The ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) have great economic importance as natural enemies. Three hundred individuals belonging to 6 genera and 7 species of the subfamily, Coccinellinae and the tribe, Coccinel...The ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) have great economic importance as natural enemies. Three hundred individuals belonging to 6 genera and 7 species of the subfamily, Coccinellinae and the tribe, Coccinellini was collected during March-May, 2011 from 3 study sites of Hazara University, Garden Campus, Mansehra, Pakistan. They were reported maximum (83.3%) from residential area and minimum (8%) from administration area. All collected species have glabrous hair on their slightly elongated or rounded bright colored body. The seven-spotted ladybug, Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus) has maximum (average: 6.7 ± 0.77 cm;n = 15) and Adalia tetraspilota (Hope) has minimum (average: 4.2 ± 0.15 cm;n = 14) body length. Moreover, transverse ladybird, Coccinella transversalis (Fabricius) has maximum (average: 4.8 ± 0.35 cm;n = 10) and Oenopia sauzeti (Mulsant) (n = 9) or adonis ladybird, Hippodamia variegate (Goeze) (n = 10) has minimum (3.1 cm) body width. Except six-spotted zigzag ladybird, Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) (n = 12), all collected species have black head, varied but attractive and dark in color pronotum and elytra, black scutellum except in fifteen-spotted ladybird, Harmonia dimidiate (Fabricius) (n = 10) which was brownish. The ventral side of body of A. tetraspilota was dark brown, however, C. septempunctata, C. transversalis, H. variegate and O. sauzeti were black;moreover, H. dimidiata was brownish-orange;further, M. sexmaculatus was brown. It is concluded that ladybird beetles of HU have great diversity. Their further studies have been needed for education and awareness.展开更多
The European rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes nasicornis (L.), is a large flying beetle in the subfamily Dynastinae of family Scarabaeidae and order Coleoptera. It is well-known to be a Palaearctic species, inhabiting Europ...The European rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes nasicornis (L.), is a large flying beetle in the subfamily Dynastinae of family Scarabaeidae and order Coleoptera. It is well-known to be a Palaearctic species, inhabiting Europe and Asia up to North Africa, with no reported material from the Sub-Saharan African region including Tanzania. The present work reports an occurrence of O. nasicornis in Tanzania specifically in Iringa region in the Southern Highlands zone of the country. The report is accompanied by description of the key morphological characters of the insect validating its diagnosis. The findings facilitate a basis for intervention of the existing records about O. nasicornis, including its biogeographical affiliation and the related undertakings. It is most likely that the species also ranges in other localities in Tanzania and the Sub-Saharan Africa region in general because of the existing proximity and interactions.展开更多
Snags are an important component of beech forests that promote biodiversity.However,their occurrence is completely marginal in managed stands.Creating snags in these stands would greatly enhance biodiversity.We invest...Snags are an important component of beech forests that promote biodiversity.However,their occurrence is completely marginal in managed stands.Creating snags in these stands would greatly enhance biodiversity.We investigated whether snag dimensions were important for saproxylic beetle richness since they were easily transferable parameters to forest management and assessed the presence of other snag microhabitats affecting beetle communities.Data collection was performed using passive flight traps placed on thirty snags in a recent beech reserve.A total of 6706 adults belonging to 231 saproxylic species(53 Red List species,23%)were captured.The results showed that the most important snag parameters were the diameter(thickness)and canopy openness of the surrounding stands.The occurrence of Fomes fomentarius,the volume of snag and decay class 3 were marginally significant in terms of the preference of all saproxylic species.Alpha diversity was reduced by an advanced degree of decay and a surprisingly deep stem cavity.After dividing snag thickness into categories(<35 cm;35–70 cm and>70 cm DBH),we found that categories with snag diameter greater than 35 cm showed little differences in all saproxylic and Red List species richness and diversity indices and exhibited the highest similarity in beetle communities.Regarding recommendations to forest managers in terms of optimization and simplification of practical procedures,we suggest actively creating high stumps to act as snags greater than 35 cm in DBH diameter to promote biodiversity in beech management stands.展开更多
