Introduced Carabidae (Coleoptera) from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island: new records and ecological perspectives

2006 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
pp. 602-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Majka ◽  
Joyce Cook ◽  
Susan Westby

AbstractSeven species of introduced Carabidae are newly reported in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Trechus quadristriatus (Schrank), Amara ovata (Fabricius), and Harpalus rubripes (Duftschmid) are newly recorded in Atlantic Canada as a whole. Possible modes of introduction of these species to the region are discussed. Several may have been introduced in association with dry ballast shipments. Some may have arrived via natural dispersion from neighbouring areas; others appear to have been present and undetected for a considerable time. The possible impact of such introductions is also discussed. Synanthropic environments have higher proportions of introduced species than relatively undisturbed, native habitats. Some adventive species do become widespread in native environments; however, negative impacts on native species may not be readily apparent.

Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1154 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER G. MAJKA ◽  
DAVID B. MCCORQUODALE

New records of Coccinellidae in the Maritime Provinces of Canada are reported. The known fauna of the region consists of 47 species: 41 in Nova Scotia, 39 in New Brunswick, and 21 in Prince Edward Island. Of these, records are provided for 13 species newly recorded from Nova Scotia and 14 from Prince Edward Island. Two species, Diomus amabilis (LeConte) and Naemia seriata seriata Melsheimer, are newly recorded in Canada. Didion punctatum (Melsheimer) is removed from the fauna of PEI, and Coccidula lepida LeConte is removed from the fauna of NS, and Scymnus impexus Mulsant is removed from the faunas of NS and NB. Records of two adventive species not established in the region are also reported. Collecting effort in the three provinces and their sub-regions is briefly analyzed and compared. Biogeographic observations are provided in relation to the composition of the fauna as a whole, and of disjunct populations of six Nova Scotia coccinellids, several of which appear to be members of a coastal plain fauna that extends from New England to southern Nova Scotia. The potential vulnerability of the coccinellid fauna is discussed in the context of both adventive species in the region, and habitat loss and conservation.


Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1590 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER G. MAJKA ◽  
YVES BOUSQUET ◽  
SUSAN WESTBY

The Carabidae of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are surveyed. The collecting history of the family in the region is reviewed. New records of 20 species are reported, 6 from New Brunswick and 15 from Nova Scotia. Six species are newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) as a whole. Six species are removed from the faunal list of Nova Scotia and one from the faunal list of New Brunswick. Consequently, 282 species of Carabidae are now known from Nova Scotia, 273 species from New Brunswick, and 329 from the Maritime Provinces as a whole. A new and earlier timeline (1942) is reported for the introduced Palearctic carabid, Bembidion properans (Stephens), in North America. The status of Stenolophus carbo Bousquet in the region is reviewed and its presence in Nova Scotia is considered doubtful. The historical origins of the Maritime fauna are discussed based on studies of post-glacial Coleoptera. These indicate at least three colonization phases, some elements of which are still apparent in the contemporary fauna. Elements of the native Nova Scotia fauna not found in New Brunswick (26 species), may represent colonization from New England across post-glacial land bridges and island chains. Elements of the native fauna found in New Brunswick and not Nova Scotia (31 species), may represent species that have reached the eastward limit of their distribution for climatic or environmental reasons; or that have found the Northumberland Strait and/or the isthmus of Chignecto an obstacle to geographical dispersal; or represent widely distributed boreal species (6 species) that should be sought in Nova Scotia. Eighteen species of Nova Scotia carabids have been recorded only from Cape Breton Island, two of which are known in Atlantic Canada solely from there. Although Cape Breton is separated from the mainland by the 1.5 km wide Strait of Canso, the number of flightless, native carabids present is proportionally greater than that in Nova Scotia overall, or the Maritime Provinces as a whole. Despite differences in land mass and distance to the neighbouring mainland, the faunas of Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and insular Newfoundland, exhibit similarities in size and composition, although Newfoundland's fauna has twice the proportion of Holarctic species. Cape Breton's carabid fauna is diminished compared to the neighbouring mainland, having only 57% of the native species. This may represent an island-associated diminution, the paucity of collecting, or a combination of both, although in comparison with other groups of Coleoptera the Carabidae appear relatively well represented. Within Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick has the lowest proportion (8.8%) of introduced carabids and the highest proportion (83.2%) of native, Nearctic species. Given the potential utility of carabids as bioindicators, and the wide range of disturbance to which the environment of the Maritime Provinces has been subjected, further research on this diverse group of beetles would be desirable.


ZooKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 897 ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Yves Alarie

The Haliplidae, Gyrinidae, and Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada were surveyed during the years 2006–2007. A total of 2027 individuals from 85 species was collected from 94 different localities, which brings to 87 the number of species recorded for this locality. Among these, Heterosternuta allegheniana (Matta & Wolfe), H. wickhami (Zaitzev), Hydroporus appalachius Sherman, H. gossei Larson & Roughley, H. nigellus Mannerheim, H. puberulus LeConte, Ilybius picipes (Kirby), and I. wasastjernae (C.R. Sahlberg) are reported for the first time in Nova Scotia. The Nearctic component of the fauna is made up of 71 species (81.6%), the Holarctic component of 16 species (18.4%). Most species are characteristic of both the Boreal and Atlantic Maritime Ecozones and have a transcontinental distribution but 19 species (21.8%), which are generally recognized as species with eastern affinities. In an examination of the Hydradephaga of insular portions of Atlantic Canada, it was shown that the island faunas of Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island are very similar (87 and 84 species, respectively) despite differences in composition suggesting that more Hydradephaga species have yet to be found on Cape Breton Island.


2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Klymko ◽  
Paul Catling ◽  
Jeffrey B. Ogden ◽  
Robert W. Harding ◽  
Donald F. McAlpine ◽  
...  

We provide an updated checklist of Orthoptera and their allies for each Maritime province of Canada with details for 21 new species records. Drumming Katydid (Meconema thalassinum), recorded from Nova Scotia (NS) and Prince Edward Island (PEI), and Sprinkled Grasshopper (Chloealtis conspersa), recorded from New Brunswick (NB) are reported for the first time from the Maritimes as a whole. We report range extensions in the Maritime region for Australian Cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae; NB), Treetop Bush Katydid (Scudderia fasciata; NS), Short-legged Camel Cricket (Ceuthophilus brevipes; PEI), Spotted Camel Cricket (Ceuthophilus maculatus; PEI), Roesel’s Shield-backed Katydid (Roeseliana roesellii; NS), and Black-horned Tree Cricket (Oecanthus nigricornis; PEI). Short-winged Mole Cricket (Neoscapteriscus abbreviatus; NB) and European Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa; NS) are reported as adventives (non-native species that are believed to be not yet established), new to Canada from the Maritimes. Other new records for species not known to be established are Lined Earwig (Doru taeniatum; NS), Australian Cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae; PEI), American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana; NB), Brown Cockroach (Periplaneta brunnea; PEI), Smooth Cockroach (Nyctibora laevigata; NB), West Indian Leaf Cockroach (Blaberus discoidalis; NB), an unidentified Parcoblatta species (NB), Brown-banded Cockroach (Supella longipalpa; PEI), Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa; NB), and American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana; NS).


Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1168 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER G. MAJKA ◽  
CHRISTINE NORONHA ◽  
MARY SMITH

The Palearctic byrrhids Chaetophora spinosa (Rossi) and Simplocaria semistriata (F.) are reported for the first time from Prince Edward Island (PEI), the former species for the first time from Atlantic Canada from specimens collected in 2003–05. Their presence is discussed both in light of the history of introductions of exotic species in Atlantic Canada in general, and on PEI in particular, and also in the context of the effect of adventive species on native organisms and ecosystems. These discoveries underscore the need for continual monitoring of invertebrate populations to detect ongoing introductions of adventive species. The native byrrhid Cytilus alternatus (Say) is also reported for the first time from PEI.


Author(s):  
David J. Garbary ◽  
Carolyn J. Bird ◽  
Beverly Hymes ◽  
Herb Vandermeulen

From May to October 2017 seaweeds were identified in the field and laboratory from 20 sites around Brier Island, Nova Scotia. While most sites were intertidal rocky shores, there were one small salt marsh and one eelgrass bed included in the study, and some subtidal sampling was conducted utilizing SCUBA and snorkeling. The Brier Island seaweeds comprised 152 species and varieties of which 62 were Rhodophyta, 44 were Chlorophyta, 44 were Phaeophyceae, and two species were Xanthophyceae. Three species were new records for eastern Canada: Colaconema bonne- maisoniae, C. endophyticum, and Elachista stellaris, all were pre- viously recorded from New England. The flora included eight non- native species of which Colpomenia peregrina and Bonnemaisonia hami- fera (both gametophytic and tetrasporophytic stages) were abundant at two or more sites, and the invasive Codium fragile subsp. fragile was recorded based on a single drift specimen. With 150 species and varieties of seaweeds, Brier Island has the highest species richness of a limited area of eastern Canada. The Cheney floristic index at 2.4 is higher than comparable areas, and suggests that many additional brown algae remain to be found.Keywords: Chlorophyta, Colaconema, Bay of Fundy, Brier Island, Phaeophyceae, Rhodophyta, seaweeds


2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Colin J. Chapman ◽  
C. Sean Blaney ◽  
David M. Mazerolle

