New records of the carabidicolous laboulbeniales (Ascomycetes) of Japan

Six carabidicolous species of Laboulbeniales are reported as new for the Japanese mycoflora. They areDixomyces stomonaxi, Laboulbenia picardii, L. tenera, L. slackensis, L. aristata andL. kwangjuensis. Two forms ofD. stomonaxi are distinguished, one form of which resemblesD. nigromarginatus. A remarkable ornamentation consisting of a coillike pattern occurs on the receptacle ofL. picardii. InL. tenera andL. slackensis, the outer appendage has somewhat constricted, blackened septa near the base.Laboulbenia aristata andL. kwangjuensis have spirally arranged outer wall cells. Antheridia were observed inL. tenera, L. slackensis, L. aristata andL. kwangjuensis.     

Ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae)on set-aside fields in the Campine region and their importance for nature conservation in Flanders (Belgium)

Three set-aside fields of arable land on sandy soil in the Campine region of Flanders (Belgium), differently managed for nature conservation purposes, were sampled for their carabid beetle fauna during a complete year cycle by means of pitfall traps. About 3650 ground beetles belonging to 53 species were obtained. Besides this remarkably high diversity, no less than 11 Red data book species for Flanders were found. These species include three rare, two near- threatened, three vulnerable, two endangered and one critically endangered species. The most notable species were Amara tricuspidata and Harpalus froelichi. Although the results are based on a limited data set, we can conclude that, at least for ground beetles, conversion of agricultural fields to set- aside poor fields or dry grasslands has great potential with respect to regional conservation biology in the Campine region. Ordination of the data shows that each field can be characterized by a somewhat different carabid beetle community. The restricted data do not allow us to conclude which management measures seem most appropriate. The safest recommendation at this stage is to use a variety of practices on different fields, in order to enhance general diversity, and, above all, to avoid afforestation. Traditionally managed arable land thus can have a distinctive and comparatively species-rich carabid fauna, which recently has become endangered to a high degree.     

A methodological approach to the use of terrestrial invertebrates for the assessment of alluvial wetlands

We review progress toward developing a data-analysis system using invertebrate species lists in wetland evaluation procedures. Species lists for Mollusca, Carabidae (Coleoptera), Empidoidea and Syrphidae (Diptera), derived from samples collected at six stations along a transect established at a site on the floodplain of the River Loire (France) provide the raw data. An initial analysis using a traditional ordination method (Correspondence Analysis) is carried out. A data base was established for the 118 mollusc, carabid and syrphid species recorded, and each species was then treated not as a simple integer, but as an amalgam of digitised attributes deemed responsive to wetland conditions, in a correspondence analysis on instrumental variables. Despite the generalized nature of the attributes as defined for this example, the approach demonstrates a marked increase in interpretability of the output of analysis, in respect of the relation between the species and the floodplain environment. It also highlights the value of use of data pertaining to more than one taxonomic group and of selecting these taxonomic groups on the basis of complementarity of their bioindicator potential.Corresponding Editor: J.T.A. Verhoeven     

Life cycle and food availability indices in Notiophilus biguttatus (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Abstract.

• 1 Food demands of the predatory carabid Notiophilus biguttatus F. and their fulfilment were studied in the laboratory and field.
• 2 In the laboratory, larval consumption, growth, adult body size and egg production were established for different regimes of temperature and food, the springtail Orchesella cincta.
• 3 Temperature strongly influenced feeding rate of larvae and adults and consequently growth and oviposition rates. Accordingly, growth rate and ovi-position rate increased with prey supply.
• 4 Prey supply also had an effect on fat content, but the number of ripe eggs in the ovaries was related neither to temperature nor to prey supply.
• 5 Adult body size was affected by temperature during the larval period but more so by food supply.
• 6 Dissection of field fresh females showed them to bear eggs for the whole year, except in late winter/early spring and in July.
• 7 Fat content was low in spring and, from July on, high in summer and autumn. Survivorship during starvation differed widely between samples and seemed to be related to reproductive status rather than to fat content.
• 8 Samples of beetles and springtails from eleven pine plantations revealed for the beetles significant differences in fat content and body size, the latter ranging between the maximum and minimum value obtained in the laboratory.
• 9 Conclusions about food limitation based on body size and fat content were not corroborated by a relationship of these indices with springtail density.