Adults of the aquatic coptoclavid beetles (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Dytiscoidea), described from four Middle Jurassic fossil localities in Inner Mongolia and Liaoning in northeastern China, are attributed to Daohugou...Adults of the aquatic coptoclavid beetles (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Dytiscoidea), described from four Middle Jurassic fossil localities in Inner Mongolia and Liaoning in northeastern China, are attributed to Daohugounectes primitives Wang, Ponomarenko and Zhang, 2009, which was previously proposed after study of larvae. The generic name Timarchopsis Brauer, Redtenbacber and Ganglbauer, 1889 is proposed as a substitute for the preoccupied and junior homonym Necronectes Ponomarenko, 1977, non Milne-Edwards, 1881. Furthermore, the subfamily name Necronectinae Ponomarenko, 1977 is substituted by the available name Timarchopsinae. Daohugounectes is placed into Timarchopsinae because its adults have long, slightly apically widened tibiae and small femoral plates. The adults of this genus differ from those of other Timarchopsinae in the following features: antennae short and widened in the middle part; basal segments of protarsi not cut apically; metaventrite with a triangular plate. The larvae look like somewhat primitive forms in the subfamily Timarchopsinae. In contrast to these primitive larvae, the adults with some advanced characters can be regarded as among the most advanced forms in the subfamily Timarchopsinae, and probably represent a transition between the Timarchopsinae and Charanoscaphinae. Such mosaic evolution within Daohugounectes indicates that the evolutionary process of aquatic beetles is far more complex than previously thought.展开更多
The influence of edge effect on ground-dwelling beetles (Coleoptera) across a forest-clearcut ecotone was studied in Wolong Natural Reserve, southwestern China. During the field research, a total of 30 739 beetles w...The influence of edge effect on ground-dwelling beetles (Coleoptera) across a forest-clearcut ecotone was studied in Wolong Natural Reserve, southwestern China. During the field research, a total of 30 739 beetles were collected with pitfall traps along transects, which extending 100 m from the edge into the forest interior and 100 m into the clearcut. Of the collection, Carabidae comprised 92%, Staphylinidae 3%, Curculionidae 2%, and Tenebrionidae 2%, and these four families can be considered as abundant groups. Family richness, Shannon diversity and equitability display a significant decrease from forest interior, edge to clearcut. Based on the family composition and abundance, ground-dwelling beetles of the forest interior can be separated from those in the clearcut by Principal coordinate analysis ordination, and beetle assemblages in the forest edge were more similar to forest assemblages than to those found in the clearcut by cluster analysis. Seasonal dynamics of family richness showed a monotone peak in the middle season, with a highest value in the forest interior and a lowest value in the clearcut. Family abundance showed two peaks in the middle season, always with more individuals in the clearcut than in the forest interior or in the edge. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the cover of shrub and litter were the two most important factors in determining family richness, Shannon diversity, equitability and abundance. Our results show that the forest edge and clearcut have obviously different composition and diversity of ground-dwelling beetles from forest interior at the family level. However, more edges have been formed due to increasing forest fragmentation (clearcutting or logging), so it is necessary to preserve large and intact forest to protect the diversity of ground-dwelling beetles in Wolong Natural Reserve.We are indebted to Dr Jari Niemel^i and Dr Tibor Magura for constructive suggestions on the experiment and provid- ing important references. We are grateful to Mrs Xiao-Ping Zhou, Jin-Yan Huang, Shi-Qiang Zhou, Yuan-Jun Jiang, Shu-Ming Fan, Guo-You Li and You-Qian Yang (Wolong Natural Reserve, Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province) for assistance in field experiments. This study was supported in part by a State Key Basic Research and Development Plan from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (G2000046800), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30570215), a grant to the senior author (No. D/3684-1) of International Foundation for Sciences展开更多
This book was written by five authors. I had met two of them, the first and third author. The first author, Steven Wayne Lingafelter, is a research entomologist with the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, based a...This book was written by five authors. I had met two of them, the first and third author. The first author, Steven Wayne Lingafelter, is a research entomologist with the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, based at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. He has specialized on longhomed woodboring beetles for almost three decades and currently specializes on the Neotropical fauna.展开更多
Phylogenetic relationships among 146 species of Coleoptera (Families: Curculionidae, Staphylinidae and Carabidae) were estimated based upon mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase 1 gene sequences. The monophyletic of the...Phylogenetic relationships among 146 species of Coleoptera (Families: Curculionidae, Staphylinidae and Carabidae) were estimated based upon mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase 1 gene sequences. The monophyletic of the polyphaga and Adephaga was not supported in our study using COlgene sequences, as family Carabidae (Adephaga) was grouped with family Staphylidae (Polyphaga) with Staphylinidae paraphyletic. The subfamily Scolytinae is the most common ancestor for the subfamilies: Ceutorhynchinae, Curculioninae and Dryophtborinae and hence the oldest. The subfamily Cryptorhynchinae is the oldest among the five tested Curculionidae families. At the family level, the genetic distances and phylogenetic analysis obtained in this study showed that the family Carabidae was more related to family Staphylinidae than to family Curculionidae with the topology Staphylinida-Carabidae-Curculionidae. The topology was the same when Micromus igorotus from order Neuroptera was used as an outgroup taxon as it was Staphylinida, Carabidae, Curculionidae/Neuroptera. An alternative topology was obtained when Acytolepis puspa from order Lepidoptera was used as an outgroup that was Carabidae, Staphylinida, Curculionidae-Neuroptera/Lepidoptera. where the species of order Neuroptera placed within family Curculionida. According to the estimated genetic distances and to the standard mitochondrial DNA clock estimated at 2.3% MYA, family Curculionidae separated from family Staphylinidae and Carabidae approximately 112 and 115 MYA, respectively.展开更多
