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Sea water transport and submersion tolerance as dispersal strategies for the invasive ground beetle Merizodus soledadinus (Carabidae)

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Abstract

The alien ground beetle Merizodus soledadinus was introduced to the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands in 1913. It colonized several small islands and islets of this archipelago, without any apparent human assistance in some locations, and crossed several large rivers and alluvial plains. As aggregations of this species on the tidal drift line are common at the Kerguelen Islands, the present work examined whether adult individuals of M. soledadinus could disperse by flotation on the sea. Different sample sizes of ground beetles (from 1 to 10) were placed on sea water at 8°C in plastic vials. Survival (50% lethal times) significantly increased from 2.1 ± 0.2 days for single beetles to 6.5 ± 0.3 days for groups of 10 beetles per vial, with there being no difference in the survival duration for groups of 2, 5, and 10 beetles per vial. Similar survival durations were found for beetles in vials with artificially agitated water and controls. In addition, the duration of survival was twice as high under freshwater versus sea water conditions, when groups of 10 adults were used. Finally, the survival to total submersion in freshwater was evaluated, and ranged from 3 to 4 days. This ability to survive extended periods both floating on and/or submerged beneath salt and freshwater conditions, indicates the presence of a successful dispersal mechanism, which may facilitate the dispersal range of M. soledadinus across the Kerguelen Islands, comprising over 300 islands and islets in total.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the “Institut Polaire Francais” (IPEV 136) and the “Agence Nationale de la Recherche” (ANR-07-VULN-004, EVINCE). I would like to thank Darwin that initiated the study of flotation tolerance with plant seeds 150 years ago. I thank P. Vernon for helpful discussions on earlier versions of this manuscript. I’m grateful to four anonymous referees for their constructive comments that improved the manuscript.

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  1. Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, 263 avenue du Gal Leclerc, 35042, Rennes, France

    D. Renault

  2. Station Biologique de Paimpont, Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, 35380, Paimpont, France

    D. Renault

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  1. D. Renault
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Correspondence to D. Renault.

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Imagoes of Merizodus soledadinus on sea water. (PPT 405 kb)

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Renault, D. Sea water transport and submersion tolerance as dispersal strategies for the invasive ground beetle Merizodus soledadinus (Carabidae). Polar Biol 34, 1591–1595 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1020-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1020-3

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