scholarly journals Ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Kunashir Island’s fumarole fields, Kuril Archipelago

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirill Makarov ◽  
Yurii Sundukov ◽  
Andrey Matalin
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Sulfur Compounds ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Extreme Factors ◽  
Kunashir Island

Fumarole fields on the Kunashir Island are confined to the main mountain ranges formed by the Ruruy, Mendeleev and Golovnin volcanoes. Due to residual volcanism, their soil, water and air are enriched with sulfur compounds, the vegetation is strongly depressed and degraded, while the temperature of soil and subsoil air is markedly increased (Zharkov 2014). Only a few publications are specifically devoted to the fauna of fumarolic sites (Konakov 1956). Based on repeated collections in 2008 to 2018, a complex of ground beetles living in these particular conditions was revealed and studied. Among the approximately 170 species of ground beetles recorded from the Kunashir Island (Sundukov and Makarov 2016), only five appear to be permanent inhabitants of fumarole fields: Cicindela (Cicindela) sachalinensis sachalinensis A. Mor., 1862, Cylindera (Eugrapha) elisae (Motsch., 1859), Bembidion (Ocydromus) dolorosum (Motsch., 1850), Bembidion (Peryphanes) cf. sanatum Bates, 1883 and Poecilus (Poecilus) samurai (Lutsh., 1916). Two species (C. sachalinensis and B. dolorosum) are found on all volcanoes studied, while the other species are narrowly localized. For example, C. elisae occurs on the Mendeleev and Ruruy volcanoes alone, B. cf. sanatum inhabits only the Mendeleev volcano, whereas the widespread P. samurai lives solely on the fumaroles of the Ruruy volcano. The species that populate both fumarole fields and other habitats react differently to particular conditions. In C. sachalinensis and P. samurai, the proportions of melanistic specimens at the fumaroles are increased, in the latter species the body size being significantly increased as well. The most interesting is the variability of B. dolorosum. With an increase in temperature and acidity of the habitat, this species becomes increasingly small, elongated, flattened and partially unpigmented. Such individuals are phenotypically indistinguishable from Bembidion (Ocydromus) negrei Habu, 1958 (= B. kuznetsovi Lafer, 2002), with transitions from the typical B. dolorosum to a form imitating B. negrei which can be observed even in tens of meters apart. Thus, only a few species have been capable of getting adapted to fumarolic field environments, but even they change significantly under the influence of extreme factors. At the same time, we believe that thermal (including fumarole) fields could have ensured the survival of a number of species under the conditions of temperature pessima during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Such a scenario was considered by us earlier for Bembidion (? Nipponobembidion) ruruy Makarov et Sundukov, 2014 (Makarov and Sundukov 2014) and some other beetles (Shavrin and Makarov 2019). The features of morphology and distribution of B. cf. sanatum also seem to favour this hypothesis. Interestingly, C. elisae is represented on the Kunashir Island both by the relict C. elisae kunashirensis (Putz et Wiesner, 1994) that inhabits only the Mendeleev volcano (Fig. 1) and by a form that populates only the Ruruy volcano, the latter form being morphologically more similar to the nominative subspecies than to C. elisae novitia (Bates, 1883) from northern Hokkaido.

scholarly journals Comparative study of biology on ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) - flight ability, feeding habits and fecundity

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonomi Shibuya
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
The Other ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Flight Ability ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Flight Muscles

