Revision of the East Mediterranean Orthomus (Coleoptera,Carabidae, Pterostichini), with description of Parorthomus gen. n. socotranus sp. n. from Socotra Island and key to the Old World genera of subtribe Euchroina

The East Mediterranean species of Orthomus Chaudoir, 1838 are revised. The type series of Feronia longula Reiche & Saulcy, 1855, F. berytensis Reiche & Saulcy, 1855, F. proelonga Reiche & Saulcy, 1855, Orthomus longior Chaudoir, 1873, O. sidonicus Chaudoir, 1873, and O. berytensis akbensis Mateu, 1955 were studied and lectotypes for the first four are designated. Also, the following nomenclatural acts are proposed: Feronia proelonga Reiche & Saulcy, 1855, syn. n. of Orthomus berytensis (Reiche & Saulcy, 1855); Feronia elongata Chaudoir, 1859, syn. n. of Orthomus berytensis (Reiche & Saulcy, 1855); Orthomus sidonicus Chaudoir, 1873, syn. n. of Orthomus longior Chaudoir, 1873; Orthomus velocissimus andalusiacus Mateu, 1957, syn. n. of Orthomus velocissimus akbensis Mateu, 1955, new assignment for Orthomus berytensis akbensis Mateu, 1955. As a result, three species of the genus inhabit the East Mediterranean biogeographical region: O. berytensis, O. longior, and O. longulus. A key to these three species is given. O. longior is recorded for Turkey and Syria for the first time. In addition, a new synonymy of two West Mediterranean taxa is proposed: O. szekessyi (Jedlička, 1956), syn. n. of O. balearicus (Piochard de la Brûlerie, 1868), and a new genus and a species are described: Parorthomus gen. n. socotranus sp. n. (type locality: Republic of Yemen, Socotra Archipelago, Socotra Island, Fimihin env., 530 m.a.s.l.). Illustrations of the species dealt with here are provided including external characters, habitus, mentum and submentum, and genitalia are provided.Nine genera of the “African Series” of subtribe Euchroina Chaudoir, 1874 are keyed for the first time. Checklists of the species of Orthomus and of the Old World euchroine genera are given.     

Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblages of Restored Semi‐natural Habitats and Intensively Cultivated Fields in Northern China

Diversity of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages and sub‐assemblages was compared between reafforested woodland, grassland, and intensively cultivated fields at Chongli County in Northern China. An array of eight pitfall traps per plot was used to sample the beetles on four replicate plots for each habitat. Replanted conifer woodland and semi‐natural grassland harbored very similar beetle assemblages. These had significantly lower rarefied species numbers than the distinctly different assemblages recorded in cultivated fields, with differences in alpha diversity being less pronounced for large and predatory species. Carabid activity‐density levels were higher in both woodland and grassland than in fields, with this trend being most pronounced for predatory and large species. To conserve high levels of gamma diversity, it is important to maintain a mosaic of agricultural areas and semi‐natural habitats. The latter also form a potential source for predatory species important in pest control. It appears that woodland‐specific species are rare in the study area, or they have not been able to reach and colonize the newly established woodland sites. It can also be concluded that morphological and ecological traits allow important insights into underlying ecological principles of overall diversity patterns.     

Local vs. landscape controls on diversity: a test using surface-dwelling soil macroinvertebrates of differing mobility

Aim A better understanding of the processes driving local species richness and of the scales at which they operate is crucial for conserving biodiversity in cultivated landscapes. Local species richness may be controlled by ecological processes acting at larger spatial scales. Very little is known about the effect of landscape variables on soil biota. The aim of our study was to partly fill this gap by relating the local variation of surface‐dwelling macroarthropod species richness to factors operating at the habitat scale (i.e. land use and habitat characteristics) and the landscape scale (i.e. composition of the surrounding matrix). Location An agricultural landscape with a low‐input farming system in Central Hesse, Germany. Methods We focused on five taxa significantly differing in mobility and ecological requirements: ants, ground beetles, rove beetles, woodlice, and millipedes. Animals were caught with pitfall traps in fields of different land use (arable land, grassland, fallow land) and different habitat conditions (insolation, soil humidity). Composition of the surrounding landscape was analysed within a radius of 250 m around the fields. Results Factors from both scales together explained a large amount of the local variation in species richness, but the explanatory strength of the factors differed significantly among taxa. Land use particularly affected ground beetles and woodlice, whereas ants and rove beetles were more strongly affected by habitat characteristics, namely by insolation and soil characteristics. Local species richness of diplopods depended almost entirely on the surrounding landscape. In general, the composition of the neighbouring landscape had a lower impact on the species richness of most soil macroarthropod taxa than did land use and habitat characteristics. Main conclusions We conclude that agri‐environment schemes for the conservation of biodiversity in cultivated landscapes have to secure management for both habitat quality and heterogeneous landscape mosaics.     

