxa. The respective scutacarid species can be phoretic using their hosts for dispersal, they can be inquilines of their hosts benefiting from favourable conditions in the hosts’ nests, or they can be both. The highest number of scutacarid species, by far, (n = 214) is associated with ants. The second highest number can be found on beetles (94; mainly on ground beetles, Carabidae), followed by mammals (52), bees and wasps (35) and other insect taxa (39), and some species can be found together with birds (10) and arachnids (6). The most frequent genera Scutacarus, Imparipes and Archidispus show host preferences: Scutacarus and Imparipes tend to prefer ants, while Archidispus prefers beetles. Usually, scutacarid species are rather specialised on one host genus or one host family, but some seem to be host generalists. The possible influence of scutacarids on their hosts is not known yet, but they could play a sanitary role in their hosts’ nests.


Evolution ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward E. Berg ◽  
James. L. Hamrick

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Szabolcs Mizser ◽  
Dávid Tőzsér ◽  
Tibor Magura ◽  
Dalma Papp ◽  
Edina Simon ◽  
...  

Survival of living organisms in polluted habitats is a key factor regarding their long-term existence population persistence. Based on this, analysing and assessing the accumulation of pollutants in species is of major importance. To avoid harmful physiological effects of pollutants’ accumulation in organisms, decontamination and excretion could be effective mechanisms. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are widely used and reliable indicators of environmental contamination. Published results, however, are inconsistent, as some studies showed effective decontamination and excretion of pollutants, while others demonstrated severe toxic symptoms due to extreme accumulation. Using ground beetle species, as model organisms, we tested our pollution intensity-dependent disposal hypothesis in the cases of five potential pollutants (Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn) by four soil pollution intensity levels (low, moderate, high, and extreme) by categorical meta-analysis on published data. According to our hypothesis, we presumed that decontamination and excretion of pollutants in ground beetles will be effective in lowly or moderately polluted habitats, while in highly or extremely polluted habitats disposal will be restricted, contributing to intense accumulation of pollutants in ground beetles. In accordance with our hypothesis, we found that in extremely polluted habitats the accumulation of Cd, Pb, and Zn in ground beetles was significantly higher, than in lowly polluted ones. These results may suggest the potential of ground beetles to remediate extremely polluted environments. However, further species and factors need to be addressed in order to assess metal accumulation potential of ground beetles more thoroughly.


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