Decrease in Carabid Beetles in Grasslands of Northwestern China: Further Evidence of Insect Biodiversity Loss

Ground-dwelling beetles are important functional components in nutrient-poor grasslands of middle temperate steppe ecosystems in China. Here, we assessed the changes in ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities in the grasslands of northwestern China over 12 years to improve the management and conservation of beetles all over the world. The Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was applied to estimate the changes in carabid beetle communities in two regions: a desert steppe (Yanchi region), and a typical steppe and meadow steppe (Guyuan region). During the 12-year investigation, a total of 34 species were captured. We found that species abundance and richness per survey declined by 0.2 and 11.2%, respectively. Precipitation was the main factor affecting the distribution of carabid beetles. A distinct decline in carabid beetle species in the Yanchi region indicated that they may be threatened by less precipitation and loss of habitat, which could be due to climate change. Overall, species richness was stable in the Guyuan region. It is necessary to estimate and monitor the changes in carabid beetle communities in a temperate steppe of northern China and to protect them. Extensive desertification seriously threatens the distribution of carabid beetles. Future research should develop methods to protect carabid beetle communities in temperate steppes in China.

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The structure of ground beetle assemblages (Coleoptera: Carabidae) at fig fruit falls (Moraceae) in a terra firme rain forest near Manaus (Brazil)

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467401001419 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 549-561 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

WILFRIED PAARMANN ◽

JOACHIM ADIS ◽

NIGEL STORK ◽

BURKHARD GUTZMANN ◽

PHILIPP STUMPE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rain Forest ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Terra Firme ◽

Stepping Stones ◽

Host Trees ◽

Abundance Patterns ◽

Beetle Assemblages ◽

Abundant Genus

The carabid beetle assemblage found feeding on fig fruit falls at night was studied in a terra firme rain forest near Manaus (Amazonia) from July 1991 to August 1996. A total of 8926 carabid beetles were collected on 64 fruit falls from 10 fig species. The most abundant genus was Notiobia with eight species, N. pseudolimbipennis being the most abundant. The Notiobia species comprised 92% of all specimens collected and all feed on small fig seeds. Their species abundance patterns varied considerably between individual fruit falls and during the course of a single fruit fall. However, the species abundance patterns for all Notiobia at all observed fruit falls for each of the two commonest fig species (Ficus subapiculata, F. guianensis), as well as for fruit falls of the remaining fig species, were very similar. Through feeding and breeding experiments and observations of reproductive success by dissection of females, only two of the eight Notiobia species were found to be specialized fig seed feeders, being able to reproduce only on fig fruit falls. The remaining six species of this genus use fig fruit falls as alternate hosts or ‘stepping stones’ between fruit falls of their host trees, which are widely separated both in time and space.

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A preliminary investigation of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages and vegetation community structure in Calluna vulgaris heathlands in NW Spain

Entomologica Fennica ◽

10.33338/ef.84339 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

David Cuesta ◽

Angela Taboada ◽

Leonor Calvo ◽

José Salgado

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

A Priori ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Preliminary Investigation ◽

Calluna Vulgaris ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Future Research ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Natural Evolution ◽

Nw Spain

We present results of a primary survey of carabid beetles in Calluna vulgaris heathlands in the Cantabrian mountain range, NW Spain. We selected four heathland sites and captured carabids during July–August 2004 by randomly placing 48 pitfall traps per site (192 traps in total). The mature heathland carabid assemblage was mostly characterised by generalist, open habitat species, brachypterous andmedium-sized species. Several endemic species were also found. Dominant species were the same in the four heathland sites, but differences in the total number of species were due to rarely collected ones. Differences in carabid assemblage composition between heathland sites indicate that care should be taken when selecting a priori heathland replicates for future research. Results from this study are mainly exploratory, showing that there is a characteristic carabid assemblage for these mature heathlands, different from other shrub communities of the same area. Preservation of heathlands in amature stage would require management practices to avoid its natural evolution to a degenerative phase and the possible disappearance of the adapted carabid species.

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The influence of agricultural management on the structure of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages

Biologia ◽

10.1515/biolog-2015-0028 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 70 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Vladimír Vician ◽

Marek Svitok ◽

Karol Kočík ◽

Slavomír Stašiov

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Humus Content ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Agricultural Management ◽

Carabid Beetle ◽

Arable Soil ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Arable Soils ◽

General Number ◽

Positive Effect

AbstractThe influence of agricultural management form on the structure and the species diversity of ground beetle (Carabidae) assemblages was studied. The research was carried out in the vicinity of Očová village (Central Slovakia) in 2005-2006. Carabid beetles were pitfall-trapped in four pairs of plots with the same crop, but conventionally and naturefriendly managed. In total, 54,376 individuals of 68 species of 30 genera were collected. The significantly positive effect of nature-friendly management on the number of carabid beetle individuals and species diversity was observed only in the plots with arable soil. Carabid beetles reached a higher species diversity in the plots with a higher pH and humus content. These parameters were typical of nature-friendly managed fields, and of the conventionally managed permanent grass stands. In general, number of carabid beetle individuals and species was higher in arable soils than in permanent grass stands.