Manglietia ventii is a highly endangered plant species endemic to Yunnan province in China, where there are only five known small populations. Despite abundant flowering there is very low fruit and seed set,and very f...Manglietia ventii is a highly endangered plant species endemic to Yunnan province in China, where there are only five known small populations. Despite abundant flowering there is very low fruit and seed set,and very few seedlings in natural populations, indicating problems with reproduction. The causes of low fecundity in M. ventii are not known, largely because of insufficient knowledge of the species pollination ecology and breeding system. We conducted observations and pollination experiments, and analyzed floral scents to understand the pollinatoreplant interactions and the role of floral scent in this relationship, as well as the species breeding system. Like the majority of Magnoliaceae, M. ventii has protogynous and nocturnal flowers that emit a strong fragrance over two consecutive evenings. There is a closing period(the pre-staminate stage) during the process of anthesis of a flower, and we characterize the key flowering process as an "open-close-reopen" flowering rhythm with five distinct floral stages observed throughout the floral period of this species: pre-pistillate, pistillate, pre-staminate, staminate,and post-staminate. Flowers are in the pistillate stage during the first night of anthesis and enter the staminate stage the next night. During anthesis, floral scent emission occurs in the pistillate and staminate stages. The effective pollinators were weevils(Sitophilus sp.) and beetles(Anomala sp.), while the role of Rove beetles(Aleochara sp.) and thrips(Thrips sp.) in pollination of M. ventii appears to be minor or absent. The major chemical compounds of the floral scents were Limonene, b-Pinene, a-Pinene, 1,8-Cineole, Methyl-2-methylbutyrate, p-Cymene, Methyl-3-methyl-2-butenoate and 2-Methoxy-2-methyl-3-buten, and the relative proportions of these compounds varied between the pistillate and staminate stages. Production of these chemicals coincided with flower visitation by weevils and beetles.The results of pollination experiments suggest that M. ventii is pollinator-dependent, and low seed set in natural populations is a result of insufficient pollen deposition. Thus, conservation of the species should focus on improving pollination service through the introduction of genetically variable individuals and increase in density of reproducing trees.展开更多
Restoring deadwood habitat is vital in order to recreate fully functioning forest ecosystems. Letting this process occur naturally can take in excess of one hundred years, thus management practises typically try to ac...Restoring deadwood habitat is vital in order to recreate fully functioning forest ecosystems. Letting this process occur naturally can take in excess of one hundred years, thus management practises typically try to accelerate this via the artificial addition of deadwood. Since the species which rely on deadwood often have poor dispersal abilities, restoring deadwood habitat rarely results in the full restoration of the saproxylic fauna. Furthermore, standard deadwood monitoring protocol only records the amount and type of substrate available and is not capable of determining whether saproxylic insects have been restored. Full species inventories are time-consuming, costly and require great expertise. We present a rapid biodiversity assessment tool which we believe is the first protocol for measuring saproxylic activity which is accessible to non-specialists. Utilising the exit bore holes which saproxylics create on deadwood can provide an indication of the density, richness and diversity of species present;we call this the Saproxylic Activity Index. We show that this index can detect differences in the activity of insects between substrates. As saproxylic insects provide important ecosystem functions, such as aiding in the decay of deadwood and recycling nutrients, a measure of their activity levels may indicate the rate of restoration of these ecosystem processes. We believe that further exploration of this method provides an exciting opportunity for the functional restoration of saproxylic fauna to become incorporated into mainstream forest management.展开更多