We conducted a review of herbarium collections of the Wintercress genus (Barbarea W.T. Aiton) from the Maritime provinces. Most specimens previously determined to be the regionally rare native species Erect-fruit Wintercress (Barbarea orthoceras Ledebour) are in fact the uncommon exotic Small-flowered Wintercress (Barbarea stricta Andrzejowski). The latter species is here reported as new to Atlantic Canada, where it is scattered but widespread in the three Maritime provinces. Only three collections (two from New Brunswick and one from Nova Scotia) were confirmed as B. orthoceras. Its known range extent and area of occupancy in the Maritimes has been significantly revised, and B. orthoceras is now considered potentially extirpated in New Brunswick and extremely rare in Nova Scotia. One collection from Nova Scotia was referred to another rare exotic species, Early Wintercress (Barbarea verna (Miller) Ascherson), which represents the first record for the Maritimes.


Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1546 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER G. MAJKA

The Erotylidae and Endomychidae of the Maritime Provinces are surveyed. Fifteen species are now known from the region, fourteen in Nova Scotia, seven in New Brunswick, and four on Prince Edward Island. Thirteen new provincial records (seven from Nova Scotia, three from New Brunswick, and three from Prince Edward Island) are reported. Four erotylids, Dacne quadrimaculata (Say), Triplax dissimulator (Crotch), Triplax flavicollis Lacordaire, Triplax macra LeConte; and two endomychids, Rhanidea unicolor (Ziegler) and Lycoperdina ferruginea LeConte, are newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces as a whole. New records of the rare endomychid, Hadromychus chandleri Bousquet & Leschen, are reported. The fauna is examined in a regional zoogeographic context, paying particular attention to the insular faunas of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Islands. Attention is also drawn to the number of species that have been very rarely collected. This apparent scarcity may be related to the long history of forest management in the region, in particular the effects of intensive forestry on the communities of forest fungi on which these species feed and depend. Attention is drawn to the importance of ongoing research to monitor their populations and assess how these species may be employed as indicators of the overall health forest ecosystems.


Check List ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Ángel González-Díaz ◽  
Miriam Soria-Barreto ◽  
Leonardo Martínez-Cardenas ◽  
Manuel Blanco y Correa

The San Pedro Mezquital River is the seventh largest river in Mexico, and flows through the Sierra Madre Occidental into the Marismas Nacionales Biosphere Reserve, on the coast of the state of Nayarit. The present study is to conform a systematic checklist of fishes in the lower basin of the San Pedro Mezquital River. In total, 52 species were collected from 24 families. Four native species were collected (Atherinella crystallina, Poecilia butleri, Poeciliopsis latidens and Poeciliopsis prolifica) that are federally protected. Five of the collected species were new records for the state of Nayarit. This checklist constitutes a first approximation of the fish fauna present in the San Pedro Mezquital River. However, the construction of the Las Cruces dam upstream, will modify the basin hydrology, worsen the introduction of exotic species and create habitat loss, which can have immediate negative impacts on the fish communities in this region.


2007 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Majka ◽  
Robert S. Anderson ◽  
David B. McCorquodale

AbstractSeventy-nine species of weevils are newly reported in Nova Scotia and 66 species are newly reported on Prince Edward Island, increasing the known provincial weevil faunas to 244 and 92 species, respectively. Thirty-six species are recorded for the first time in the Maritime Provinces; of these, Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus (Marsham), Listronotus dietzi O'Brien, Corthylus columbianus Hopkins, and Orchidophilus aterrimus (Waterhouse) are recorded for the first time in Canada. Orchidophilus aterrimus has been collected only in exotic domesticated orchids and is not established in the wild. Fourteen species previously recorded on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, are reported from the provincial mainland. Four species — Curculio sulcatulus (Casey), Ceutorhynchus squamatus LeConte, Tachyerges niger (Horn), and Ips calligraphus (Germar) — are removed from the faunal list of Nova Scotia, and three species — Temnocerus cyanellus (LeConte), Curculio nasicus (Say), and Cryphalus ruficollis ruficollis Hopkins — are removed from the faunal list of Prince Edward Island. The combined known weevil fauna of the Maritime Provinces now totals 290 species. The adequacy of collection effort is discussed and in Nova Scotia, where collection effort has been greatest, distribution patterns of selected groups of species are examined. Island faunas are discussed with respect to those of Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island. Regional biogeographic patterns of species are also discussed, including possible disjunct populations in Nova Scotia and species that may not have crossed the isthmus of Chignecto to colonize Nova Scotia. Attention is drawn to the long history of introduced species in the region and to ongoing introductions through an examination of the earliest records for the 60 introduced species found in the region.


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