Modeling Sexual Differences of Body Size Variation in Ground Beetles in Geographical Gradients: A Case Study of Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger, 1798) (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

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.

Modeling the bioclimatic range of Pterostichus melanarius (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in conditions of global climate change

At present, climate change significantly affects living organisms on the planet, leading to transformations in their niches, ranges and abundance. The aim of our work was to forecast the range of the representative of the large family Carabidae, famous for its indicative characters, richness and importance in soil communities. We used 19 bioclimatic variables of Bioclim according to our own data and the data of GBIF with the help of the MaxEnt program. We used 550 coordinates of ground beetle Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger, 1798) records. We distinguished the potential range the species studied and drew prognostic maps of the species’ distribution related to climate change according to four scenarios. Mean annual temperatures and the mean temperature in the warmest and the coldest quarters of the year were the major factors affecting spatial distribution of P. melanarius. Visualization of potential range according to RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 6.0 scenarios predicted range reduction by 2050 but its recovery by 2070. According to RCP 8.5 scenario, the range of the species studied will be significantly transformed: by 2070 the range will shift towards the north-west in the continental European states but to the northeast – in the coastal states. By 2070 almost all southern territories of Europe will become unsuitable for P. melanarius survival. The most visible changes will be the shift in range to the north in the eastern part of the European plain. The comfort conditions for P. melanarius decrease in mountain regions including the Alps, Carpathians, Caucasus and Urals. By 2070, the cenotic optimum significantly decreases on the Balkan Peninsula. Thus, a sharp reduction in Southern European and Mediterranean populations is predicted.

Туруни (Carabidae) Ківерцівського національного природного парку «Цуманська пуща»: попередні дослідження

Робота відображає підсумки першого вивчення турунів у межах Ківерцівського національного природного парку «Цуманська пуща» – унікальної природної пам’ятки на північному заході України. Національний природний парк розташований у межах Ківерцівського адміністративного району Волинської області і займає площу 33475,34 га. Створений на базі найбільш цінних дубових та сосново-дубових лісових масивів. Дослідження проводили у 2017–2019 рр. методами маршрутних зборів та косіння ентомологічним сачком. Обстежено заплавні луки р. Конопельки поблизу с. Сокиричі, с. Муравище, с. Пальче, ліс в урочищі Папики поблизу с. Дерно, ліс поблизу с. Дачне, луки та ліс поблизу смт Цумань, ліс поблизу м. Ківерці, заплави річок Путилівки (с. Ставок, смт Цумань), Кормин (поблизу с. Берестяне), Рудки (неподалік с. Журавичі), Грушвиці (неподалік с. Омельне), меліоративні канали та луки навколо них (с. Дерно, смт Цумань).У Ківерцівському національному природному парку «Цуманська пуща» зареєстровано 39 видів турунів, що належать до 20 родів. Найбільше видове різноманіття має рід Pterostichus, до якого належить 8 видів. Тільки на згарищі зареєстровано 8 видів: Agonum sexpunctatum, Amara communis, Amara curta, Amara tibialis, Bembidion lampros, Dyschirius globosus, Poecilus versicolor, Pterostichus minor, лише в сосновому лісі виявлено Amara familiaris, лише в дубовому лісі трапляються 15 видів: Agonum gracilipes, Amara aenea, Calosoma inquisitor, Carabus coriaceus, Carabus hortensis, Harpalus latus, Leistus rufomarginatus, Leistus terminates, Limodromus assimilis, Nebria brevicollis, Notiophilus biguttatus, Pterostichus melanarius, Pterostichus strenuous, Stomis pumicatus, Synuchus vivalis. Видове багатство зростає за градієнтом: сосновий ліс – дубовий ліс – згарище. У сосновому лісі індекс Маргалефа становить 1,93, у дубовому – 3,55, на колишньому згарищі – 4,42. Найбільшу спільність видів турунів мають біотопи дубового лісу і згарища (0,48), середній показник спільності властивий для лісових біотопів (0,44), найменша подібність видового складу турунів властива біотопам соснового лісу та згарища (0,28).

Do properties and species of weed seeds affect their consumption by carabid beetles?

