This research reports the data on nine ground beetle families and their trophic groups surveyed, in the municipality of Laranjeiras (10º48'23"S and 37º10'12"O), Sergipe. Specifically where investigated the family beetle richness and abundance in managed and restoring environments; characterize their trophic groups among the phytofisionomies; and infer about the environmental conditions in the sites. This work deals with data on nine Coleoptera families collected from January to September 2008 using pitfall traps, in four agroecosystems named Atlantic forest fragment (FMT), 1-year reforesting system (ZRI) and 2-year reforesting system (ZR II) and grazing (PST). Dominance, richness, abundance, diversity and equitability indices were analyzed at family level. According to richness, the agroecosystems can be ranked as PST and ZR II (both with seven families), ZR I (with six families) and FMT (with five families). However, the sites strongly superpose in relation to family composition. When it comes to morph-species number the sequence of areas in decreasing order was: FMT, ZR I, ZR II and PST. The greatest abundance was found at FMT representing nearly twice the number of the others and, among these, the grazing area was the less abundant. The pattern of richness and abundance found are influenced by community structure, which was clearly structured by Scarabaeidae dominance in FMT. For this survey, pitfall location at the forest fragment edge may have influenced on the richness sampled. The richest and most abundant family was Scarabaeidae with 51 morph-species and 431 individuals, and was dominant at all sites. The diversity indices for the agroecosystems studied, allow us grouping them as follow: ZRII, PST, ZR I e FMT. Consequently, equitability presented inversed tendency, so can be grouped in the following order ZR II, ZR I, PST and FMT. Despite of that, family abundance was equitativelly distributed for all sites, leading to higher diversity, except for FMT. Family level analyses allow making important inferences about ground beetles, and are useful to evaluate environmental quality. The data suggest that reforesting areas are more similar to grazing area than to forest fragment, considering the pattern of abundance and richness of the analyzed Coleoptera families. So, ground beetle can indicate environmental quality, especially Scarabaeidae since abundance pattern was sensible to environmental conditions. / Nesta pesquisa são apresentadas informações sobre Coleoptera cursores de solo e seus grupos tróficos visando avaliar sua importância como indicadores de recuperação florestal, no município de Laranjeiras (10º48'23"S, 37º10'12"O), Sergipe. As nove famílias de Coleoptera apresentadas nesta dissertação foram amostradas entre os meses de Janeiro e Setembro de 2008, utilizando armadilha-de-queda, em quatro ambientes manejados e em recuperação: fragmento de Mata Atlântica (FMT), áreas em reflorestamento (ZR I 1 ano) e (ZR II 2 anos) e área de pastagem (PST). A fauna amostrada foi analisada, em nível de família, quanto a abundância, dominância, riqueza, índices de diversidade e equitabilidade. Quanto a riqueza, as áreas amostradas podem ser ordenadas em: PST e ZR II (ambas com 7 famílias), ZR I (com 6 famílias) e FMT (com 5 famílias). Há, contudo, forte sobreposição entre as áreas quanto à composição das famílias. Quando considerado o número de exemplares, a seqüência das áreas, em ordem decrescente foi: FMT, ZR I, ZR II, PST. No FMT foi detectada a maior abundância numérica, representando aproximadamente, o dobro das demais áreas e destas, o pasto foi a menos abundante. O padrão de riqueza e abundância encontrado reflete a estrutura da comunidade, a qual na FMT foi claramente estruturada por dominância de Scarabaeidae. Neste estudo, o fato das armadilhas terem sido dispostas em zona de borda, pode ter influenciado na riqueza amostrada. A família mais representativa foi Scarabaeidae para a qual foram identificados 51 morfotipos, sendo esta também a mais abundante (431 individuo). O índice de diversidade foi maior na ZRII, seguida da PST, ZR I e FMT. Quanto a equitabilidade, esta foi maior na ZR II, seguida da ZR I, PST e FMT. Embora Scarabaeidae seja dominante em todas as áreas, houve distribuição mais equitativa das abundâncias das famílias nas demais áreas, o que ocasionou maior diversidade. Os dados de abundância e riqueza de famílias de Coleoptera encontrado nas áreas de recuperação indicam que estes ainda são mais comparáveis ao pasto do que à mata. Assim, a ordem pode ser utilizada como indicadora de qualidade ambiental, especialmente Scarabaeidae cujo padrão de abundância mostrou-se sensível às condições ambientais.

Recentemente, tornou-se acessível a análise filogenética com base em caracteres contínuos. Isso amplia a quantidade de caracteres que podem ser utilizados em análises filogenéticas baseadas em morfologia, mas não há ainda um consenso sobre como esse tipo de caráter deve ser codificado e analisado. Este trabalho analisa o uso de caracteres contínuos em filogenias com dois diferentes enfoques: simulações em computador e aplicação em uma análise com dados reais. As simulações realizadas indicam que de fato pode-se recuperar filogenias com base em caracteres contínuos, com alguns cuidados. O mais importante deles é o uso de pesagem implícita. Mesmo com esse cuidado, os ramos pouco suportados podem ser incorretos, provavelmente devido a um efeito de atração de ramos longos. Na análise do gênero Anchylorhynchus, utilizei caracteres discretos e contínuos, em separado e combinados. As árvores obtidas com as matrizes separadas são bastante diferentes, e a árvore da matriz combinada é semelhante àquela obtida somente com os caracteres discretos. O suporte dos ramos, contudo, cresce com a adição dos caracteres contínuos. Os caracteres contínuos, portanto, não devem ser vistos como uma alternativa, mas como um acréscimo às análises tradicionais. A revisão taxonômica de Anchylorhynchus resultou na descrição de nove espécies novas e reconhecimento de quatro sinônimos novos. O gênero resultou ser um grupo monofilético com um total de 24 espécies reconhecidas. Além disso, as informações sobre a biologia e a distribuição geográfica desses gorgulhos foi atualizada. Em conjunto com a filogenia obtida, essas informações basearam reconstruções biogeográficas e da associação histórica com as plantas hospedeiras. / Recently, phylogenetic analysis based on continuous characters was made accessible. This increases the pool of characters available for morphology-based phylogenetic analyses, but there is still no consensus on how this kind of characters should be coded and analyzed. In the present study, I assessed the use of continuous characters in phylogenies from two distinct perspectives: computer simulations and an application to real data. The simulations indicate that one can indeed recover phylogenies based on continuous characters, given some precautions. The most important of them is the use of implied weighting. Even when this is done, poorly supported branches may be incorrect, probably due to long-branch attraction. For the phylogenetic analysis of Anchylorhynchus, I used both continuous and discrete characters, separately or combined. Trees obtained with separate matrices were significantly different, and the combined matrix resulted in a tree very similar to the tree obtained with discrete characters alone. Branch supports, however, increased with the addition of continuous characters. Continuous characters, therefore, should not be considered an alternative to traditional analyses. Rather, they should be added to discrete-character matrices. The taxonomic revision of Anchylorhynchus resulted in nine new species described and four new synonyms recognized. The genus resulted to be a monophyletic group containing 24 recognized species. Moreover, the information on weevils\' biology and geographical distribution was updated. Together with the phylogeny this information embased reconstructions of host relationships and biogeography.

Abstract Restoration is considered to be a crucial action in order to maintain and enhance ecosystem functioning and halt the decline of biodiversity. Within forested ecosystems, heavily exploited forests have lost a great part of their biodiversity values, and even nature conservation is insufficient to prevent the loss of habitats and the endangerment of species. The aim of this thesis was to provide new information on the impacts of forest restoration methods on boreal forest naturalness, including forest structure, forest-dwelling species and ecosystem processes and functions. This information is needed to develop the restoration methods and their cost-efficiency and to support decision-making concerning restoration and nature conservation. The restoration methods studied were felling with a chainsaw either without or with subsequent burning, and storm treatment, in which the trees were uprooted with an excavator. The variables measured were vegetation assemblages, deadwood dynamics, and deadwood-dependent insect assemblages. In addition to field measurements, a simulation approach was used so as to predict deadwood continuity after different restoration methods. The main finding of this thesis is that the aspects of naturalness studied were most enhanced by burning, whereas felling had the least effect. Restoration burning increased deadwood volume and