Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Small-scale spatiotemporal variability in body size of two common carabid beetles

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Central European Journal of Biology

Abstract

Adult body size is one of the most ecologically relevant quantitative traits that underlies many other life-history traits of particular organism. In insects, there is positive intraspecific relationship between body size and female fecundity. In this study small scale temporal and spatial and space variability in structural body size of Poecilus cupreus and Anchomenus dorsalis was investigated. The beetles were collected in four fields near Prague-Suchdol in autumn 2009 and 2010, and in spring 2010, 2011 and 2012. In both species structural body size was significantly affected by sex (females were the larger sex). In A. dorsalis structural body size was also significantly affected by arable field identity, overwintering (post-overwintering individuals collected in spring were larger in comparison to pre-overwintering individuals collected in autumn), sampling year, overwintering by year and arable field by year interactions. Our results suggest that spatiotemporal variation in environmental conditions experienced by A. dorsalis during larval growth resulted in differences in adult structural body size among particular fields and particular sampling years. In addition, mean structural body size in A. dorsalis was affected by overwintering, which was probably caused by size-specific winter mortality. Moreover, effect of overwintering varied among years, probably according to the specific weather conditions during a particular winter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Blanckenhorn W.U., Demont M., Bergmann and Converse Bergmann latitudinal clines arthropods: two ends of a continuum?, Integr. Comp. Biol., 2004, 44, 413–424

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Chown S.L., Gaston K., Body size variation in insects: a macroecological perspective, Biol. Rev., 2010, 85, 139–169

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Yom-Tov Y., Geffen E., Recent spatial and temporalchanges in body size of terrestrial vertebrates: probable causes and pitfalls, Biol. Rev., 2011, 86, 531–541

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Honěk A., Intraspecific variation in body size and fecundity in insects: a general relationship, Oikos, 1993, 66, 483–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Blanckenhorn W.U., Fanti J., Reim C., Sizedependent energy reserves, energy utilization and longevity in the yellow dung fly, Physiol. Entomol., 2007, 32, 372–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Peixoto P.E.C., Benson W.W., Body mass and not wing length predicts territorial success in a tropical satyrine Butterfly, Ethology, 2008, 114, 1069–1077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kovacs J.L., Goodisman M.A., Effects of size, shape, genotype, and mating status on queen overwintering survival in the social wasp Vespula maculifrons, Environ. Entomol., 2012, 41, 1612–1620

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Tsuchiya Y., Takami Y., Okuzaki Y., Sota T., Genetic differences and phenotypic plasticity in body size between high- and low-altitude populations of the ground beetle Carabus tosanus, J. Evol. Biol., 2012, 25, 1835–1842

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Stillwell R.C., Are latitudinal clines in body size adaptive?, Oikos, 2010, 11, 1387–1390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kingsolver J.G., Huey R.B., Size, temperature, and fitness: three rules, Evol. Ecol. Res., 2008, 10, 251–268

    Google Scholar 

  11. Östman Ö., Asynchronous temporal variation among in condition of two carabid species, Ecol. Entomol., 2005, 30, 63–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Knapp M., Knappová J., Measurement of body condition in a common carabid beetle, Poecilus cupreus: a comparison of fresh weight, dry weight, and fat content, J. Insect Sci., 2013, 13, 1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bommarco R., Reproduction and energy reserves of predatory carabid beetle relative to agroecosystem complexity, Ecol. Appl., 1998, 8, 846–853

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Karino K., Seki N., Chiba M., Larval nutritional environment determines adult size in Japanese horned beetles Allomyrina dichotoma, Ecol. Res., 2004, 19, 663–668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Lövei G.L., Sunderland K.D., Ecology and behavior of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Annu. Rev. Entomol., 1996, 41, 231–256

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Chaabane K., Loreau M., Josens G., Growth and egg production in Abax ater (Coleoptera, Carabidae), Pedobiologia, 1997, 41, 385–396

    Google Scholar 

  17. Bilde T., Toft S., Quantifying food limitation of arthropod predators in the field, Oecologia, 1998, 115, 54–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Bommarco R., Stage sensitivity to food limitation for a generalist Arthropod predator, Pterostichus cupreus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Environ. Entomol., 1998, 27, 864–869

    Google Scholar 

  19. Östman Ö., Ekbom B., Bengtsson J., Weibul A., Landscape complexity and farming practice influence the condition of polyphagous carabid beetles, Ecol. Appl., 2001, 11, 480–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Barone M., Frank T., Habitat age increases reproduction and nutritional condition in a generalist arthropod predator, Oecologia, 2003, 135, 78–83

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Andersen A., Densities of overwintering carabids and staphylinids (Col. Carabidae and Staphylinidae) in cereal and grass fields and their boundaries, J. Appl. Entomol., 1997, 121, 77–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Leathers S.R., Walters K.F., Bale J.S., The ecology of insect overwintering, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  23. Hůrka K., Carabidae of the Czech and Slovak Republics, Kabourek, Zlín, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  24. Holland J., The agroecology of carabid beetle, Intercept, Andover, 2002

    Google Scholar 

  25. ter Braak C.J.F., Šmilauer P., CANOCO reference manual and CanoDraw for Windows user’s guide: software for canonical community ordination (version 4.5), Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, 2002

    Google Scholar 

  26. Blanckenhorn W.U, Dixon A.F.G., Fairbairn D.J., Foellmer M.W., Gibert P., van der Linde K., et al., Proximate causes of Rensch’s rule: does sexual size dimorphism in arthropods result from sex differences in development time?, Am. Nat., 2007, 169, 245–257

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Stillwell R.C., Blanckenhorn W.U., Teder T., Davidowitz G., Fox Ch.W., Sex differences in phenotypic plasticity affect variation in sexual size dimorphism in insect: from physiology to evolution, Annu. Rev. Entomol., 2010, 55, 227–245

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. van Dijk T. S., On the relationship between food, reproduction and survival of two carabid beetles: Calathus melanocephalus and Pterostichus versicolor, Ecol. Entomol., 1994, 19, 263–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Petersen M.K., Ekbom B., Ravn H.P., Temperature dependent winter survival of Bembidion lampros and Tachyporus hypnorum, J. Insect Physiol., 1996, 42, 997–1005

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Lagisz M., Wolff K., Sanderson R.A., Laskowski R., Genetic population structure of the ground beetle, Pterostichus oblongopunctatus, inhabiting a fragmented and polluted landscape: Evidence for sex-biased dispersal, J. Insect Sci., 2010, 10, 1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, CZ-165 21, Prague, Czech Republic

    Eliška Baranovská & Michal Knapp

Authors
  1. Eliška Baranovská
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michal Knapp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eliška Baranovská.

About this article

Cite this article

Baranovská, E., Knapp, M. Small-scale spatiotemporal variability in body size of two common carabid beetles. cent.eur.j.biol. 9, 476–494 (2014). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-013-0282-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-013-0282-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation