scholarly journals Urbanization effect on ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raisa A Sukhodolskaya ◽  
Anatoliy A Saveliev ◽  
Natalya I Eremeeva ◽  
Iraida G Vorobyova

We sampled beetles in different regions of Russia (Tatarstan Republic, Mariy El Republic, Udmurtia Republic, Kemerovo, Sverdlovsk, Stavropol, Cis-Ural provinces) at sites which varied in the level of anthropogenic impact and vegetation. We used linear models to clarify how urbanization affected body size variation in studied species. All of them were palearctic generalists – Carabus granulatus, Carabus cancellatus, Pterostichus melanarius, Pterostichus niger, Poecilus cupreus, and only Carabus aeruginosus was a Siberian one. Beetles we measured for six dimensional traits. In a whole 12000 specimen have been analyzed. Results showed that different traits of Ground Beetles can response to urbanization in opposite directions: e.g. in some studies species factor “city” decreased elytra length, but increased its width and vise versa. Effect of “city” and “suburbs” factors had different directions, e. g. in a given species body size decreased in cities but in suburbs it increased and verse versa. Cognate species, which occupy similar ecological niches, have responded to urbanization in opposite directions. Females and males can respond to urbanization in opposite directions, the latter lead to the significant body size sexual dimorphism in the gradient of urbanization.

Biologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 1631-1641
Author(s):  
Janina Bennewicz ◽  
Tadeusz Barczak

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify the role of field margin habitats in preserving the diversity and abundance of ground beetle assemblages, including potentially entomophagous species and those with conservation status in Poland. Research material was collected in 2006–2007 in four types of margin habitats – a forest, bushes, ditches and in two arable fields. Insects were captured into pitfalls, without preservation liquid or bait added to the traps. Traps were inspected twice a week, between May and August, and one sample was a weekly capture. In field margin habitats the most abundant species were Limodromus assimilis, Anchomenus dorsalis, Pterostichus melanarius and Carabus auratus. A lower abundance of species was noted on fields, with dominant Poecilus cupreus and P. melanarius. The group of zoophagous carabids found in our study includes 30 species from field margin habitats, i.e. 37.5% of all captured Carabidae taxa and 58.3% of all specimens. The share of aphidophagous species was 84.9% among bushes, 86.7% near ditches, and 88.0% in the forest habitat. Several species captured during the study are under protection in Poland. These include the partly protected Carabus convexus, which also has the status of near threatened species, the partly protected Calosoma auropunctatum, and Broscus cephalotes. Considering all the investigated field margin habitats, ground beetles were most numerous in the oak-hornbeam habitat, defined as bushes, formed predominantly by Prunus spinosa, Crataegus leavigata, Sambucus nigra and Rosa canina. Thus, this habitat was the most important reservoir/refugium for the ground beetles.


Life ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Sergey Luzyanin ◽  
Anatoly Saveliev ◽  
Nadezhda Ukhova ◽  
Iraida Vorobyova ◽  
Igor Solodovnikov ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to test the steepness of body size variation in males and females in the widespread ground beetle Pterostichus melanarius in geographical gradients. Beetles were sampled in 15 regions of Europe and Asia, and sampling territories differed 17° in latitude and 121° in longitude. We measured six linear traits in every captured beetle and formed a data set that included 2154 individuals. Body size variation in all traits in general was sawtooth, both in latitude and in longitude gradients. Regression analysis showed slight trends: in the latitude gradient, elytra parameters increased, pronotum length did not change but the width increased, and head parameters decreased. In the longitude gradient, the changes were as follows: elytra length increased, but its width did not change; pronotum length did not change, but its width increased; the head parameters decreased. Thus, we observed the elytra length increase and the head parameters decrease northwards and eastwards. We compared female and male regression curves (trait size on latitude/longitude): p-levels were significant only in four cases out of 12. Thus, we conclude that, in general, there is no evidence for the steepness in trait variation in males compared with females.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-161
Author(s):  
Raisa A Sukhodolskaya ◽  
Anatoly A Saveliev ◽  
Nadezhda L Ukhova ◽  
Iraida G Vorobyova ◽  
Igor A Solodovnikov ◽  
...  

Fleshing out the mechanisms of Bergmann rule, we found saw-tooth pattern in body size variation in ground beetle Pterostichus oblongopunctatus. We sampled beetles in 2010 – 2018 at the forest undisturbed plots on the broad territory in Russia and Belarus. Investigating regions covered territory, extending to 3 degrees latitude and 31 degrees longitude. We measured six traits in every of 3294 caught individuals. ANOVA showed that geographical location and sex affected significantly body size of the species studied. Mean values of each trait changed significantly from one studied region to another in females and males as well. Sexual size dimorphism in species was female-biased. We performed models in R to estimate the steepness of body size variation in both sexes. In overwhelming majority of cases that parameter was equal in both sexes. So the hypothesis, that male′s variation is steeper in latitude gradient was not confirmed.


Biologia ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Porhajašová ◽  
Vladimír Petřvalský ◽  
Zbyšek Šustek ◽  
Jana Urminská ◽  
Peter Ondrišík ◽  
...  