文摘The ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) have great economic importance as natural enemies. Three hundred individuals belonging to 6 genera and 7 species of the subfamily, Coccinellinae and the tribe, Coccinellini was collected during March-May, 2011 from 3 study sites of Hazara University, Garden Campus, Mansehra, Pakistan. They were reported maximum (83.3%) from residential area and minimum (8%) from administration area. All collected species have glabrous hair on their slightly elongated or rounded bright colored body. The seven-spotted ladybug, Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus) has maximum (average: 6.7 ± 0.77 cm;n = 15) and Adalia tetraspilota (Hope) has minimum (average: 4.2 ± 0.15 cm;n = 14) body length. Moreover, transverse ladybird, Coccinella transversalis (Fabricius) has maximum (average: 4.8 ± 0.35 cm;n = 10) and Oenopia sauzeti (Mulsant) (n = 9) or adonis ladybird, Hippodamia variegate (Goeze) (n = 10) has minimum (3.1 cm) body width. Except six-spotted zigzag ladybird, Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) (n = 12), all collected species have black head, varied but attractive and dark in color pronotum and elytra, black scutellum except in fifteen-spotted ladybird, Harmonia dimidiate (Fabricius) (n = 10) which was brownish. The ventral side of body of A. tetraspilota was dark brown, however, C. septempunctata, C. transversalis, H. variegate and O. sauzeti were black;moreover, H. dimidiata was brownish-orange;further, M. sexmaculatus was brown. It is concluded that ladybird beetles of HU have great diversity. Their further studies have been needed for education and awareness.
文摘The European rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes nasicornis (L.), is a large flying beetle in the subfamily Dynastinae of family Scarabaeidae and order Coleoptera. It is well-known to be a Palaearctic species, inhabiting Europe and Asia up to North Africa, with no reported material from the Sub-Saharan African region including Tanzania. The present work reports an occurrence of O. nasicornis in Tanzania specifically in Iringa region in the Southern Highlands zone of the country. The report is accompanied by description of the key morphological characters of the insect validating its diagnosis. The findings facilitate a basis for intervention of the existing records about O. nasicornis, including its biogeographical affiliation and the related undertakings. It is most likely that the species also ranges in other localities in Tanzania and the Sub-Saharan Africa region in general because of the existing proximity and interactions.
基金This research was supported by grant No.QK23020008,funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic.
文摘Snags are an important component of beech forests that promote biodiversity.However,their occurrence is completely marginal in managed stands.Creating snags in these stands would greatly enhance biodiversity.We investigated whether snag dimensions were important for saproxylic beetle richness since they were easily transferable parameters to forest management and assessed the presence of other snag microhabitats affecting beetle communities.Data collection was performed using passive flight traps placed on thirty snags in a recent beech reserve.A total of 6706 adults belonging to 231 saproxylic species(53 Red List species,23%)were captured.The results showed that the most important snag parameters were the diameter(thickness)and canopy openness of the surrounding stands.The occurrence of Fomes fomentarius,the volume of snag and decay class 3 were marginally significant in terms of the preference of all saproxylic species.Alpha diversity was reduced by an advanced degree of decay and a surprisingly deep stem cavity.After dividing snag thickness into categories(<35 cm;35–70 cm and>70 cm DBH),we found that categories with snag diameter greater than 35 cm showed little differences in all saproxylic and Red List species richness and diversity indices and exhibited the highest similarity in beetle communities.Regarding recommendations to forest managers in terms of optimization and simplification of practical procedures,we suggest actively creating high stumps to act as snags greater than 35 cm in DBH diameter to promote biodiversity in beech management stands.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.40872015, J0630967)the Major Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2006CB806400)Grant RFFI 07-04-92105-GFEN_a, Program of the Russian Academy of Sciences"Evolution of Biosphere"
文摘Adults of the aquatic coptoclavid beetles (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Dytiscoidea), described from four Middle Jurassic fossil localities in Inner Mongolia and Liaoning in northeastern China, are attributed to Daohugounectes primitives Wang, Ponomarenko and Zhang, 2009, which was previously proposed after study of larvae. The generic name Timarchopsis Brauer, Redtenbacber and Ganglbauer, 1889 is proposed as a substitute for the preoccupied and junior homonym Necronectes Ponomarenko, 1977, non Milne-Edwards, 1881. Furthermore, the subfamily name Necronectinae Ponomarenko, 1977 is substituted by the available name Timarchopsinae. Daohugounectes is placed into Timarchopsinae because its adults have long, slightly apically widened tibiae and small femoral plates. The adults of this genus differ from those of other Timarchopsinae in the following features: antennae short and widened in the middle part; basal segments of protarsi not cut apically; metaventrite with a triangular plate. The larvae look like somewhat primitive forms in the subfamily Timarchopsinae. In contrast to these primitive larvae, the adults with some advanced characters can be regarded as among the most advanced forms in the subfamily Timarchopsinae, and probably represent a transition between the Timarchopsinae and Charanoscaphinae. Such mosaic evolution within Daohugounectes indicates that the evolutionary process of aquatic beetles is far more complex than previously thought.
