Carabid populations in field beans and their effect on the population dynamics of Sitona lineatus (L.)

The abundance and diversity of potential carabid predators of Sitona lineatus (L.) in field beans were monitored between 1980 and 1983. The absolute abundance of the large predatory species was determined in mark-recapture experiments and a radio-labelling technique was used to estimate the level of predation in the field. Using previously published population data for S. lineatus, the importance of predation in the population dynamics of the weevil was estimated. The mortality of weevil larvae due to predation varied from 0.6%– 10.5% while that of adult weevils varied from 2.6%– 23.8%. It appeared that carabids played a significant role in the population dynamics of S. lineatus and, in years when abundant, could reduce the population of larvae and overwintering adults by more than 30%.     

Assessing ecological habitat structure from local to landscape scales using synthetic aperture radar

Ecological studies need accurate environmental data such as vegetation characterization, landscape structure and organization, to predict and explain the spatial distribution of biodiversity. Few ecological studies use remote sensing data to assess the biophysical or structural properties of vegetation to understand species distribution. To date, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data have seldom been used for ecological applications. However, these sensors provide data allowing access to the inner structure of vegetation which is a key information in ecology. The objective of this article is to compare the predictive power of ecological habitat structure variables derived from a TerraSAR-X image, an aerial photograph and a SPOT-5 image for species distribution. The test was run with a hedgerow network in Brittany and assessed the spatial distribution of the forest ground carabid beetles which inhabit these hedgerows. The results confirmed that radar and optical images can be indifferently used to extract hedgerow network and derived landscape metrics (hedgerow density, network grain) useful to explain the spatial distribution of forest carabid beetles. In comparison with passive optical remotely sensed data, VHSR SAR images provide new data to characterize vegetation structure and more particularly hedgerow canopy cover, a variable known to explain the spatial distribution of carabid beetles in an agricultural landscape, but not yet quantified at a fine scale. The hedgerow canopy cover derived from the SAR image is a strong predictor of the abundance of forest carabid beetles at two scales i.e., a local scale and a landscape scale.     

The evolution and age of populations of Scaphinotus petersi Roeschke on Arizona Sky Islands (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cychrini)

Populations of the ground beetle Scaphinotus petersi are isolated in subalpine conifer forest habitats on mountain ranges or Sky Islands in southeastern Arizona. Previous work on this species has suggested these populations have been isolated since the last post-glacial maximum times as warming caused this cool adapted species to retreat to high elevations. To test this hypothesis, we inferred the phylogeny from mitochondrial DNA sequence data from several Arizona Sky Island populations of Scaphinotus petersi and estimated the divergence time of the currently isolated populations. We found two major clades of Scaphinotus petersi, an eastern clade and a western group. Our results indicated most mountain ranges form clades except the Huachucas, which are polyphyletic and the Santa Catalinas, which are paraphyletic. We estimated the Pinaleño population is much older than the last glacial maximum, but the Huachuca and Pinal populations may have been fragmented from the Santa Catalina population since the post-glacial maximum times.     

火干扰对苍山云南松林步甲群落的影响

在云南省大理市苍山火烧迹地采用陷阱法初步研究了火干扰对苍山云南松林步甲群落的影响.其中未火烧迹地步甲群落由7属14种组成;火烧迹地步甲群落由6属8种组成,样地同多度没有显著差异.未火烧迹地步甲群落物种组成不同于火烧迹地,但部分火烧迹地与未火烧迹地接近;健步甲Carabus solidior是森林生境良好的指示物种(IndVal=0.9489,P=0.001).研究显示,火干扰已经改变了云南松林步甲群落组成,降低了步甲群落的多样性.     

步甲作为指示生物的研究进展

步甲是鞘翅目的重要类群之一,几乎分布于所有陆生生境。步甲与环境关系密切,不少学者认为可将其作为指示生物。目前国外关于步甲作为指示生物的研究很多,内容主要集中在探索生态系统的可持续管理和对整体环境质量的评估,而国内关于步甲的研究主要是区系分类和群落多样性研究,很少关于步甲对环境的指示作用报道。因此,深入研究步甲与环境的相互关系,在此基础上进一步研究其指示作用并应用于生态环境监测和评估之中十分重要。文章对近年来国内外关于步甲作为指示生物的相关研究工作进行概括和总结,对步甲作为指示生物的优点、环境因子对步甲的影响、步甲对环境变化的响应等进行简要评述,同时讨论步甲作为指示生物的研究中存在的一些问题以及该研究领域的发展前景。     

Impact of oilseed rape expressing the insecticidal serine protease inhibitor, mustard trypsin inhibitor-2 on the beneficial predator Pterostichus madidus