Seed predators are an integral part of agroecosystems, where they can reduce the populations of weeds. The preference of predators for seeds and the observed predation rate may be affected by the properties of seeds (e.g. taxonomy, chemical composition, physical defence). In this work, we focused on seed consumption of Taraxacum officinale Web. and Stellaria media (L.) Vill., from France and the Czech Republic, by three species of ground beetle that are seed predators (Coleoptera: Carabidae): Poecilus cupreus (Linnaeus), Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) and Anchomenus dorsalis (Pontoppidan). The seed species were offered in arenas, simultaneously, under three different experimental manipulations of moisture and seed coat conditions: dry and intact, water-imbibed and intact, and water-imbibed with a damaged seed coat. Seed consumption was checked after 0.5, 1, 2, 24, and 48 hours of exposure. Anchomenus dorsalis largely refused to feed on seeds. Taraxacum officinale seeds with damaged coats were most preferred by the remaining two species of carabids. The consumption by P. cupreus of T. officinale seeds with damaged coats increased from 0.18 % after 0.5 hours to 83.83 % after 48 hours, and by P. melanarius from 13.76 % after 0.5 hours to 76.77 % after 48 hours. Seeds of S. media were consumed less. There was a significant difference in consumption rates due to the country of origin of the seeds, but there were no differences between the carabid sexes. That carabids preferred water-imbibed and damaged seeds may suggest an involvement of olfactory clues in the seed selection process, and/or shorter seed-handling times.

Effect of plant protection on assemblages of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in sugar beet crops in four-year rotation

The influence of chemical plant protection on carabid beetle assemblages was studied in an experiment conducted on fields of sugar beet at the IOR-PIB Experimental Station in Winna Góra, Poland. The experiment was composed of a block of control fields (no chemical plant protection treatments) and second block, where plant protection was carried out in compliance with the applicable plant protection program. Ground beetles were caught from May to August/September in four years, using modified Barber traps. As a result of the study, 11 881 specimens belonging to 52 species of Carabidae were collected. The most numerous species were: Harpalus rufipes, Pterostichus melanarius, Calathus ambiguus and Bembidion properans. Overall, our results demonstrate that the application of chemical plant protection treatments decreased the abundance of carabid beetles in sugar beet fields, but had no effect on species richness. The use of pesticides induced changes in some life traits of Carabidae fauna. After a pesticide application, the abundance of macropterous hemizoophages and medium carnivores with the autumn type of breeding decreased, whereas the abundance of small carnivores increased.

Changes during 15 years succession of the ground beetle fauna (Carabidae) after the conversion from conventional to organic farming on Ritzerau Manor

Die Arbeit stellt die Ergebnisse aus 15 Jahren Unter­suchungen an Laufkäfern nach der Umstellung vom konventionellen auf ökologischen Landbau auf Hof Ritzerau (südöstliches Schleswig-Holstein, Deutsch­land) für die erfassten Laufkäferarten im Einzelnen sowie die Entwicklung der Artenvielfalt zusammen. Die Entwicklung der Laufkäferarten lässt sich nach verschiedenen ökologischen Gruppen einteilen. Zu unterscheiden sind Arten, die während der Sukzession mit ihren Mengen zurückgehen oder sich aus den Äckern in randliche Bereiche in die Nähe ihrer Quellhabitate zurückziehen. Dazu gehören häufige Arten des konventionellen Land­baus, z.B. Pterostichus melanarius, und Arten, die Beschattung benötigen und vornehmlich aus Wäldern stammen, z.B. Carabus coriaceus. Aus den ökologischen Gruppen der Arten des Offen­landes, z.B. wärmebegünstigtes und oligotrophes Grasland oder Heiden, sind eine Vielzahl an Arten eingewandert oder haben sich auf den ökologischen Äckern stark vermehrt und ausgebrei­tet. Auch auf Arten aus Grünbrachen trifft dies zu. Außerdem haben sich charakteristische Arten ökologisch bewirtschafteter Äcker oder fast ausgestorbene Arten, die früher in Äckern häufig waren, neu angesiedelt (z.B. Zabrus tenebrioides) und zum Teil stark vermehrt (z.B. Carabus auratus). Ferner können Arten des feuchten Grünlandes in nasseren Jahren die ökologischen Äcker nutzen, wenngleich sie sich dort nicht dauerhaft ansiedeln. Im speziellen Fall der Äcker des Ritzerauhofes können die Arten vor allem aus dem südwest­lichen Landschaftsteilen, die an trockene, offene Grünländer angrenzen oder über die hohen Bereiche des Duvenseebachtals aus dem Nordosten einwandern, während die Wälder im Nord­westen und die nassen Bereiche des südöstlichen Duvenseebaches als Barrieren wirken. Die Ent­wicklung der Artengemeinschaften im Untersuchungsgebiet hängt daher stark von den Einwanderungspforten und dem ökologischen Zustand der umliegenden Ökosysteme ab. Für die Zukunft ist eine weitere Einwanderung von Arten aus den mesotrophen Ökosystemen der Umgebung zu erwarten. Dies ist aus Sicht des Artenschutzes besonders vorteilhaft, da diese Gruppe sehr artenreich ist und außerdem eine Vielzahl gefährdeter Arten aufweist. Die Entwicklungs­analyse lässt erkennen, dass die Artenvielfalt auf den ökologisch bewirtschafteten Äckern von den Rändern zum Zentrum fortschreitet. Der Gradient zwischen Randbereichen und Zentralbe­reichen wird im Laufe der Sukzession zunehmend geringer, was sich auch positiv auf die Arten­vielfalt der Landschaft auswirkt. Danach hat der ökologische Landbau nicht nur eine aus Ge­sichtspunkten des Naturschutzes positive Wirkung auf die Ackerflächen selbst, sondern strahlt auch auf die angrenzenden Ökosysteme aus.