基金We are indebted to Dr Jari Niemela and Dr Tibor Magura for constructive suggestions on the experiment and providing important references. We are grateful to Mrs Xiao-Ping Zhou, Jin-Yan Huang, Shi-Qiang Zhou, Yuan-Jun Jiang, Shu-Ming Fan, Guo-You Li and You-Qian Yang (Wolong Natural Reserve, Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province) for assistance in field experiments. This study was supported in part by a State Key Basic Research and Development Plan from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (G2000046800), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30570215), a grant to the senior author (No. D/3684-1) of International Foundation for Sciences (IFS, Stockholm, Sweden), and National Science Fund for Fostering Talents in Basic Research (NSFC-J0030092).
文摘The influence of edge effect on ground-dwelling beetles (Coleoptera) across a forest-clearcut ecotone was studied in Wolong Natural Reserve, southwestern China. During the field research, a total of 30 739 beetles were collected with pitfall traps along transects, which extending 100 m from the edge into the forest interior and 100 m into the clearcut. Of the collection, Carabidae comprised 92%, Staphylinidae 3%, Curculionidae 2%, and Tenebrionidae 2%, and these four families can be considered as abundant groups. Family richness, Shannon diversity and equitability display a significant decrease from forest interior, edge to clearcut. Based on the family composition and abundance, ground-dwelling beetles of the forest interior can be separated from those in the clearcut by Principal coordinate analysis ordination, and beetle assemblages in the forest edge were more similar to forest assemblages than to those found in the clearcut by cluster analysis. Seasonal dynamics of family richness showed a monotone peak in the middle season, with a highest value in the forest interior and a lowest value in the clearcut. Family abundance showed two peaks in the middle season, always with more individuals in the clearcut than in the forest interior or in the edge. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the cover of shrub and litter were the two most important factors in determining family richness, Shannon diversity, equitability and abundance. Our results show that the forest edge and clearcut have obviously different composition and diversity of ground-dwelling beetles from forest interior at the family level. However, more edges have been formed due to increasing forest fragmentation (clearcutting or logging), so it is necessary to preserve large and intact forest to protect the diversity of ground-dwelling beetles in Wolong Natural Reserve.We are indebted to Dr Jari Niemel^i and Dr Tibor Magura for constructive suggestions on the experiment and provid- ing important references. We are grateful to Mrs Xiao-Ping Zhou, Jin-Yan Huang, Shi-Qiang Zhou, Yuan-Jun Jiang, Shu-Ming Fan, Guo-You Li and You-Qian Yang (Wolong Natural Reserve, Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province) for assistance in field experiments. This study was supported in part by a State Key Basic Research and Development Plan from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (G2000046800), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30570215), a grant to the senior author (No. D/3684-1) of International Foundation for Sciences
文摘This book was written by five authors. I had met two of them, the first and third author. The first author, Steven Wayne Lingafelter, is a research entomologist with the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA, based at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. He has specialized on longhomed woodboring beetles for almost three decades and currently specializes on the Neotropical fauna.