We studied flight ability, feeding habits and fecundity in carabids. Based on these traits, we investigated characteristics of five species of Harpalus, Synuchus and Carabus as bioindicators of changing environments. Three species of Harpalus, H. griseus, H. eous and H. tridens, showed different degrees of flight ability. We examined the morphology and the length of hind wings, and also investigated by dissection the phenology of flight muscles. The ratio of hind wing to body length (HWBL) was 0.93 in H. tridens, 0.99 in H. eous and 1.02 in H. griseus. The aerial catches ratio to total catches (aerial / aerial+ pitfall traps) of H. tridens was lower (16%) than the other two (72, 76%), and the proportion of individuals with flight muscles of H. tridens (29%) was lower than the other two (71, 77%), indicating H. tridens has lowest flight ability. All three species exhibited flight muscle polymorphism. The hind wings of Synuchus cycloderus were mono-morphic macropterous with 0.75 (HWBL). However, no individuals were caught by aerial traps, and none possessed the flight muscles, indicating this species does not fly. The hind wings of Carabus procerulus were mono-morphic stick-shaped brachyptery without the flight muscle. Flight is important trait for food searching and dispersal. Gut dissection revealed that three Harpalus species depended mainly on seeds and partly on arthropods. The fact that animal fragments were found more frequently in the guts of H. tridens than the other two indicated a close relationship between flight ability and diet. Through gut dissection, we found S. cycloderus was a generalist predator. It preys not only on larvae but also adults of small arthropods including collembola. The food remains of guts of C. procerulus consisted of amorphous fluid, and cuticles were hardly detected. It suggested that the inside of prey was exclusively consumed by extra-oral digestion rather than chewing. Fecundity was assessed by gonad dissection through the number of ovarian eggs and their size. S. cycloderus had many eggs with small size, by contrast C. procerulus and three Harpalus species had few-large eggs. Many studies have shown that ground beetles responded differently to vegetation disturbances. We interpreted these results from their ecological traits. Our previous study of the vegetation disturbance effects on ground beetles demonstrated that C. procerulus declined in number was accompanied with decline in body size. Food shortage induced the reduction in both number and body size of C. procerulus. On the other hand, the number of S. cycloderus significantly increased. Although some of their prey were reduced, as generalist predators, they alternatively consumed other prey that has increased greatly in number. The trait of S. cycloderus with many eggs has also great potential for population explosion. The numbers of H. griseus and H. eous were not affected by the disturbance, while H. tridens decreased. Shortage of prey organisms caused negative effects on H. tridens compared to H. griseus and H. eous which depend more on seeds. We have been studying ground beetles in Japan, and already have some basic knowledge, such as hind wings, flight ability, feeding habits, reproductive phenology and seasonal activity for 78 key species. Ground beetles are excellent bioindicators. Our bottom up approach by the dissection of ground beetles collected periodically through the year would be essential when we have to face with extreme conditions, such as global warning.

scholarly journals The type of forest edge governs the spatial distribution of different-sized ground beetles

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (Suppl.) ◽  
pp. 69-96
Author(s):  
Tibor Magura ◽  
Gábor L. Lövei
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
The Body ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Forest Edges ◽  
Small Species ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Species Tolerance

Worldwide human-induced habitat fragmentation intensifies the emergence of forest edges. In addition to these edges, there are edges evolved by natural processes. Edge-maintaining processes (natural vs. anthropogenic) fundamentally determine edge responses, and thus edge functions. Species with various traits show fundamentally different edge response, therefore the trait-based approach is essential in edge studies. We evaluated the edge effect on the body size of ground beetles in forest edges with various maintaining processes. Our results, based on 30 published papers and 221 species, showed that natural forest edges were impenetrable for small species, preventing their dispersal into the forest interiors, while both the medium and the large species penetrated across these edges and dispersed into the forest interiors. Anthropogenic edges maintained by continued human disturbance (agriculture, forestry, urbanisation) were permeable for ground beetles of all size, allowing them to invade the forest interiors. Overwintering type (overwintering as adults or as larvae) was associated with body size, since almost two-thirds of the small species, while slightly more than a third of both the medium and the large species were adult overwintering. Based on this, size-dependent permeability of natural edges may be related to overwintering type, which basically determines species tolerance to human disturbance.

scholarly journals Larval ecomorphology of 13 Libellulidae (Anisoptera, Odonata) of the Middle Rio Doce Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
HC. Giacomini ◽  
P. De Marco Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Morphological Divergence ◽  
Bottom Substrate ◽  
Morphological Distinction ◽  
Morphological Variables

In the lakes of the Middle Rio Doce, Minas Gerais (MG), two groups of larval Libellulidae are distinguished by preferences of habitat use: one uses mainly aquatic macrophytes and the other uses the bottom substrate. The goal of this work was to verify if there is a morphological distinction between the two groups of species. Thirteen body measures were taken from the larvae and analyzed. No difference was found between the two groups of species regarding the body size, but shape differences were observed for two morphological variables. The species that use mainly macrophytes tend to have larger relative measures of the labium and smaller measures of the abdomen width. Advantages in resource obtainment and in vulnerability to predation are probably the explanations for the morphological divergence among these larval groups.

scholarly journals Does body size of neotropical ant species influence their recruitment speed?