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Carabid Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Response to Soil Properties of Urban Wastelands in Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122410673 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 10673

Author(s):

Axel Schwerk ◽

Marzena Wińska-Krysiak ◽

Arkadiusz Przybysz ◽

Ewa Zaraś-Januszkiewicz ◽

Piotr Sikorski

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Carabid Beetle ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Soil Parameters ◽

City Development ◽

Space Management ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Beetle Assemblages ◽

Trace Element Contamination ◽

The One

Urban wasteland is of special interest to city planners. However, to integrate such areas into city space management with consideration of nature conservation aspects, a sound assessment of their ecological potential is necessary. The aim of this paper was to analyze whether carabid beetle assemblages of the wastelands are affected by soil parameters, particularly trace element contamination. Therefore, we studied the carabid fauna in relation to selected soil parameters on 56 sampling plots situated in 24 wastelands located in the city of Warsaw (Poland). The results have confirmed our assumptions that the number of species, as well as the number of individual carabid beetles, are negatively affected by an increasing amount of pollutants in the soil. Particularly, the trace elements Pb, Cu, and Cd showed a significantly negative impact. The results are of value when it comes to the use of urban wastelands in the context of sustainable city development. Future use of urban wastelands will be faced with trade-offs between the use for public interests (e.g., housing space) and ecological interests. Phytoremediation and entomoremediation may be included in decontamination measures. The results of studies, such as the one conducted by us, may help to select the respective wastelands for certain purposes.

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The Modeling and Forecasting of Carabid Beetle Distribution in Northwestern China

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12020168 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 168

Author(s):

Xueqin Liu ◽

Hui Wang ◽

Dahan He ◽

Xinpu Wang ◽

Ming Bai

Keyword(s):

Generalized Additive Models ◽

Additive Models ◽

Carabid Beetle ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Environmental Predictors ◽

Temperate Steppe ◽

Temperature And Precipitation ◽

Steppe Ecosystems ◽

Modeling And Forecasting ◽

Richness Patterns

Beetles are key insect species in global biodiversity and play a significant role in steppe ecosystems. In the temperate steppe of China, the increasing degeneration of the grasslands threatens beetle species and their habitat. Using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs), we aimed to predict and map beetle richness patterns within the temperate steppe of Ningxia (China). We tested 19 environmental predictors including climate, topography, soil moisture and space as well as vegetation. Climatic variables (temperature, precipitation, soil temperature) consistently appeared among the most important predictors for beetle groups modeled. GAM generated predictive cartography for the study area. Our models explained a significant percentage of the variation in carabid beetle richness (79.8%), carabid beetle richness distribution seems to be mainly influenced by temperature and precipitation. The results have important implications for management and conservation strategies and also provides evidence for assessing and making predictions of beetle diversity across the steppe.

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Impacts of urea N addition on soil microbial community in a semi-arid temperate steppe in northern China

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-008-9650-0 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 311 (1-2) ◽

pp. 19-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 102

Author(s):

Naili Zhang ◽

Shiqiang Wan ◽

Linghao Li ◽

Jie Bi ◽

Mingming Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Soil Microbial Community ◽

Northern China ◽

N Addition ◽

Temperate Steppe ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Semi Arid

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Does the model of additive effect in placebo research still hold true? A narrative review

JRSM Open ◽

10.1177/2054270416681434 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 205427041668143 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Katja Boehm ◽

Bettina Berger ◽

Ulrich Weger ◽

Peter Heusser

Keyword(s):

Context Effects ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Additive Model ◽

Drug Effects ◽

Future Research ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Integrative Study ◽

Additive Relation ◽

Specific Factors ◽

Study Designs

Personalised and contextualised care has been turned into a major demand by people involved in healthcare suggesting to move toward person-centred medicine. The assessment of person-centred medicine can be most effectively achieved if treatments are investigated using ‘with versus without’ person-centredness or integrative study designs. However, this assumes that the components of an integrative or person-centred intervention have an additive relationship to produce the total effect. Beecher’s model of additivity assumes an additive relation between placebo and drug effects and is thus presenting an arithmetic summation. So far, no review has been carried out assessing the validity of the additive model, which is to be questioned and more closely investigated in this review. Initial searches for primary studies were undertaken in July 2016 using Pubmed and Google Scholar. In order to find matching publications of similar magnitude for the comparison part of this review, corresponding matches for all included reviews were sought. A total of 22 reviews and 3 clinical and experimental studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The results pointed to the following factors actively questioning the additive model: interactions of various effects, trial design, conditioning, context effects and factors, neurobiological factors, mechanism of action, statistical factors, intervention-specific factors (alcohol, caffeine), side-effects and type of intervention. All but one of the closely assessed publications was questioning the additive model. A closer examination of study design is necessary. An attempt in a more systematic approach geared towards solutions could be a suggestion for future research in this field.

