Search results for "ground beetle"

When morphometry meets genetics: inferring the phylogeography of Carabus solieri using Fourier analyses of pronotum and male genitalia

2004

Population differentiation is a crucial step in the speciation process and is therefore a central subject in studies of microevolution. Assessing divergence and inferring its dynamics in space and time generally require a wide array of markers. Until now however, most studies of population structure are based on molecular markers and those concerning morphological traits are more scarce. In the present work, we studied morphological differentiation among populations of the ground beetle Carabus solieri, and tested its congruence with genetic population structure. The shape of pronotum and aedeagus was assessed using Dual Axis Fourier Shape Analysis. manova on Fourier coefficients revealed h…

Key carabid species drive spring weed seed predation of Viola arvensis

2020

Species co-occurrence networks of ground beetles in managed grasslands

2020

AbstractGrassland biodiversity, including traditional rural biotopes maintained by traditional agricultural practices, has become threatened worldwide. Road verges have been suggested to be complementary or compensatory habitats for species inhabiting grasslands. Species co-occurrence patterns linked with species traits can be used to separate between the different mechanisms (stochasticity, environmental filtering, biotic interactions) behind community structure. Here, we study species co-occurrence networks and underlying mechanisms of ground beetle species (Carabidae) in three different managed grassland types (meadows, pastures, road verges, n = 12 in each type) in Central Finland. We a…

Trophic level modulates carabid beetle responses to habitat and landscape structure: a pan-European study

2010

1. Anthropogenic pressures have produced heterogeneous landscapes expected to influence diversity differently across trophic levels and spatial scales. 2. We tested how activity density and species richness of carabid trophic groups responded to local habitat and landscape structure (forest percentage cover and habitat richness) in 48 landscape parcels (1 km2) across eight European countries. 3. Local habitat affected activity density, but not species richness, of both trophic groups. Activity densities were greater in rotational cropping compared with other habitats; phytophage densities were also greater in grassland than forest habitats. 4. Controlling for country and habitat effects we …

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

2019

International audience; 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 (L.), Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) and Anchomenus dorsalis (Pontoppidan). The seed species were offered in arenas, simultaneously, under three different ex…

Wolbachia prevalence and diversity in selected riverine predatory beetles (Bembidiini and Paederini)

2018

Despite the many studies on Wolbachia in Coleoptera, data about the prevalence of this bacterium among ground and rove beetles are missing. This study describes Wolbachia distribution and diversity in predatory beetles co-habiting the same environment - submontane river channels. Three species of Paederini (Staphylinidae) and four Bembidiini (Carabidae) were collected from six river catchments of the Carpathians. Wolbachia was absent in three species: Paederidus rubrothoracicus (Goeze), Bembidion decorum (Zenker in Panzer), Bembidion modestum (F.) - but detected in four others. Paederus limnophilus Erichson and Paederidus ruficollis F. were infected at only some sites by different strains o…

Poleward range expansion without a southern contraction in the ground beetle Agonum viridicupreum (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

2011

We investigated the extent of poleward shifts in the distribution range of Agonum viridicupreum due to climate change in the western Palaearctic. Species' records were obtained from extensive literature sources as well as from collections, and consistent amateur entomologists' recordings. Within the general geographic range of the species, we analyzed in detail two parts of both, the northern and southern distribution range boundaries: (1 and 2) north-western Germany (leading or high-latitude edge), (3) Israel and (4) southern Italy (rear or low-latitude edge). Temporal changes in the occurrence data of the species indicated a northward shift of the leading edge of a minimum of 100 km withi…

Analysing disparity by applying combined morphological and molecular approaches to French and Japanese carabid beetles

2000

The expression of morphological disparity within a clade is related to its history and to the environmental parameters within which it develops. Recent developments in geometric morphometries allow quantitative estimation of morphological disparity, and facilitate comparisons with genetic data intended to provide phylogenetic information. Such comparisons were made between two sets of ground beetle species from regions that differ biogeographically and environmentally: 12 post-glacial reinvading species from NE France; and 15 Japanese species less likely to be affected by the Pleistocene glacial events. Genetic relationships were inferred from mitochondrial DNA (ND5 gene). Morphological div…

Elucidating the genetic determinism of the plasticity of seed proteins in response to the environment using Medicago truncatula

2019

International audience; Legumes are able to produce high-protein seeds without nitrogen fertilizer through root symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Rich in lysine, these proteins are used for human nutrition and animal feed. However, instability of seed protein yield and quality due to environmental fluctuations limits the wide adoption of legumes in Europe. Breeding efforts are needed to optimize and stabilize seed nutritional quality. We have studied the plasticity of protein content and composition of seeds from a collection of 200 ecotypes of Medicago truncatula grown under four controlled conditions (optimal, drought, and winter/spring sowing). A quantitative analysis of one-dimen…

A landscape-scale approach for linking farming strategies to weed communities and their contribution to ecosystem services

2019

National audience; Weeds present in agricultural fields provide habitats and trophic resources and as such contribute to the provision of ecosystem services such as pollination (quantity and quality of pollen and nectar in flowers) and biological control (seeds for pest natural enemies). The nature and amount of services provided depends on the floral composition of weed communities and this composition is driven by the combination of farming practices. Linking farming strategies to services is thus an important step to provide management guidelines for enhancing ecosystem services. We report here on such an analysis, based on agronomical and weed data collected annually in 70 field cores a…