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Spacek Godoy ◽  
Lucas Marques de Camargos
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ant Colony ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Recruitment Behavior ◽  
Neotropical Ants

Ants are one of the most important animal groups in tropical forests because of its abundance and number of species. An important characteristic of the group is the eusociality, which allows the occurrence of a recruitment behavior when food resource is found. However, there are two main questions regarding this behavior: (i) the recruitment is a product of environmental or phylogenetic pressures, and (ii) the recruitment speed is related to the body size of the ant species. In this work we addressed these two questions using 17 species of neotropical ants, in the Amazonic lowland dense rain forest. According to results, recruitment behavior is related to ant size, where smaller species exhibit this trait when finding a protein resource. However, species size is not important in recruitment speed, which suggests that speed can be best explained by the type of food resources needed in the ant colony.

scholarly journals A further contribution to the knowledge of Pectiniunguis minutus (Demange, 1968), a little known dwarf schendylid centipede from western equatorial Africa (Chilopoda: geophilomorpha)

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (20) ◽  
pp. 307-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Alberto Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Type Specimen ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Anterior Region ◽  
Small Body Size ◽  
Morphological Comparison ◽  
Equatorial Africa

The geophilomorph centipede Pectiniunguis minutus (Demange, 1968), a little known dwarf schendylid from Gabon (Western equatorial Africa), is redescribed and illustrated based on the type material and an additional non-type specimen preserved in the collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. P. minutus can be easily differentiated from all the other species currently assigned to the genus Pectiniunguis, by the very low number of leg-bearing segments (35 in the males, 37 or 39 in the females) and very small body size (12-16 mm in length). P. minutus is also distinguished by having ventral pore-fields on the anterior region of the body only, this character being shared by a single species of the genus, i.e., P. ascendens Pereira, Minelli & Barbieri, 1994, from the Neotropics (Brazil: State of Amazonas) with which a morphological comparison is given. Comments about other dwarf centipede species belonging to several families of the order Geophilomorpha, are also added.

Appraising Behaviour During Male-male Interaction in the Japanese Horned Beetle Trypoxylus Dichotomus Septentrionalis (Kono)

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihito Hongo
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Horn Length ◽  
Horned Beetle ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Contest Behaviour ◽  
Trypoxylus Dichotomus ◽  
Stage 1

AbstractDetailed contest behaviour of the Japanese horned beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus septentrionalis, was examined in the field. Male-male interactions have three sequences, and in these sequences four behavioural stages were recognized. After two males encountered (Stage 1), they always faced and shoved each other with their horns (Stage 2: 'Shoving'). Then, if the horn length or body size difference between the contestants was large, one male began to retreat and was chased by the other male, and the interactions terminated (Stage 4A: 'Chasing'). If the difference was small, the interactions proceeded to the escalated fighting stage (Stage 3: 'Pry'), in which two males put their horns under their opponents and push and try to flip them up each other. The interactions, which proceeded to Stage 3, have two ways of termination. If the body size difference was large, one male was flipped up by the other male, and the interactions was terminated quickly (Stage 4B). If the difference was small, the interactions was not terminated so quickly and continued until one male began to retreat, proceeding to Stage 4A. It is suggested that males with shorter horns relative to the opponents avoid the escalated fighting stage, 'Pry', after perceiving the horn length difference during 'Shoving', which would be an appraising behaviour. Thus, 'Shoving' is the most important stage among all the interaction processes in that the highest proportion of judgement is made here. The great allometric variation of horn length would presently function more greatly for enhancing the efficiency of mutual appraisal than that in actual fighting.