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Effects of land cover type on carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of the Canterbury foothills, New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science ◽

10.33494/nzjfs492019x54x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa A. Berndt ◽

Eckehard G. Brockerhoff

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Land Cover ◽

Natural Forest ◽

Carabid Beetle ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Native Forest ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Pine Plantation ◽

Plantation Forest ◽

Beetle Assemblages

Background: Land cover changes during the recent history of New Zealand have had a major impact on its largely endemic and iconic biodiversity. As in many other countries, large areas of native forest have been replaced by other land cover and are now in exotic pasture grassland or plantation forest. Ground beetles (Carabidae) are often used as ecological indicators, they provide ecosystem services such as pest control, and some species are endangered. However, few studies in New Zealand have assessed the habitat value for carabid beetles of natural forest, managed regenerating natural forest, pine plantation forest and pasture. Methods: We compared the carabid beetle assemblages of natural forest of Nothofagus solandri var solandri (also known as Fuscospora solandri or black beech), regenerating N. solandri forest managed for timber production, exotic pine plantation forest and exotic pasture, using pitfall traps. The study was conducted at Woodside Forest in the foothills of the Southern Alps, North Canterbury, New Zealand, close to an area where the critically endangered carabid Holcaspis brevicula was found. Results: A total of 1192 carabid individuals from 23 species were caught during the study. All but two species were native to New Zealand, with the exotic species present only in low numbers and one of these only in the pasture habitat. Carabid relative abundance and the number of species was highest in the pine plantation, where a total of 15 species were caught; however, rarefied species richness did not differ significantly between habitats. The sampled carabid beetle assemblages were similar across the three forested habitat types but differed significantly from the pasture assemblages based on unconstrained and canonical analyses of principal coordinates. Holcaspis brevicula was not detected in this area. Conclusions: Our results show that managed or exotic habitats may provide habitat to species-rich carabid assemblages although some native species occur only in natural, undisturbed vegetation. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge the potential contribution of these land uses and land cover types to the conservation of native biodiversity and to consider how these can be managed to maximise conservation opportunities.

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Persistence of the ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) microbiome to diet manipulation

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0241529 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. e0241529

Author(s):

Anita Silver ◽

Sean Perez ◽

Melanie Gee ◽

Bethany Xu ◽

Shreeya Garg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Diversity ◽

Ground Beetle ◽

Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

Secretory Cells ◽

Pygidial Gland ◽

Defensive Compounds ◽

Highly Active ◽

16S Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Host Diet

Host-associated microbiomes can play important roles in the ecology and evolution of their insect hosts, but bacterial diversity in many insect groups remains poorly understood. Here we examine the relationship between host environment, host traits, and microbial diversity in three species in the ground beetle family (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a group of roughly 40,000 species that synthesize a wide diversity of defensive compounds. This study used 16S amplicon sequencing to profile three species that are phylogenetically distantly related, trophically distinct, and whose defensive chemical secretions differ: Anisodactylus similis LeConte, 1851, Pterostichus serripes (LeConte, 1875), and Brachinus elongatulus Chaudoir, 1876. Wild-caught beetles were compared to individuals maintained in the lab for two weeks on carnivorous, herbivorous, or starvation diets (n = 3 beetles for each species-diet combination). Metagenomic samples from two highly active tissue types—guts, and pygidial gland secretory cells (which produce defensive compounds)—were processed and sequenced separately from those of the remaining body. Bacterial composition and diversity of these ground beetles were largely resilient to controlled changes to host diet. Different tissues within the same beetle harbor unique microbial communities, and secretory cells in particular were remarkably similar across species. We also found that these three carabid species have patterns of microbial diversity similar to those previously found in carabid beetles. These results provide a baseline for future studies of the role of microbes in the diversification of carabids.

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Machine Learning Models of COVID-19 Cases in the United States: A Study of Initial Lockdown and Reopen Regimes

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app112311227 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (23) ◽

pp. 11227

Author(s):

Arnold Kamis ◽

Yudan Ding ◽

Zhenzhen Qu ◽

Chenchen Zhang

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Machine Learning ◽

Additive Model ◽

Regression Tree ◽

Predictor Variable ◽

The United States ◽

Predictor Variables ◽

Future Research ◽

Machine Learning Methods ◽

Variance Explained

The purpose of this paper is to model the cases of COVID-19 in the United States from 13 March 2020 to 31 May 2020. Our novel contribution is that we have obtained highly accurate models focused on two different regimes, lockdown and reopen, modeling each regime separately. The predictor variables include aggregated individual movement as well as state population density, health rank, climate temperature, and political color. We apply a variety of machine learning methods to each regime: Multiple Regression, Ridge Regression, Elastic Net Regression, Generalized Additive Model, Gradient Boosted Machine, Regression Tree, Neural Network, and Random Forest. We discover that Gradient Boosted Machines are the most accurate in both regimes. The best models achieve a variance explained of 95.2% in the lockdown regime and 99.2% in the reopen regime. We describe the influence of the predictor variables as they change from regime to regime. Notably, we identify individual person movement, as tracked by GPS data, to be an important predictor variable. We conclude that government lockdowns are an extremely important de-densification strategy. Implications and questions for future research are discussed.

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