diversity, enabled the establishment of pioneer plants, increased the relative cover of the forest keystone species Vaccinium myrtillus, enhanced the regeneration of the keystone tree Populus tremula, and provided habitat for red-listed, especially pyrophilous beetles (Coleoptera) and flat bugs (Heteroptera: Aradidae). Felling only increased the volume of deadwood. Storm treatment with tree uprooting was a more effective method than felling with a chainsaw, due to the additional disturbance it caused to ground, enhancing the regeneration of e.g. Pinus sylvestris. According to simulation models, compared to controls restored stands are predicted to have greater deadwood volumes at least for 40 years. The study shows that restoration can be used to accelerate the development of degraded forests towards a higher level of naturalness. The results can be used to choose appropriate restoration methods for forests, based on their initial stage and the goal set for the level of their naturalness. / Tiivistelmä Ennallistamista pidetään tärkeänä keinona palauttaa ja ylläpitää luonnontilaisten ekosysteemien toimintaa. Metsien ennallistamista tarvitaan, koska tehokkaasti hoidettujen metsien monimuotoisuus on köyhtynyt niin pitkälle, ettei pelkkä suojelu enää riitä pysäyttämään elinympäristöjen häviämistä ja lajien uhanalaistumista. Väitöskirjan tavoitteena oli tuottaa uutta tietoa siitä, miten erilaiset metsien ennallistamiskeinot vaikuttavat metsän luonnontilaisuuden elementteihin, kuten rakennepiirteisiin, lajistoon ja toiminnallisuuteen. Tietoa tarvitaan ennallistamismenetelmien ja niiden kustannustehokkuuden parantamiseksi sekä tukemaan ennallistamista ja luonnonsuojelua koskevaa päätöksentekoa. Tutkitut ennallistamismenetelmät olivat: lahopuun lisäys sahaamalla joko ilman polttoa tai polton kanssa ja myrskytuhokäsittely, jossa puut kaadettiin juurineen. Metsän aluskasvillisuus, lahopuusto ja lahopuusta riippuvaisten hyönteisten lajiyhteisöt olivat mitattuja muuttujia. Maastoinventointien ohella tehtiin simulaatiomallinnuksia, joilla ennustettiin ennallistamisen jälkeistä lahopuujatkumoa. Väitöskirjatyön keskeisin havainto on, että ennallistamispoltot paransivat tutkittuja luonnontilaisuuden elementtejä eniten, kun taas lahopuun lisäyksellä oli vähäisimmät vaikutukset. Ennallistamispoltto lisäsi lahopuun tilavuutta ja monimuotoisuutta, mahdollisti sukkession varhaisvaiheen kasvillisuuden kehittymisen, lisäsi mustikan (Vaccinium myrtillus) suhteellista peittävyyttä, paransi monimuotoisuudelle tärkeän puulajin, haavan (Populus tremula), uudistumista sekä lisäsi lahopuuriippuvaisten, erityisesti palanutta puuta suosivien kovakuoriaisten (Coleoptera) ja latikoiden (Heteroptera:Aradidae), laji- ja yksilömääriä. Myrskytuhon jäljittely oli tehokkaampi ennallistamiskeino kuin lahopuun lisäys sahaamalla, sillä juurilaikku lisäsi maanpinnan häiriötä parantaen samalla mm. männyn (Pinus sylvestris) taimettumista. Simulaatiomallinnus osoitti, että verrattuna kontrollialueisiin ennallistetuilla alueilla lahopuuta on runsaammin vähintään 40 vuoden ajan. Väitöskirja osoittaa, että kaikkia työssä tutkittuja ennallistamismenetelmiä voidaan käyttää nopeuttamaan metsän kehittymistä kohti luonnontilaa, mutta menetelmät eroavat toisistaan vaikutuksiltaan. Saatuja tuloksia voidaan käyttää, kun valitaan metsiin niihin parhaiten soveltuvaa ennallistamismenetelmää.

This thesis is focused in the representatives of beetle families Hydrophilidae and Hydraenidae of West Indies and adjacent regions. It consists of two parts, the phylogenetic part and the systematic part. The phylogenetic part focuses on the hydrophilid genera Phaenonotum and Crenitulus of Greater Antilles: beetles were sampled in all four main islands (Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Jamaica) and analyzed using the combination of molecular and morphological data. The genus Phaenonotum contains four single-island endemics, of which those from Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola are wingless and form a clade that diversified ca. 46 million years ago (Ma) and likely colonized the Caribbean via the GAARlandia land bridge. In contrast, the Puerto Rican endemic and the two remaining non-endemic species colonized the Greater Antilles by over- water dispersal during the Oligocene-Miocene. The analysis of the genus Crenitulus revealed that Greater Antillean species belong to two separate clades: the Crenitulus yunque clade endemic for Cuba and Hispaniola, and the Crenitulus suturalis clade containing specimens from Greater Antilles and from northern America. A detailed revision of the Crenitulus yunque clade using morphology and molecular-based species delimitation recognized 11 species locally endemic for...