Abstract Insect-resistant transgenic plants have been suggested to have deleterious effects on beneficial predators feeding on crop pests, through transmission of the transgene product by the pest to the predator. To test this hypothesis, effects of oilseed rape expressing the serine protease inhibitor, mustard trypsin inhibitor -2 (MTI-2), on the predatory ground beetle Pterostichus madidus were investigated, using diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella as the intermediary pest species. As expected, oilseed rape expressing MTI-2 had a deleterious effect on the development and survival of the pest. However, incomplete pest mortality resulted in survivors being available to predators at the next trophic level, and inhibition studies confirmed the presence of biologically active transgene product in pest larvae. Characterization of proteolytic digestive enzymes of P. madidus demonstrated that adults utilize serine proteases with trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like specificities; the former activity was completely inhibited by MTI-2 in vitro. When P. madidus consumed prey reared on MTI-2 expressing plants over the reproductive period in their life cycle, no significant effects upon survival were observed as a result of exposure to the inhibitor. However, there was a short-term significant inhibition of weight gain in female beetles fed unlimited prey containing MTI-2, with a concomitant reduction of prey consumption. Biochemical analyses showed that the inhibitory effects of MTI-2 delivered via prey on gut proteolysis in the carabid decreased with time of exposure, possibly resulting from up-regulation of inhibitor-insensitive proteases. Of ecological significance, consumption of MTI-2 dosed prey had no detrimental effects on reproductive fitness of adult P. madidus.     

Rural–urban gradients and the population genetic structure of woodland ground beetles

Genetic diversity and differentiation of two carabid beetle species were examined in woodlands along rural–urban gradients in two cities (Brussels, Belgium, and Birmingham, UK), based on allozymes, studied in more than 1000 beetles. Compared to Abax ater, Pterostichus madidus showed higher levels of genetic diversity but lower genetic differentiation, probably because of its ability to survive in non-forest habitats. Higher genetic diversity in both species was observed in Brussels as compared to Birmingham. However, genetic differentiation among sites was higher in Birmingham corresponding to the more extreme degree of fragmentation and isolation between the Birmingham woodlands. The isolation-by-distance model did not explain genetic differentiation among sites within the two regions. Gene diversity in P. madidus Birmingham populations was higher in smaller urban forests with a small perimeter. A similar absence of genetic erosion in smaller and more highly modified (urban) populations was also obtained for A. ater populations from Brussels, with a higher genetic diversity in sites closer to woodland edges. This unexpected result is hypothesised to be the result of an adaptive increase of genetic diversity in more heterogeneous landscapes, closer to woodland edges and in smaller and more perturbed forests.     

Development of a Monoclonal Antibody for the Detection and Quantification of Predation on Slugs within the Arion hortensis agg. (Mollusca: Pulmonata)

The Arion hortensis agg. (Mollusca: Pulmonata) are major slug pests of agriculture and horticulture throughout much of the temperate World. A monoclonal antibody was created that could specifically identify and quantify the remains of these slugs within the carabid predator Pterostichus melanarius Illiger, a polyphagous species found in arable crops in Europe and North America. The antibody was shown to be specific for the two species of pest slug within this species aggregate, Arion distinctus Mabille and A. hortensis Férussac, and did not cross-react with any other invertebrates tested, including other slugs in the same genus. It proved to be highly sensitive in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mean detection period for the remains of A. distinctus in predator foregut samples was 3.28 days at 16°C. However, A. distinctus remains could be identified in male carabids for 30% longer than in females, emphasizing the importance of separate analyses. The value of the antigen half-life as a measure of the detection period was questioned because analysis of covariance showed that the regression slopes for antigen decay were not significantly different between the two sexes, giving very similar half-lives (approx 18.5 h for females and 19 h for males). Calculated quantities of soluble slug proteins in predator foreguts declined more rapidly over time than concentrations, allowing separate assessment of the importance of these two variables on detection periods. It was concluded that a valuable new antibody had been created and characterized, which can be used for the analysis of predation in the field.     

Current knowledge on exocrine glands in carabid beetles: structure, function and chemical compounds

Many exocrine products used by ground beetles are pheromones and allomones that regulate intra- and interspecific interactions and contribute to their success in terrestrial ecosystems. This mini-review attempts to unify major themes related to the exocrine glands of carabid beetles. Here we report on both glandular structures and the role of secretions in carabid adults, and that little information is available on the ecological significance of glandular secretions in pre-imaginal stages.     

Carabid beetle diversity and mean individual biomass in beech forests of various ages

Carabid beetle diversity and mean individual biomass (MIB) were analysed in three different successional stages of beech tree stands (60, 80 and 150 years old). Carabid beetles were captured using pitfall traps placed at nine sites (three per age class) in the Papuk Mountain of East Croatia during 2008. A cluster analysis identified three groupings that corresponded to the beech age classes. MIB values increased with stand age, ranging from 255 in 60-year-old stand to 537 in the oldest forests. The 80-year-old stand showed the highest species richness and diversity values. With respect to species composition, large species such as Carabus scheidleri and Carabus coriaceus were dominant only in the oldest forests. Furthermore, species that overwinter in the larval stage were more abundant in the oldest forests (45% of the total number of individuals from the 150-year-old stand) than in the younger ones (20% of individuals from 60-year-old, and 22% of individuals from 80-year-old stands). Our results showed that the analyses of species composition and life history traits are valuable for estimating the conservation values of older forests. Although the investigated sites form part of a continuous forested area and are only a couple of kilometres apart, MIB values detect significant differences associated with forest age and can be a useful tool in evaluating the degree to which a forest reflects a natural state.