AbstractIn 2001–2006, ground beetles were pitfall-trapped in a temperate lowland area of South Slovakia in an experimental field divided in five plots fertilized by four different doses of manure or biosludge (25 t stable manure ha−1, 50 t biosludge ha−1, 50 t stable manure ha−1, 100 t biosludge ha−1 and without fertilization). The field was subsequently sown by spring barley, sugar beat, maize, sunflower, sugar beat and maize. The ground beetle assemblage consisted of 31 species, but only five species predominated: Pseudoophonus rufipes representing 82.6% of individuals and five species (Poecilus cupreus, Carabus scheidleri, Calathus fuscipes, Trechus quadristriatus, Pterostichus melanarius, Anchomenus dorsalis, Dolichus halensis) representing together 14.5% of individuals. Pseudophonus rufipes represented 81.7% of dry biomass and three species (Carabus scheidleri, Poecilus cupreus Pterostichus melanarius) 15.9% of biomass. There was no significant influence of organic fertilizing on assemblage structure. During the investigation, the number of individuals and their biomass increased in all plots until 2003 and than dropped to the starting values. The culmination of 2003 was preceded by a warmer and more humid season in 2002. After a cold and dry season of 2003 abundance decreased approximately to starting values. Simultaneously, the local maxima and minima of occurrence of ground beetles in individual plots shifted independently on the doses of organic material. At the same time, number of occurring species slightly decreased. The observed changes obviously represent part of long-termed fluctuations in wider surroundings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-56
Author(s):  
A.V. Putchkov

According to the habitat layers, ground beetles of agrocenoses of Ukraine were divided on three groups: preferential inhabitants of the soil (geobios), inhabitants of the surface of the soil and plant litter (stratobios) and preferential inhabitants of the plants (phytobios). Ground beetles of geobios were represented with about 20 species, from which only five species were relatively numerous. About 370 species were registered in stratobios (about 90 are dominants or subdominants). The inhabitants of the plant layer encompassed about 10 species, but most of them were rare in agrocenoses. Most spring zoophagous species of Carabidae (mainly species of the genus Poecilus) are characterized by a low level of aggregation (Ka = 0.25–0.35). A higher degree of aggregation was recorded for small species of ground beetles (Bembidion, Microlestes) and some mixophagous (Amara similata, A. aenea, Harpalus distinguendus). At summer, the higher level of aggregation was registered (Ka = 0.35–0.46), especially for summer-autumn group of ground beetles (Calathus ambiguus, C. melanocephalus, Harpalus rufipes) and some multi-seasonal species (Pterostichus melanarius). An essential factor affecting the distribution of ground beetles on the field is the density of the plants. On the plots with rare vegetation the accumulation of thermophilous and mesoxerophilous species (Poecilus crenuliger, P. koyi, P. puncticollis) was observed (significant correlation). Higher number of mesophilous and mesohygrophilous Carabidae (Bembidion properans, Poecilus cupreus, P. punctulatus) are registered on the plots with dense vegetation, especially during reproduction period. An increase in the number and diversity of the Carabidae are observed in relatively small fields (up to 50–60 ha), bordered by forest belts or natural biotops. In large fields (more than 100 ha) surrounded by similar crops, the abundance of dominant species of Carabidae was significantly decreased.


Author(s):  
Raisa Sukhodolskaya ◽  
Anatoliy Saveliev ◽  
Nadezhda Ukhova ◽  
Iraida Vorobyova ◽  
Igor Solodovnikov ◽  
...  

Concretizing the mechanisms of Bergmann rule, we found saw-tooth pattern in body size variation in ground beetle Pterostichus oblongopunctatus. We sampled beetles in 2010 – 2018 at the forest undisturbed plots on the broad territory in Russia. Investigating regions covered territory, extending to 3 degrees latitude and 19 degrees longitude. We measured six traits in every of 3294 caught individual. ANOVA showed that latitude, and sex affected significantly body size of the species studied. Mean values of each trait changed significantly from one studied region to another in females and males as well. Sexual size dimorphism in species was female-biased. We performed models in R to estimate the steepness of body size variation in both sexes. In overwhelming majority of cases that parameter was equal in both sexes. So the hypothesis, that male′s variation is steeper in latitude gradient was not confirmed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (9) ◽  
pp. 1623-1629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achaz von Hardenberg ◽  
Bill Shipley ◽  
Marco Festa-Bianchet

Incisor-arcade size affects foraging efficiency in grazing ungulates and should be under strong selective pressure. We investigated individual variation in incisor-arcade size and its relationship with body mass and survival in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) at Ram Mountain, Alberta, Canada, over 9 years. In adult ewes, incisor-arcade breadth and depth decreased with age, probably as a result of tooth wear. We found no effects of incisor-arcade size on survival of lambs or adult ewes. In adult ewes, an apparent positive effect of incisor-arcade size on survival disappeared when age was accounted for. Incisor-arcade breadth and depth had no effect on summer mass gain in lambs or adult ewes. Although linear models suggested that arcade breadth in lambs was correlated with summer mass gain, a latent variable path analysis model revealed that the correlation was due to an allometric relationship of arcade breadth with body size. Variation in incisor-arcade size in bighorn sheep appears to be due to individual variation in body size and age rather than to directional selection.


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