文摘Phylogenetic relationships among 146 species of Coleoptera (Families: Curculionidae, Staphylinidae and Carabidae) were estimated based upon mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase 1 gene sequences. The monophyletic of the polyphaga and Adephaga was not supported in our study using COlgene sequences, as family Carabidae (Adephaga) was grouped with family Staphylidae (Polyphaga) with Staphylinidae paraphyletic. The subfamily Scolytinae is the most common ancestor for the subfamilies: Ceutorhynchinae, Curculioninae and Dryophtborinae and hence the oldest. The subfamily Cryptorhynchinae is the oldest among the five tested Curculionidae families. At the family level, the genetic distances and phylogenetic analysis obtained in this study showed that the family Carabidae was more related to family Staphylinidae than to family Curculionidae with the topology Staphylinida-Carabidae-Curculionidae. The topology was the same when Micromus igorotus from order Neuroptera was used as an outgroup taxon as it was Staphylinida, Carabidae, Curculionidae/Neuroptera. An alternative topology was obtained when Acytolepis puspa from order Lepidoptera was used as an outgroup that was Carabidae, Staphylinida, Curculionidae-Neuroptera/Lepidoptera. where the species of order Neuroptera placed within family Curculionida. According to the estimated genetic distances and to the standard mitochondrial DNA clock estimated at 2.3% MYA, family Curculionidae separated from family Staphylinidae and Carabidae approximately 112 and 115 MYA, respectively.
基金Funding(No.U1302262)to W.B.Sun from the NSFC-Yunnan joint fund on key projectsSurvey and Germplasm Conservation of PSESP in Southwest China(2017e2020,2017FY100100)+1 种基金partly supported by the Young Academic and Technical Leader Raising Foundation of Yunnan Province(2015HB091)the Science and Technology Research Program of Kunming Institute of Botany,the Chinese Academy of Science(KIB2016005)to G.Chen
文摘Manglietia ventii is a highly endangered plant species endemic to Yunnan province in China, where there are only five known small populations. Despite abundant flowering there is very low fruit and seed set,and very few seedlings in natural populations, indicating problems with reproduction. The causes of low fecundity in M. ventii are not known, largely because of insufficient knowledge of the species pollination ecology and breeding system. We conducted observations and pollination experiments, and analyzed floral scents to understand the pollinatoreplant interactions and the role of floral scent in this relationship, as well as the species breeding system. Like the majority of Magnoliaceae, M. ventii has protogynous and nocturnal flowers that emit a strong fragrance over two consecutive evenings. There is a closing period(the pre-staminate stage) during the process of anthesis of a flower, and we characterize the key flowering process as an "open-close-reopen" flowering rhythm with five distinct floral stages observed throughout the floral period of this species: pre-pistillate, pistillate, pre-staminate, staminate,and post-staminate. Flowers are in the pistillate stage during the first night of anthesis and enter the staminate stage the next night. During anthesis, floral scent emission occurs in the pistillate and staminate stages. The effective pollinators were weevils(Sitophilus sp.) and beetles(Anomala sp.), while the role of Rove beetles(Aleochara sp.) and thrips(Thrips sp.) in pollination of M. ventii appears to be minor or absent. The major chemical compounds of the floral scents were Limonene, b-Pinene, a-Pinene, 1,8-Cineole, Methyl-2-methylbutyrate, p-Cymene, Methyl-3-methyl-2-butenoate and 2-Methoxy-2-methyl-3-buten, and the relative proportions of these compounds varied between the pistillate and staminate stages. Production of these chemicals coincided with flower visitation by weevils and beetles.The results of pollination experiments suggest that M. ventii is pollinator-dependent, and low seed set in natural populations is a result of insufficient pollen deposition. Thus, conservation of the species should focus on improving pollination service through the introduction of genetically variable individuals and increase in density of reproducing trees.
文摘Restoring deadwood habitat is vital in order to recreate fully functioning forest ecosystems. Letting this process occur naturally can take in excess of one hundred years, thus management practises typically try to accelerate this via the artificial addition of deadwood. Since the species which rely on deadwood often have poor dispersal abilities, restoring deadwood habitat rarely results in the full restoration of the saproxylic fauna. Furthermore, standard deadwood monitoring protocol only records the amount and type of substrate available and is not capable of determining whether saproxylic insects have been restored. Full species inventories are time-consuming, costly and require great expertise. We present a rapid biodiversity assessment tool which we believe is the first protocol for measuring saproxylic activity which is accessible to non-specialists. Utilising the exit bore holes which saproxylics create on deadwood can provide an indication of the density, richness and diversity of species present;we call this the Saproxylic Activity Index. We show that this index can detect differences in the activity of insects between substrates. As saproxylic insects provide important ecosystem functions, such as aiding in the decay of deadwood and recycling nutrients, a measure of their activity levels may indicate the rate of restoration of these ecosystem processes. We believe that further exploration of this method provides an exciting opportunity for the functional restoration of saproxylic fauna to become incorporated into mainstream forest management.