掘步甲属昆虫分类研究（鞘翅目：步甲科：壶步甲族）

掘步甲属Scalidion Schmidt-Gbel,1846 为步甲科壶步甲族(Carabidae, Lebiini) 中的1个小属,分布于中国、印度、缅甸和越南。通过观察巴黎自然博物馆和华南农业大学馆藏标本,本文对该属进行简要的分类研究,提供了分种(亚种)检索表、照片并附形态特征图。该属目前仅记录2种,即喜掘步甲S. hilare Schmidt-G?bel 和黄掘步甲S. xanthophanum (Bates),2种均在中国有分布,其中后者包括2个亚种。喜掘步甲为贵州新记录,黄掘步甲指名亚种为广东、贵州和越南新记录,黑色亚种S. xanthophanum nigrans (Bates)为贵州新记录。     

Relevance of exotic pine plantations as a surrogate habitat for ground beetles (Carabidae) where native forest is rare

Plantation forests are of increasing importance worldwide for wood and fibre production, and in some areas they are the only forest cover. Here we investigate the potential role of exotic plantations in supporting native forest-dwelling carabid beetles in regions that have experienced extensive deforestation. On the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand, more than 99% of the previous native forest cover has been lost, and today exotic pine (Pinus radiata) plantations are the only forest habitat of substantial area. Carabids were caught with pitfall traps in native kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) forest remnants and in a neighbouring pine plantation, grassland and gorse (Ulex europaeus) shrubland. A total of 2,700 individuals were caught, with significantly greater abundance in traps in young pine, grassland and gorse habitats than in kanuka and older pine. Rarefied species richness was greatest in kanuka, a habitat that supported two forest specialist species not present in other habitat types. A critically endangered species was found only in the exotic plantation forest, which also acts as a surrogate habitat for most carabids associated with kanuka forest. The few remaining native forest patches are of critical importance to conservation on the Canterbury Plains, but in the absence of larger native forest areas plantation forests are more valuable for carabid conservation than the exotic grassland that dominates the region.     

Response of ground-dwelling beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages to giant knotweed (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Reynoutria</Emphasis> spp.) invasion

Giant knotweeds (Reynoutria spp.) are highly productive and aggressive invaders in riparian wetlands of Europe and North America. We sampled ground-dwelling beetles by pitfall traps from six sites comparing monotypic Reynoutria stands with the invaded native Urtica-dominated stands. Three sites were located in a semi-natural softwood forest and three sites were on a ruderal embankment. The analyses are based on a total of 13,244 individuals from 218 species. Location and site significantly influenced beetle assemblages. Moreover, there were pronounced differences between vegetation stands. The monotypic Reynoutria stands exhibited lower beetle abundance, species richness and rarefaction diversity irrespective of location. However, the negative effect on species richness, abundance and assemblage similarities were stronger on the transformed ruderal embankment than in the semi-natural softwood forest. Reynoutria invasion seems to influence microclimatic conditions. We found a higher abundance of silvicolous and a lower abundance of xerophilous ground beetles in the Reyountria stands than in the Urtica-dominated stands. Feeding guilds reacted differently to Reynoutria invasion that reduced the abundance of predators and herbivores but enhanced that of detritivores. Detritivores assumingly profit from the perennial presence of the large quantities of Reynoutria litter. We conclude that highly productive invaders pauperise the arthropod fauna and alter link strengths in trophic cascades shifting primary producer-based food webs to detritus-based food webs.     

Microsatellite DNA markers for two endemic ground beetles: Carabus punctatoauratus and C. solieri

We isolated and characterized nine and five polymorphic microsatellite loci in the respective ground beetles Carabus punctatoauratus and C. solieri. We tested cross‐species amplification of all these loci plus six isolated in C. solieri and for which primers sequences were soon published. From these combined analyses, we obtained 14 and 17 polymorphic markers, respectively, for C. punctatoauratus and C. solieri.     

Microsatellite DNA markers for the ground beetle Pterostichus oblongopunctatus F.

Six microsatellite DNA loci were isolated from the ground beetle Pterostichus oblongopunctatus F. (Coleoptera, Carabidae) to study population structure. Each locus was polymorphic, with the number of alleles ranging from three to six. Observed heterozygosity varied between 0.20 and 0.67. All six loci were tested for amplification in the closely related P. quadrifoveolatus and they were shown to be polymorphic. The primers developed were used in multiplex polymerase chain reactions.     

The ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of exposed riverine sediments in Scotland and northern England

A survey of invertebrates on exposed riverine sediments (ERS) in four catchments of rivers in Scotland and northern England was carried out in 1996 and 1997 using pitfall traps. The resulting 179 lists of ground beetle species were used in ordination and classification analyses to determine the different types of habitats and the environmental factors influencing species assemblage distribution. Types of ERS habitat differed between highland and lowland catchments; there were also different numbers of habitat types in each catchment. The distribution of ERS within catchments was related to geology, position in catchment, sediment composition and the amount of vegetation. Evidence of the positive nature of river engineering was identified and the role of river management is discussed. The numbers of nationally rare and scarce ground beetle species recorded from the ERS habitats in each catchment are reported and the factors affecting their distribution discussed.