In spruce-fir forests, there are many biotic and abiotic disturbances that can alter stand structure and composition. Many of these disturbances can produce high percentages of tree mortality at different scales. Spruce beetle has been considered a devastating disturbance agent, capable of creating high levels of mortality that will alter fuel complexes that may affect fire behavior. For comparison, stand data were gathered in endemic (near Loa and Moab, UT), epidemic (near Loa and Fairview, UT), and post-epidemic (near Salina and Loa, UT) condition classes of spruce beetle activity. Generally, fine fuels were higher during the epidemic and returned to background levels during post-epidemic conditions. Also, herbaceous and shrub components increase following outbreak situations with an initial pulse of herbaceous material during epidemics followed by the expansion of shrub material in post-epidemic areas. Fuel bed bulk depth, large diameter woody material, sound and rotten, and duff did not significantly differ between spruce beetle condition classes. Available live canopy fuel, canopy bulk density, and canopy base height were significantly reduced from endemic when compared to epidemic and post-epidemic condition classes. The fuel complex alterations resulted in changes to calculated surface and crown fire behavior. Crown base height decreased in post-epidemic classes, which allowed for easier crown fire initiation. Due to large gaps in canopy continuity, no active crown fire was initiated. In endemic situations, canopy bulk density was adequate to maintain active crown fire runs, but crown base height was too high to initiate crown fire. Surface fire, estimated from the custom fuel models following fuel complex alterations, showed that fireline intensity and rates of spread were greater in post-epidemic areas, but mostly due to reduced overstory sheltering. When custom fuel models were compared with similar mid-flame wind speeds, epidemic and post-epidemic fire behavior predictions were similar, indicating that reduced sheltering was more dominant than the influence of the fuels complex or solar radiation. When custom fuel models were compared with established fuel models, none predicted the same fire behavior outputs.

Due to biodiversity loss being large as well as threatening ecosystem functions necessary for oursociety, the UN and EU have created regulations, strategies, and targets to improve biodiversity.Nationally in Sweden, and locally in Stockholm municipality, actions have also been taken. Oakhabitat is especially interesting for the municipality due to its high biodiversity values. This is whyin this study biodiversity connected to potential oak habitats was analysed by a GIS-basedconnectivity model; through which maps depicting possible movements by a model speciescomplex were created. An interview study was performed to investigate the use of GIS-basedplanning support tools for biodiversity, from the perspectives of professionals. Results suggestthat the methods for making choices regarding friction values need to be more transparent andbetter communicated, or standardised, both alternatives with the goal of facilitating interpretationof maps by physical planners. Also, depending on where in the planning process GIS-basedplanning support tools are used, they can be used in different ways. Early in the process, or evenbefore planning starts, they can act as decision support. After the implementation of a plan, theycan instead be beneficial for follow-up of biodiversity aspects. / Förlust av biologisk mångfald är problematisk och påverkar effektiviteten hos naturligaekosystem. De planetära gränserna för biologisk mångfald har sedan länge överskridits. Mål,lagar, och strategier från FN, EU och nationellt visar att frågor kopplade till biologisk mångfald ärbåde viktiga och aktuella. År 2020 antogs Stockholms stads första Handlingsplan för Biologisk Mångfald, vilken påverkarflertalet lokala åtgärder och mål. Ekar, som är en del av det svenska ädellövsbeståndet, ärprioriterade i Stockholms arbete med biologisk mångfald. I GIS-analyser har vissa skalbaggsarteranvänts som indikatorer för bedömning av naturvärden hos dessa bestånd. I denna studie genomfördes en litteraturstudie och fyra intervjuer för djupare insikt i relationenmellan GIS-baserade verktyg för planeringsstöd för biologisk mångfald, och fysisk planering, iStockholms stad. Ytterligare litteraturstudier