Au cours de ce travail, nous nous sommes intéressés à l’influence des conditions locales et paysagères sur la structuration des communautés d’arthropodes en agroécosystèmes, ceci grâce à un dispositif de suivi situé en Ille-et-Vilaine (Bretagne, France), et comprenant des parcelles conduites en agriculture biologique et conventionnelle spatialement appariées. Notre première étude a mis en évidence que l’hétérogénéité paysagère, parfois en interaction avec le système local de culture, conditionne la diversité et l’abondance des groupes trophiques, à la fois pour les arthropodes au sol comme pour ceux de la végétation. Dans un second temps, nous avons pu montrer l’importance du contexte paysager dans la structuration des assemblages d’arthropodes prédateurs, et émis l’hypothèse que les mécanismes déterminant la distribution des espèces diffèrent fortement entre araignées et carabiques. Enfin, il est apparu la nécessité de distinguer les individus résidents (émergeants) des individus mobiles (circulants) lorsque l’on s’intéresse au rôle différentiel des facteurs locaux vs. paysagers dans la structuration des communautés de carabiques. D’une façon générale, nos résultats montrent donc une influence importante et positive de l’agriculture biologique sur les populations, assemblages d’espèces et communautés d’arthropodes, que ce soit à des échelles locales et paysagères comme en interaction avec d’autres variables paysagères. Nous avons également montré la pertinence de l’utilisation de différents niveaux d’organisation et variables réponses associées pour évaluer finement la structure et le fonctionnement de communautés d’Arthropodes en agroécosystèmes. / In this study, we got interested in quantifying how local and landscape metrics structure arthropod communities in agro-ecosystems. For that, we used a long-term monitoring design located in ‘Ille-Et-Vilaine’ (Brittany, France), composed by spatially pair-matched fields under organic vs. conventional farming systems. First, we found that landscape heterogeneity, also interacting with farming systems, drives the diversity and abundance of trophic groups for both ground- and vegetation-dwelling arthropods. In a second chapter, we showed the importance of landscape context in shaping assemblages of predatory arthropods, and suggested that mechanisms behind the distribution of individual species strongly differ between spiders and carabids. Lastly, we highlighted the importance of distinguishing between resident (emergent) and mobile (circulating) individuals when assessing the differential role of local vs. landscape factors in community assembly. Overall, our results show a strong and positive effect of organic farming on arthropod populations, assemblages and communities, both at local and landscape scales, as well as in interaction with other landscape metrics. We also highlighted the relevance of using different levels of biological organization, and related response variables, when assessing the structure and functioning of arthropod communities in agroecosystems

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Les soins parentaux sont observés dans de nombreux taxons et sont exprimés de façon plus ou moins complexe. L’étude de ces comportements chez les arthropodes, en particulier chez les araignées, nous permet de mieux comprendre comment les soins à la progéniture se sont mis en place au cours de l’évolution. Au cours de cette thèse nous avons étudié le comportement d’une espèce errante Pardosa saltans (Lycosidae) vis-à-vis de son cocon, puis de ses jeunes. Nous avons décrit les comportements manifestés par la mère pendant toute la période de soin au cocon (période de développement embryonnaire et postembryonnaire des jeunes). Notre étude a permis de mettre en évidence qu’il existe une ontogenèse comportementale dans le cadre des soins parentaux chez cette espèce. Elle a permis également d’évaluer les dépenses énergétiques subies par la mère pendant cette période. Et enfin nous avons identifié, pour la première fois, les composés chimiques présents à la surface du cocon. Nos expériences montrent que ces composés chimiques associés aux vibrations émises par les juvéniles à l’intérieur du cocon sont utilisés par la mère détecter l’état de développement de sa progéniture. / Parental care is widespread among animal kingdom and is more or less expressed. Thus, the study of these behaviours among primitive species, can let us understand how parental behaviours were implemented during evolution. In this thesis we studied maternal behaviour in a wandering spider Pardosa saltans (Lycosidae) with her egg-sac and her young which she actively transports. We have described maternal behaviour towards the egg-sac and highlighted the presence of ontogeny of maternal behavior in this species. Furthermore, we were able to evaluate some of the physiological and ecological investment associated with maternal care of the egg-sac and young. Finally, we have, for the first time, identify chemical compounds on the surface of the silk egg-sac, and placed in evidence the presence of a chemical and vibrational communication between the mother and her cocoon.