Checklist of thallus-forming Laboulbeniomycetes from Belgium and the Netherlands, including Hesperomyces halyziae and Laboulbenia quarantenae spp. nov.

In this paper we present an updated checklist of thallus-forming Laboulbeniomycetes (Ascomycota, Pezizomycotina), that is, the orders Herpomycetales and Laboulbeniales, from Belgium and the Netherlands. Two species are newly described based on morphology, molecular data (ITS, LSU ribosomal DNA) and ecology (host association). These are Hesperomyces halyziae on Halyzia sedecimguttata (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) from both countries and Laboulbenia quarantenae on Bembidion biguttatum (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from Belgium. In addition, nine new country records are presented. For Belgium: Laboulbenia aubryi on Amara aranea (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and Rhachomyces spinosus on Syntomus foveatus (Coleoptera, Carabidae). For the Netherlands: Chitonomyces melanurus on Laccophilus minutus (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae), Euphoriomyces agathidii on Agathidium laevigatum (Coleoptera, Leiodidae), Laboulbenia fasciculata on Omophron limbatum (Coleoptera, Carabidae), Laboulbenia metableti on Syntomus foveatus and S. truncatellus (Coleoptera, Carabidae), Laboulbenia pseudomasei on Pterostichus melanarius (Coleoptera, Carabidae), Rhachomyces canariensis on Trechus obtusus (Coleoptera, Carabidae), and Stigmatomyces hydrelliae on Hydrellia albilabris (Diptera, Ephydridae). Finally, an identification key to 140 species of thallus-forming Laboulbeniomycetes in Belgium and the Netherlands is provided. Based on the combined data, we are able to identify mutual gaps that need to be filled as well as weigh the impact of chosen strategies (fieldwork, museum collections) and techniques in these neighboring countries. The aim of this work is to serve as a reference for studying Laboulbeniomycetes fungi in Europe.

Measuring the Inter and Intraspecific Sexual Shape Dimorphism and Body Shape Variation in Generalist Ground Beetles in Russia

Ground beetles in multiple species vary greatly in the expression of the shape on sexual traits, resulting in a sexual shape dimorphism as a consequence of sexual selection differences. The present research focuses on the study of inter and intrasexual sexual shape dimorphism of two generalist genera of ground beetles Pterostichus and Carabus. Geometric morphometric methods were applied to five generalist species of ground beetles Carabus exaratus, C. granulatus, Pterostichus melanarius, P. niger, and P. oblongopunctatus and several multivariate analyses were applied for two different traits, abdomen and elytra. Three of the five species analyzed showed high levels of sex-based shape dimorphism. However, the most generalist species, P. melanarius and P. oblongopunctatus, did not evidence shape-based sexual dimorphism differentiation in both of the analyzed traits, as statistically confirmed based on the permutation of pairwise comparison of the Mahalanobis distances of a sex–species classifier. It is generally known that environmental stress in natural populations can affect the fitness expression, principally related to sexual fecundity, being that this pattern is more evident in non-generalist species. In our results, the contrary pattern was found, with the absence of sexual shape dimorphism for two of the three generalist species analyzed. On the other hand, the interspecies shape variation was clearly identified using principal component analysis of both of the analyzed traits. Finally, this research is the first to analyze the relationship between sexual shape dimorphism in Russian ground beetles, evidencing the lack of understanding of the mechanism underlying the sexual dimorphism, especially in species living in extreme environments.

Ecological-faunistic analysis of ground beetles and tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Cicindelidae) of metropolises of Ukraine