genomfördes, inriktade på modellarter för biologiskmångfald i ekhabitat, samt tillvägagångssätt vid skapande av friktionsraster.Konnektivitetsanalyser av potentiella ekhabitat, i studieområdet Skarpnäck i södra Stockholm,genomfördes i ArcGIS och Linkage Mapper. Dessa fokuserade på analysens känslighet vidvariation av utvalda parametrar. Huvudsakliga resultat utgörs av kartor där korridorer och kostviktade avstånd beskrivermöjligheten till rörelse mellan habitat, samt hur dessa kan variera drastiskt av attparametervärden ändras. Den största skillnaden uppstod när större vägar betraktades sombarriärer. Det andra huvudsakliga resultatet består av en sammanställning av de intervjuer somutfördes. Där framgår att tidigt i planeringsprocessen, eller innan planprocessen påbörjas, kanGIS-baserade planeringsverktyg användas som beslutstöd. När planen genomförts kan de iställetvara användbara för uppföljning av konsekvenser för biologisk mångfald. Där dessa delar möts uppstår en diskussion om hur GIS-baserade verktyg kan utgöra ett stöd vidplanering för biologisk mångfald, hur det idag används på flertalet sätt och att användningen bådekan utökas och förbättras. Brister i transparens, och rättfärdigande av val av metod ochfriktionsvärden i konnektivitetsanalyser, ses i ljuset av möjligheten att som icke-professionellinom GIS kunna tolka kartor menade att användas som planeringsstöd.

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.

Com o objetivo de obter informações básicas sobre a bioecologia e o comportamento de Sphenophorus levis Vaurie, foram realizados diferentes bioensaios para conhecer seu comportamento sexual e reprodutivo; obter e testar a atividade biológica de seu feromônio natural em condições de laboratório e campo; verificar a eficiência de captura do feromônio sintético de agregação em condições de campo; determinar o tipo de armadilha mais eficiente para a captura e manejo de adultos; e avaliar o raio de ação das atuais armadilhas. Os resultados mostraram que S. levis, acasala-se em qualquer hora do dia, tem múltiplas cópulas, e os casais entre 14 e 35 dias de idade apresentaram as maiores frequências de cópulas, com 76 a 88%, respectivamente. A duração média da primeira cópula foi de 5,75 ± 4,22 h, e o tempo total de cópula variou entre 1 a 17 h. O período de pré-oviposição em fêmeas entre 14 e 35 dias, foi de 5,52 ± 4,53 a 10,90 ± 5,37 dias. O número de ovos/fêmea foi de 0,25 a 7,80, com viabilidade entre 33 e 63%. Fêmeas de S. levis com idade avançada entre 85 e 210 foram receptivas ao acasalamento (66%), ovipositaram entre 4,50 a 7,09 ovos, com viabilidade entre 49 e 79%. Machos e fêmeas de S. levis aptos ao acasalamento, apresentaram uma sequência típica de comportamentos para efetivar a cópula. A duração da pré-cópula variou de 2 a 5 horas. A cópula foi longa, com uma duração entre 7 a 13 horas. A pós-cópula durou entre 1,31 a 1,41 horas. O comportamento sexual associado à cópula foi influenciado pelo contato visual entre os casais e físico com outros indivíduos da espécie. Bioensaios em olfatômetro Y demonstraram que os machos foram estimulados por voláteis de cana; cana + machos; e cana + fêmeas; enquanto as fêmeas apenas por cana + machos. Os machos responderam ao extrato natural de macho + cana; as fêmeas ao extrato de machos + cana, extrato de fêmeas e extrato de fêmeas + cana. O isômero (S)-2-metil-4-octanol gerou atividade comportamental de ambos os sexos de S. levis. No campo, a avaliação da atratividade dos extratos naturais e os compostos sintéticos (isômeros S; R e mistura racêmica S-R), mostraram diferença na captura de fêmeas e totais de adultos de S. levis entre o isômero R e o controle; no entanto, não diferiram dos demais tratamentos. A captura de adultos selvagens de S. levis nas diferentes armadilhas testadas, diferiu entre o controle (isca CTC) e as armadilhas testadas (modelos galão, funil, e moleque da bananeira). A recaptura de adultos marcados de S. levis foi baixa e correspondeu a apenas 2% dos insetos liberados, sendo maior a distância de 5 m (10 adultos). De forma geral, estes resultados contribuem para o conhecimento do comportamento sexual e reprodutivo de S. levis e são úteis para futuros programas de manejo integrado desta praga. / With the aim of obtaining basic information on bioecology and behavior of Sphenophorus levis Vaurie, different bioassays were realized in order to understand its sexual and reproductive behavior; obtain