Urbanisation is a global issue, and rapidly gaining attention from researchers as a major cause of biodiversity loss. Gardens represent a considerable proportion of the urban landscape in the UK and have significant potential to promote urban biodiversity and reduce species loss providing they can be designed and managed appropriately. This research focused on gardens in St Andrews, Scotland, and investigated the influence of environmental variables such as age and area on arachnid and beetle biodiversity with the aim of identifying key predictors of arthropod species richness in urban environments. The key result of this research was that the age and area of individual gardens was not a strong predictor of ground active arthropod biodiversity. This suggests that more recently developed or smaller gardens can contribute to the overall urban region species richness pool as well as larger or more ancient gardens. The most important predictor of ground active arachnid and beetle species richness was the proportion of porous (or 'green') habitat surrounding each garden, and suggested that urban density and habitat connectivity at the regional scale are of key importance. In general, variables measured within gardens (e.g. the provision of microhabitats such as leaf litter, non-managed vegetation, etc.) did not exert any measurable effect on the biodiversity of arachnids or beetles. The findings of this research suggest that the regional availability of heterogeneous greenspace habitat is of high importance for promoting and maintaining urban arthropod biodiversity.

No description available.

Los árboles añosos constituyen elementos clave para la diversidad de los bosques en ecosistemas mediterráneos. El cambio progresivo en los usos del bosque por la actividad humana, incluido el abandono de las actividades de manejo tradicional, amenaza la pervivencia de los grandes árboles añosos. La importancia que tiene la existencia de árboles maduros para la entomofauna saproxílica reside principalmente en sus oquedades, ya que éstas juegan un papel importante como estructuras clave en la conservación de la diversidad, proporcionando un ambiente estable, complejo estructuralmente y con recursos duraderos. Diversos estudios han permitido conocer la existencia de comunidades complejas de entomofauna saproxílica dentro de las oquedades con un gran número de especies amenazadas. Los insectos son los que se encuentran con una mayor representación mientras que de los arácnidos se tiene un menor conocimiento al haber recibido históricamente una menor atención. Los grupos de estudio seleccionados para el desarrollo de esta Tesis han sido los Órdenes Araneae y Pseudoscorpiones (Arthropoda: Arachnida), siendo el principal objetivo conocer la diversidad y estructura de los ensambles presentes en las oquedades y otros microhábitats asociados a árboles de Quercus pyrenaica en bosques Mediterráneos. Ambos son depredadores de artrópodos, siendo los insectos su fuente principal de alimento. Además, las oquedades albergan, en el caso de las arañas, una elevada diversidad trófica atribuida a las diversas estrategias de caza que presentan. También, algunas especies presentan una especialización trófica ó estenofagia, relacionado con el rango limitado de presas de las que se alimentan. Resaltar su utilidad, al encontrarse en la cumbre de la cadena trófica, como bioindicadores del estado de conservación del ecosistema. El trabajo de campo se llevó a cabo en bosques maduros de Quercus pyrenaica dentro de Espacios Naturales ubicados al sur de la provincia de Salamanca. El muestreo se realizó durante los doce meses del año utilizando dos tipos de trampas, las trampas de emergencia de oquedad (ET) para arañas y pseudoescorpiones y las trampas de ventana (WT) solo utilizadas para pseudoescorpiones. Con este estudio se incrementa el conocimiento taxonómico de los seudoescorpiones con tres nuevas especies para la ciencia, una sinonimia y dos nuevas redescripciones y se amplía la distribución geográfica conocida de 10 especies. Asimismo, se aportan novedades taxonómicas para las arañas con una especie nueva para la ciencia, una primera descripción de la hembra de una especie de linífido, se amplía la distribución geográfica conocida de 28 especies y se contribuye con nuevos datos sobre la fenología de 32 especies. Finalmente, se concluye que las oquedades albergan una importante comunidad de arañas, algunas de ellas obligadas, cuya distribución espacio-temporal se encuentra influenciada por los factores hídricos.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-22T22:12:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Erika Portela de Lima Silva.pdf: 770664 bytes, checksum: b6b83b117ec0ee88c1214d68278a1c6f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-30 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The study of the interaction between pairs of species is the basis for understanding the coexistence in biological communities. The ability to select habitats may be important in the coexistence of competing species and in the interactions between predators and prey. This selection is often associated with the capacity of perception of chemical cues of prey and structural components of the habitat. The perception and response to chemical cues have been demonstrated for wandering spiders, but only for the family Lycosidae in temperate regions. The soil is among the structural factors that affect habitat selections in spiders, but this has been demonstrated only for burrowing spiders. In tropical forests, high biological diversity and the rapid degradation may hinder the recognition of cues from multiple species of predators and prey. Habitat selection based on different soil types may be important in this ecosystem where drastic soil alternations are common between nearby sites, especially if the soil type is related to some important resource. We assessed the response of two species of