Ground beetles and tiger beetles are the most noticible representatives of predatory invertebrates often used in bioidentificational studies. This article provides quantitative and ecological characteristics of Caraboidea in five metroplises of Ukraine (Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Lviv). In total, in these cities, 237 species of Caraboidea were recorded, belonging to 63 genera and two families – Carabidae (231 species, 61 genera) and Cicindelidae (6 species, 2 genera). By abundance of Carabidae in megapolises, 33 species were identified to abundant. Eudominants were represented by three species: Harpalus rufipes, Pterostichus melanarius and P. оblongopunctatus, dominants – five: Amara aenea, Anchomenus dorsalis, Calathus fuscipes, Harpalus distinguendus and Poecilus versicolor. Subdominants were 25 species: Amara similata, Asaphidion flavipes, Badister bullatus, Bembidion lampros, B. properans, Broscus cephalotes, Calathus ambiguus, C. melanocephalus, Carabus cancellatus, C. coriaceus, C. granulatus, Cylindera germanica, Harpalus affinis, H. anxius, H. griseus, H. latus, H. tardus, Limodromus assimilis, Microlestes minutulus, Nebria brevicollis, Notiophilus palustris, Poecilus cupreus, Pterostichus niger, P. ovoideus and P. strenuus. In the studied cities, 53 species are rare, 151 species were identified to the group of accidental species. For separate cities, number of eudominants ranged from 4 (Donetsk, Kyiv) to 6–8 (Kharkiv, Lviv). Ten species discovered: Amara famelica, A. majuscula, Anisodactylus nemorivagus, Asaphidion pallipes, Badister lacertosus, Blemus discus, Harpalus laeviceps, Limodromus krynickii, Pterostichus minor and Tachyta nana were new for the Steppe zone of Ukraine. Chlaenius aeneocephalus and Brachinus brevicollis were recorded for the first time in the Right Bank of the northern subzone of the steppe zone, and Stenolophus abdominalis mentioned earlier for the far south of Ukraine was for the first time reported for the northern Steppe. Microlestes nеgrita was new for the Forest Steppe, and Masoreus wetterhalli and Syntomus foveatus, known earlier for the forest zone and the south of the steppe zone, were for the first time reported for its northern subzone. The levels of faunistic similarity of Caraboidea for different metropolises ranged within 0.20–0.60 for all species and 0.32–0.90 for abundant species. Most similar were carabidofaunas of Kharkiv and Dnipro (similarity index of Jaccard equaled 0.58–0.87), slightly lower in Dnipro and Kyiv (0.50–0.72). Lowest parameters were seen for Lviv compared with the other cities (0.20–0.32). According to the species composition, the most numerous were meadow (119) and forest elements (59 species). To the polytopic group, 25 species are identified, 23 to the steppe group, and 11 species to the litoral group. In numbers in all the metropolises, the polytopic group dominated, among which abundant species comprised almost half. Within the forest group in Dnipro, Donetsk and Kharkiv, 4–6 abundant species were recorded, whereas in Kyiv and Lviv their number was 14–17 species. Within the meadow group, common species were represented by 4–11 species, and in the steppe and litoral groups such species were absent. In relation to moisture, eudominants were mesophiles (165 species), including 31 abundant species. According to the trophic specialization, zoophages dominated (146 species), including 24 abundant species. Among zoophytophages, 60 species (seven abundant) were recorded. Phytozoophages were represented by 30 species (two abundant). According to mechanical composition of soil, the more diverse groups were observed to be made up species preferring loamy and clay-loamy soils (85 species each), but to the abundant species from these groups, 6 and 10 species respectively were identified. The group of ground beetles with non-manifested preferences to mechanical composition of soil was represented by 41 species, though by number of abundant (17 species), the group was dominant. To inhabitants of heavy loamy, sandy and sabulous soils, 4, 6 and 16 species correspondingly were identified, and no abundant species were observed. At the level of abundant species, the ecological structure was more similar than shown by the analysis of all the species of ground beetles. Hypothetically, typical representatives of carabid beetles of Ukrainian metropolises could be considered polytopic or meadow (to a lesser extent forest) mesophile zoophages or zoophytophages which prefer loam-clayey soils without preference to one or the other type of soil.

Variability of Assemblage Structure and Body Sizes in the Ground Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) Along an Anthropogenic Impact Gradient

Carabus communities of the industrial, habitual and recreational zones in a large industrial center (Nizhnekamsk City, Republic of Tatarstan) were examined. 31 species were revealed, and the highest abundance and diversity was in the recreational zone (23 species). Similar species (Carabus cancellatus Illiger, 1798, Pterostichus niger Schaller, 1783 and Pterostichus oblongopunctatus Fabricius, 1787) predominated in the industrial and recreational zones, while Pterostichus versicolor Sturm, 1824 prevailed in the habitual zone. The dynamic density of beetles was 12.1, 7.5 and 16.4 per 10 trapnights in the industrial, habitual and recreational zone, respectively. Discriminant analysis has shown significant differences of the carabids in the recreational zone from those in the other two zones ones by structure and dynamic density. In addition, multidimensional analysis has revealed differences of the carabid communities in conifer, deciduous and meadow biotopes. Urbanization also affects the morphometric structure of ground beetle populations. We chose two species – Pterostichus melanarius Ill., 1798 and P. niger as objects for morphometric analysis, because they had been included as model ones into the project on carabid morphometric variation on Research Gates. The body sizes of P. melanarius were smaller in the recreational zone than in the industrial one. By the morphometric structure, the populations of the species were similar in both zones explored. The beetles of P. niger increased in body size from the industrial zone to the recreational ones. The morphometric structure of populations of this species was similar in the habitual and recreational zones and differed significantly in the industrial one. Such traits as the pronotum width and the distance between eyes contributed much into discrimination.