Differentiation of external morphology of Damaeidae (Acari: Oribatida) in light of the ontogeny of three species

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2775 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
STANISŁAW SENICZAK ◽  
ANNA SENICZAK
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
External Morphology ◽  
Dorsal Seta ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Juvenile Stages ◽  
Shape And Size

Morphology of juvenile stages and ontogeny of Damaeus onustus C. L. Koch, 1844, Damaeus clavipes (Hermann, 1804) and Kunstidamaeus tecticola (Michael, 1888) was investigated. The juveniles of these species differ mainly in body shape and size, and shape of some setae on the gastronotum and legs. The nymphs of all species lose centrodorsal setae of the d-series, and carry the exuviae of previous instars, but D. onustus carries also compact humus mass adhering to exuviae, D. clavipes a lot of loose debris, while K. tecticola usually only exuviae. The kind of camouflage is partly determined by the shape of gastronotal setae; in D. onustus these setae are curved ventrally, in D. clavipes are raised, while in K. tecticola are raised, and strongly curved medial. The nymphs of these species, as the nymphs of all other known Damaeidae, have gastronotal cornicle, which connects the exuviae of previous instars to the gastronotum. The cornicle of particular species differs in shape and location on the gastronotum; in some species is located anteromedial to setae la, in the other between setae lm, and in the other yet between setae lp or h 3 . The adults of these species differ mainly in body size, presence and shape of cuticular apophyses on the body, length of some setae on the prodorsum and notogaster, and the number of setae on legs, including dorsal seta d on genua I–III and tibiae I–IV.

scholarly journals Comparative studies on storage cells in tardigrades during starvation and anhydrobiosis

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Reuner ◽  
Steffen Hengherr ◽  
Franz Brümmer ◽  
Ralph O. Schill
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Cell Size ◽  
Green Algae ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Nutrient Regime ◽  
Storage Cells ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The impact of starvation and anhydrobiosis on the number and size of the storage cells in the tardigrade species Milnesium tardigradum, Paramacrobiotus tonollii and Macrobiotus sapiens was investigated to gain more insight on the energetic side of anhydrobiosis. Storage cells are free floating cells within the body cavity of tardigrades and are presumed to store and release energy in form of glycogen, protein and fat to maintain a constant nutrient regime for the other tissues. The body size of the animals was not correlated with the size of the storage cells, however, M. tardigradum the largest species analysed also had the largest storage cells. A reduction in the size of the storage cells is apparent in all three species after seven days of starvation. A seven-day period of anhydrobiosis leads to a decrease in cell size in M. tardigradum but not in P. tonollii and M. sapiens. Although M. sapiens was raised on green algae, and M. tardigradum and P. tonollii were fed with rotifers and nematodes this difference in nourishment was not reflected in the response of the storage cells to anhydrobiosis.

scholarly journals Trematodes from Red Sea fishes: Prosteganoderma brayi gen. nov., sp. nov. (Zoogonidae Odhner, 1902) and Forticulcita mugilis sp. nov. (Haploporidae Nicoll, 1914)

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Read Hassanine
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Body Wall ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Intestinal Bifurcation ◽  
South Sinai ◽  
Intestinal Trematodes ◽  
Scarus Ghobban

AbstractSpecimens of the fishes Scarus ghobban Forsskål (Scaridae) and Crenimugil crenilabis Forsskål (Mugilidae) were caught in the Red Sea off the coast of Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt. Ten (20 %) and 15 (50 %) of these fishes, respectively, were found to harbour intestinal trematodes. Scarus ghobban was parasitised by Prosteganoderma brayi gen. nov., sp. nov. (Zoogonidae) and C. crenilabis by Forticulcita mugilis sp. nov. (Haploporidae). Prosteganoderma gen. nov. is similar to Steganoderma Stafford, 1904, but clearly differs from it and from all the other genera of the subfamily Lepidophyllinae Stossich, 1903 in having a large ventral sucker surrounded by a large prominent fleshy fold of the body wall and a pre-testicular uterus. Forticulcita mugilis sp. nov. is similar to F. glabra Overstreet, 1982, the type and the only species of the genus, but clearly differs in having a larger body size, a longer forebody, an intestinal bifurcation in the middle of the body, subequal gonads, Laurer’s canal opening dorsally at a considerable distance posterior to the testis and a much larger egg size.

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