wandering spiders in a forest in central Amazonia, Ctenus amphora Melo-Leitão 1930 and Ctenus crulsi Melo-Leitão 1930 (Araneae, Ctenidae) (1) to chemical cues from potential prey, crickets Gryllus assimilis (Fabricius, 1775) (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) and termites Syntermes Holmgren, 1910 (Isoptera, Termitidae), (2) to chemical cues from predators, spiders Phoneutria Perty, 1833 (Araneae, Ctenidae) and army ants Labidus praedator (Fr. Smith, 1858 ) (Formicidae, Ecitonini), (3) and two soil types, sandy and clay soils on which the distribution and abundance of these species diverge. For the first two evaluations we compared the proportion of time on filter paper with and without the chemical cues, to the third evaluation we compared the proportion of time on the two types of soil. These observations were performed over 09 hours with 54 observations per spider at intervals of 10 minutes. A total of 65 spiders were observed in the experiment with prey (termites cues, crickets cues and control), 36 in the experiment with predators Phoneutria (Phoneutria cues and control), 15 in the experiment with army ants (army ants cues and control) and 67 spiders in the soil experiment. The two species spent significantly longer time on the filter paper with chemical cues from the 9 prey, which indicates that the perception of cues can be important for the foraging of the two species. Although C. crulsi consumes far more Syntermes termites in natural conditions, the two species did not differ in the proportion of time on the cues from termites in comparison to the time on cues from crickets, sugesting that they do not differ in the ability to detect the chemical from these prey. No antipredator response was detected for the two species of Ctenus. Therefore, there is no evidence that the coexistence of these species is facilitated by differences in the perception of chemical cues. Only C. crulsi presented preference to a type of soil, the clay soil, which coincides with the type of soil where it is found in abundance in nature. This response of C. crulsi can influence the distribution of C. amphora, due to interactions of these species. Therefore, the perception of soil type is probably an important proximal factor in determining the distribution patterns and dynamics of coexistence of these species. / O estudo da interação entre pares de espécies é uma das bases para a compreensão da coexistência em comunidades biológicas. A capacidade de selecionar habitats pode ser importante tanto na coexistência de espécies que competem entre si como nas interações entre predadores e presas. Esta seleção está muitas vezes associada à capacidade de percepção de pistas químicas de presas e de componentes estruturais do habitat. A percepção e resposta a pistas químicas já foram demonstradas para aranhas errantes, mas somente para a família Lycosidae em regiões temperadas. O solo está entre os fatores estruturais que influem na seleção de habitat em aranhas, mas isto apenas foi demonstrado para aranhas construtoras de toca. Em florestas tropicais, a alta diversidade biológica e a rápida degradação podem dificultar o reconhecimento de pistas das múltiplas espécies de predadores e de presas. A seleção de habitat com base nos diferentes tipos de solo pode ser importante neste ecossistema em que são comuns alternâncias drásticas de solos entre locais próximos, especialmente se o tipo de solo estiver relacionado com algum recurso importante. Avaliamos a resposta de duas espécies de aranhas errantes de uma floresta na Amazônia central, Ctenus amphora Melo-Leitão 1930 e Ctenus crulsi Melo-Leitão 1930 (Araneae, Ctenidae) (1) às pistas químicas de potenciais presas, grilos Gryllus assimilis (Fabricius, 1775) (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) e cupins Syntermes Holmgren, 1910 (Isoptera, Termitidae); (2) às pistas químicas de predadores, aranhas Phoneutria Perty, 1833 (Araneae, Ctenidae) e formigas de correição Labidus praedator (Fr. Smith, 1858) (Formicidae, Ecitonini); (3) e dois tipos de solo, solo arenoso e argiloso, sobre os quais a distribuição e abundância destas espécies diverge. Para as duas primeiras avaliações, comparamos a proporção de tempo sobre recortes de papel filtro com e sem as pistas químicas, para a terceira avaliação comparamos a proporção de tempo sobre os dois tipos de solo. Estas observações foram realizadas ao longo de 09 horas com 54 observações por aranha realizadas em intervalos de 10 minutos. Foram observadas 65 aranhas no experimento com as presas (pistas de cupins, grilos e controle), 36 aranhas no experimento com Phoneutria (pistas de Phoneutria e controle), 15 no experimento com formigas de correição (pistas de 7 formiga e controle), e 67 aranhas no experimento de solos. As duas espécies permaneceram significativamente mais tempo sobre as pistas de presas, indicando que a percepção de pistas pode ser importante para o forrageio das duas espécies. Apesar de C. crulsi consumir muito mais cupins Syntermes em condições naturais, as duas espécies não diferiram na proporção do tempo sobre as pistas de cupins em comparação ao tempo sobre pistas de grilos, indicando que não diferem na capacidade de detectar quimicamente estas presas. Não foi detectada resposta antipredatória pelas duas espécies de Ctenus. Portanto, não encontramos evidências que a coexistência destas duas espécies seja facilitada por diferenças na percepção de pistas químicas. Apenas para C. crulsi foi encontrada resposta de preferência a um dos tipos de solo, o argiloso, que coincide com o tipo de solo onde ela é encontrada em maior abundância na natureza. A resposta de C. crulsi pode influir na distribuição de C. amphora, em função das interações destas duas espécies. Portanto, a percepção do tipo de solo provavelmente é um fator proximal importante a determinar os padrões de distribuição e a dinâmica da coexistência destas espécies.

No description available.