Abstract Many species of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are important predators of seeds. While the consumption of herb seeds has been intensively studied, little attention has been paid to the consumption of seeds of gymnosperm plants. Here, we determined the consumption of seeds of six coniferous species by four common carabid species and compared carabid preference for conifer and selected common angiosperm weed seed species. In no-choice experiments, the large carabid species Pseudoophonus rufipes preferentially consumed the seeds of Picea abies, Larix decidua and Pinus sylvestris. Pinus sylvestris was also preferred by another large carabid, Pterostichus melanarius. The smaller carabids Harpalus affinis and H. rubripes consumed conifer seeds reluctantly. The intensity of seed consumption by carabids decreased with increasing seed size. In choice experiments, both of the large carabid species preferred the small conifer seeds of P. sylvestris and L. decidua over herb seeds of similar size (Dipsacus fullonum, Galeopsis speciosa, Polygonum lapathifolium). Carabids may prefer conifer seeds because of their soft seed coats, regardless of their chemical protections. Postdispersal predation of seeds by carabids may be an important mortality factor in some conifer species.
Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as predators of conifer seeds
Z. Martinková,S. Koprdová,J. Kulfan,P. Zach,A. Honěk
Published 2019 in Folia Oecologica
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2019
- Venue
Folia Oecologica
- Publication date
2019-05-01
- Fields of study
Biology, Environmental Science
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar
CITATION MAP
EXTRACTION MAP
CLAIMS
CONCEPTS
- conifer seeds
The set of seeds from six conifer species used as prey items in the feeding assays.
- h. affinis
A smaller ground beetle species included in the feeding experiments.
- herb seeds
Selected angiosperm weed seeds used as comparison food items in the choice experiments.
- h. rubripes
A smaller ground beetle species included in the feeding experiments.
- larix decidua seeds
Seeds of Larix decidua offered as one of the conifer food items in the experiments.
- picea abies seeds
Seeds of Picea abies offered as one of the conifer food items in the experiments.
- pinus sylvestris seeds
Seeds of Pinus sylvestris offered as one of the conifer food items in the experiments.
- pseudoophonus rufipes
A large ground beetle species included in the seed-feeding trials.
- pterostichus melanarius
A ground beetle species tested for consumption of conifer seeds.
- seed size
The physical size of the offered seeds, compared across seed species in the trials.
REFERENCES
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