Dataset Information

Rare patterns of dorsal puncture in Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae).

ABSTRACT: Background:The carabid beetle species Pterostichus oblongopunctatus is common in different types of forests in Poland and Europe. With respect to this species, some unclarities exist concerning the morphological feature of punctures on the elytra. P. oblongopunctatus has dorsal pits in the third interval of the elytra, the available identification keys, however, provide inconsistent information concerning the puncture in other intervals. During long-term studies at different study sites in Poland, the first author rarely but regularly discovered individuals with unusual dorsal puncture patterns, i.e., pits in the fifth and even in the seventh interval of the elytra. Since such rare patterns might be connected with special habitat characteristics, and thus have a potential as an indicator, the aim of the study was to test if they are connected with specific subpopulations (interaction groups), if they are related to the sex or size of the beetles, and if they are related to specific habitat conditions. Material and Methods:We counted the pits on the elytra, determined the sex, and measured the length of the right elytron of individuals of P. oblongopunctatus collected at numerous study sites located within the borders of the Regional Directory of National Forests in Pi?a (Western Poland) over the period 2014-2016. Results:Altogether, 1,058 individuals of P. oblongopunctatus were subjected to statistical analysis. Almost 19% of the individuals had a dorsal puncture in the fifth interval of the elytra and about 0.7% had a dorsal puncture in the seventh interval of the elytra. In 2014 and 2015, significantly more females exhibited such unusual patterns of dorsal puncture than males. Even if not statistically significant, in 2016 also relatively more females showed such a pattern. Neither males nor females of the analysed individuals with usual puncture patterns showed a significant difference in the length of the right elytron from those with unusual puncture patterns, and neither for males nor for females a significant correlation of the percentage share of the individuals with unusual puncture patterns with the age of the study sites could be detected. However, both males and females with unusual patterns had more dorsal pits than those without. Moreover, males as well as females showed in all those years a trend that the individuals with unusual patterns have more pits in the third interval of the elytra. Discussion:The results indicate that females are more likely to exhibit unusual patterns. Since individuals of P. oblongopunctatus with a higher number of pits on the elytra are supposed to prevail in more wet habitats, such patterns might be related to moisture conditions. The possibility of pits in the seventh interval of the elytra should be added to identification keys.

SUBMITTER: Schwerk A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5912206 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rare patterns of dorsal puncture in <i>Pterostichus oblongopunctatus</i> (Coleoptera: Carabidae).

Schwerk Axel A Jaskuła Radomir R

PeerJ 20180420

<h4>Background</h4>The carabid beetle species <i>Pterostichus oblongopunctatus</i> is common in different types of forests in Poland and Europe. With respect to this species, some unclarities exist concerning the morphological feature of punctures on the elytra. <i>P. oblongopunctatus</i> has dorsal pits in the third interval of the elytra, the available identification keys, however, provide inconsistent information concerning the puncture in other intervals. During long-term studies at differen ...[more]

PMID: 29692953

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Project description:We found distinct and consistently placed, species- and sex-specific abrasions of the cuticle on museum specimens of 14 species of the Pterostichus Bonelli, 1810 (Carabidae, Pterostichini) subgenusHypherpes Chaudoir, 1838. We deduced that these marks are generated during mating and, therefore, can be used to distinguish between preserved specimens of beetles that had previously mated at the time of capture and those that had not mated. In addition to describing and detailing the occurrence of the marks and providing evidence that they are the result of mating, we demonstrate their utility for inferring life history using a museum voucher collection. By scoring these indications of mating from pinned specimens, we describe life cycle patterns in two similar, relatively closely related and sympatric species of the subgenus Hypherpes, P.vicinus Mannerheim, 1843 and P.californicus (Dejean, 1828). Both were sampled during a pitfall trap study in Contra Costa, California, USA from 2014-2019 and deposited in the Essig Museum of Entomology, UC Berkeley. Both species had very low adult activity through the drought and end of drought period prior to the spring of 2017 and are significantly more abundant in the post-drought period. Based on mating marks, both species responded to accumulated precipitation ending the drought by the emergence of an active, mostly unmated cohort of adults. The spring activity peak, following the end of the drought, was dominated by unmarked and presumably unmated beetles, but samples from subsequent springs included a nearly equal mix of beetles showing mating marks and apparently unmated beetles. The beetle activity appears to correspond more with the accumulated rainfall of the preceding rainy season than with the rains of the sample year. Beetles sampled in autumn and winter (rainy season) predominantly show mating marks. The occurrence throughout the year of beetles that are marked as having mated is consistent with iteroparous beetles with a lifespan of more than one year and also consistent with dynamic phenotypic polyvariance in which the adult activity period is synchronised by adjusting development time. The dominant pattern fits with a life cycle that is typically annual univoltine, or possibly biennial semivoltine in dry years, rainy season breeding (autumn-winter) iteroparous, with adult summer aestivation and possibly facultative larval hibernation. However, unmarked and so apparently unmated individuals and teneral adults were captured during peak activity periods regardless of the season, suggesting that either the beetles diapause as teneral adults that then complete development and become active at various points during the year and/or there are multiple periods of breeding and oviposition each year in at least some portion of the population.

Dataset Information

Rare patterns of dorsal puncture in Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae).

Publications

Rare patterns of dorsal puncture in <i>Pterostichus oblongopunctatus</i> (Coleoptera: Carabidae).

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