Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, 2006. / Also available online in PDF format. Abstract. " May 2006." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 114 p. : ill., maps. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Helsinki, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Glasgow, 1996. / Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Environmental Sciences Department, Scottish Agricultural College, 1996. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.

No description available.

The genus Brachinus belongs to the well-known family Carabidae, commonly known as "Ground Beetles". About 15,000 species of Carabidae have been described, of which over 100 genera and 1,200 species occur in the United States. (Dodd Mead 1928).

Today, biodiversity is one of the most studied disciplines because it encompasses all species of plants, animals, and microorganisms that exist and act within an ecosystem. In recent decades, biodiversity has been degrading rapidly due to the simplification of agricultural systems, and the irrational use of pesticides that alter the normal function of ecosystems. Within nature, each insect population is attacked by one or more natural enemies. In this investigation, during a six month period from June to December 2006, the biodiversity of predatory insects from the syrphidae and carabidae families was determined in three ecological niches of three communities with two posed risks (Malaise and Pitfall) for the Carabidae family and one (Malaise) for the Syrphidae family. This investigation presents the differences in composition of morphospecies from three ecological niches in three communities of the yungas of La Paz. In total, we recorded 67 morphospecies from the Carabidae family in a population of 1107 individuals and 38 morphospecies from the Syrphidae family in a population of 1333 individuals. From the data above, it was found that the most diverse community was San Juan de la Miel with 33 morphospecies from the Syrphidae family and 42 morphospecies from the Carabidae family. However, in the case of the Syrphidae family, a smaller quantity of individuals found were related to the other communities whereas in the case of the Carabidae family, a larger quantity of individuals found were related. The similarity indices show only around 8-15% between the different ecological niches and communities which is relatively low and indicates that dominant species exist in these ecological niches, whether in the forest or in cultivated areas. The Carabids are insects similar to beetles, coming in varied sizes and colors, with dark and bright metallic colors being the most prominent. The family contains between 20,000 and 30,000 known species. The Syrphids are similar to dipterous insects, coming in different sizes and colors. Generally, black and yellow, or a combination of both similar to bees, are the most predominant colors. The family contains around 5,400 known species. The Carabids and Syrphids are very important in the biodiversity of ecosystems as well as in ecology because they regulate the pest populations through predation. In addition, when they are adults, they pollinate crops thus reducing the use of petrochemical insecticides. The area studied has a good diversity of species due to the geomorphology of the site. It has small patches of crops and fallow land surrounded by forests that allow the maintenance of its diversity, which is very important for the balance of ecosystems.

Species diversity is influenced by disturbance in the environment. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were used as a model taxon to study the effects of disturbance (i.e., time since disturbance) in different habitats along a successional gradient (agricultural fields, old fields, young forests and old forests). Seventy-three species (5139 individuals) were collected during both years of sampling, of which 9 species are introduced species and compose 64.8% of the total catch. In contrast to the predictions of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, diversity of ground beetles was higher in the agricultural fields and lowest in the old forests. The community composition, as seen with Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling ordination, in the agricultural fields was the most distinct, while the difference between and among other habitats was less clear, possibly influenced by the introduced species present in the area. The introduced species collected had a significant influence in the total catch as they represented more than half of the total individuals collected and in the ground beetle community composition. The distribution of seven introduced species in Quebec was studied and compared to what was reported in 1975. Five species have a similar distribution, while the distribution range of Harpalus rufipes DeGeer has expanded south and Bembidion obtusum Audinet-Serville might have been dispersing northeast since its introduction.

No description available.

Prairie restorations in east-central Indiana are commonly accomplished through purposeful planting of prairie vegetation, with the belief that prairie fauna will populate the planting independently at a later time. The objective of this study was to determine whether one assemblage, the ground dwelling beetles, would in fact re-populate tallgrass prairie restorations in a region where tallgrass prairie remnants are rare and highly fragmented. Two prairie remnants and five prairie plantings were sampled using pitfall traps from 21 May to 4 October 2003. Nine hundred forty-three beetles were collected, identified to family, and separated into morphospecies. Shannon diversity was greatest in the CR 575 E Cemetery prairie remnant, and increased linearly with increasing age in the created prairies, with the exception of the 1-year old prairie. TWINSPAN analysis grouped the two remnant prairies together in the first division, indicating that beetle assemblages of remnant prairies are more similar to each other than to created prairies. / Department of Biology