     

Exploring the distribution of Sterocorax Ortuño, 1990 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) species in the Iberian Peninsula

Aim The first aim of this paper was to evaluate the distribution of the three Sterocorax species found in the Iberian Peninsula by estimating the main environmental factors that constrain their distributions. The second aim was to explore the potential importance of competitive interactions in limiting their current distributions using predictive distribution models. Location Iberian Peninsula. Methods Species presence data were collected from records in the literature and private and public collections. Ecological niche factor analysis was performed to extract pseudo‐absences (probable absences), which, together with presence data, were modelled using generalized additive models. The models were run twice. Initially we used only environmental variables, and thereafter additional spatial variables were included in order to account for spatially structured factors not accounted for in the environmental variables. Results Highly reliable distribution models were obtained for the three species, with AUC scores (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve) higher than 0.96. The addition of spatial variables to the first model significantly improved the predicted distribution of Corax (Sterocorax) globosus and Corax (Sterocorax) insidiator, by reducing their potential distribution area. In contrast, the model of Corax (Sterocorax) galicianus was not improved by the addition of a spatial term. Main conclusions Generated pseudo‐absences, such as those used in this study, helped to avoid problems of using erroneous data (false absences) in distribution records. Pseudo‐absences greatly improved the models by only selecting absences within the area with the most unfavourable environmental conditions. The importance of spatial variables to both C. (S.) globosus and C. (S.) insidiator distributions probably relates to a number of unknown factors, such as unique historical events. The absence of established populations of C. (S.) globosus north of the Ebro Valley appears to be one such historical factor. The distribution of C. (S.) galicianus only marginally overlaps with that of C. (S.) globosus, according to our environmental factor models. As this overlap is restricted it is not likely to be a result of competitive exclusion; rather, their geographical segregation seems to be environmentally mediated. The addition of spatial variables reduced the potential habitat of C. (S.) insidiator, eliminating some environmentally optimal areas from its distribution. As no environmental barrier seems apparent in this case, competitive interaction with C. (S.) globosus is a plausible hypothesis for its absence in these optimal parts of its range.     

Early effects of forest regeneration with selective and small scale clear-cutting on ground beetles (Coleoptera,Carabidae) in a Norway spruce stand in Southern Bavaria (Höglwald)

This study investigates the early effects of forest regeneration with selective, and small scale clear-cutting, on ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) community composition in a homogenous, mature spruce forest in Southern Bavaria (Höglwald), Germany. Carabid beetles were sampled with pitfall-, emergence-, and window-traps, from 1999 to 2001 during a pre-treatment year, the year of cutting, and the year after cutting. In the spruce stand we found a relatively low species richness with few dominating species. Selective cutting preserved this carabid assemblage. At the clear-cuts carabid species richness increased in the year of cutting, because of the invasion of small open field species, and the persistence of most forest species. Also, number of individuals increased due to higher numbers caught in the window-traps. The first open habitat species appeared just a few months after felling. However, in the next year the numbers of individuals, especially of forest species,were drastically reduced. Also, the number of species decreased, and was just slightly higher than on the control plot (mature stand). According to the DCA (detrended correspondence analysis) forest interior species had the same habitat preferences as net building spiders (Amaurobiidae, Linyphiidae) and other families of beetles (Staphylinidae, Curculionidae). Several groups of open habitat species responded positively on different patches found in the clear-cut: (1) diversity ofground vegetation, respectively coverage of shrubs, (2) favour for moist patterns, and water filled ruts (together with Gastropoda), or (3) low coverage of ground vegetation (together with free hunting spiders, Lycosidae). Different structures side by side (mature forest, selective cutting, open areas) may improve diversity on a forest scale. Small openings can serve as an important retreat for open habitat species. However, if clear-cuts become the dominant element, forest species maybe threatened. With selective cutting species richness of carabids is not improved; however, the remaining forest carabid species may be preserved during the early phase of the regeneration process.     

广东省车八岭自然保护区连唇步甲属一新种记述（鞘翅目：步甲科）

记述采自中国广东始兴车八岭国家级自然保护区连唇步甲属Ｓｏｆｏｔａ１新种：黑连唇步甲Ｓｏｆｏｔａ ｎｉｇｒｕｍ,ｓｐ．ｍｏｖ．。模式标本保存在华南农业大学昆虫标本室。     

The impact of forest cutting on the diversity of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the southern Appalachians

Abstract. 1. Carabid beetles were sampled by means of pitfall traps on several clearcut areas and in adjacent forests.
2. A hierarchical analysis of diversity revealed a significant increase in the within-genus component of species diversity after forest cutting.
3. This trend in intrageneric diversity was obscured, with respect to total species diversity, by a nonsignificant reduction in diversity at the generic level.
4. The increase in the within-genus component of species diversity following forest cutting was consistent with the hypothesis that disturbance of a cornmunity can disrupt processes of competitive exclusion.