and test the biological activity of its natural pheromone under laboratory and field conditions; verify the capture efficiency of the synthetic aggregation pheromone under field conditions; determine the most efficient type of traps for capture and management of the adults; and evaluate the radius of action of the current traps. The results showed that S. levis mates any time of the day, has multiple mating and the mates between the ages of 14 and 35 days presented the highest mating frequencies of 76 to 88%, respectively. The mean duration for the first mating was 5.75 ± 4.22 h, and the total mating time varied between 1 to 17 h. The pre-oviposition period for females between 14 and 35 days, was 5.52 ± 4.53 to 10.90 ± 5.37 days. The number of eggs/female was 0.25 to 7.80, with viability of between 33 and 63%. Females of S. levis with advanced age between 85 and 210 days were receptive to mating (66%), oviposited between 4.50 to 7.09 eggs with viability between 49 and 79%. Males and females of S. levis with capacity to mate presented typical frequency behavior to effect mating. The pre-mating duration varied from 2 to 5 hours. Mating was long with duration of 7 to 13 hours. The post-mating duration lasted between 1.31 to 1.41 hours. Sexual behavior associated with mating was influenced by visual contact between the couples and the physical among coespecifics. Bioassays in a Y tube olfatometer demonstrated that the males were responsive to sugarcane volatiles; sugarcane + males; and sugarcane + females; while the females were stimulated at least by sugarcane + males. The males responded to the natural extract of male + sugarcane; while the females to the extract of males + sugarcane, extract of females and extract of females + sugarcane. The isomer (S)-2- methil-4-octanol generated behavioral activity of both sexes of S. levis. In the field, the evaluation of attractivity of natural extracts and the synthetic compounds (isomer S; R and racemic mixture of S-R), showed differences in the capture of females and totals of adults of S. levis between the isomer R and the control; however, it was not different in other treatments. The capture of wild S. levis adults in the different tested traps differed between the control (bait CTC) and the tested baits/traps (models galão, funil, and moleque da bananeira). The recapture of marked adults of S. levis was low and corresponded to 2% of the liberated insects within the longest distance of 5 m (10 adults). In general, these results add to the knowledgment of S. levis sexual and reproductive behavior and are useful to future programs of integrated management of this pest.

RÉSUMÉ: Le charançon rouge des palmiers, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliv.), est l'insecte ravageur le plus destructif des palmiers cultivés en Asie, Moyen-Orient et bassin méditerranéen. Le piégeage olfactif peut jouer un rôle important en lutte intégrée contre ce ravageur mais l'usage indispensable de matériel végétal comme synergiste de sa phéromone d'agrégation limite son efficacité et son essor en zone désertique. Afin de disposer d'un synergiste synthéti-que de la phéromone, nous avons criblé par piégeage de terrain en Iran l'effet synergique avec la phéromone de molé-cules identifiées dans: 1- l'odeur de stipe de dattier, la plante-hôte de R. ferrugineus au Moyen-Orient lors de ce travail et 2- d'autres plantes-hôtes de Rhynchophorus spp. et décrites dans la bibliographie ou de structure apparentée. Nous avons utilisé la chromatographie en phase gazeuse (CPG) couplée à la spectrométrie de masse pour identifier la compo-sition d'odeurs de stipe de dattier isolées par collecte d'effluves. Les constituants potentiellement actifs sur le compor-tement de l'insecte ont été criblés par couplage CPG-électroantennographie (CPG-EAG) après une étude morphofonc-tionnelle de l'antenne par microscopie électronique à balayage et électroantennographie visant à vérifier s'il existait une régionalisation olfactive de la massue antennaire. Quatre types majoritaires de soies ont été identifiés, similaires à ceux décrits chez Rhynchophorus palmarum. Deux correspondent à des sensilles olfactives trichoïdes et basiconiques. La densité de sensilles basiconiques est plus élevée chez les femelles que chez les mâles et, chez les deux sexes, sur la face interne de la massue que sur la face externe. Les amplitudes des électroantennogrammes enregistrés à six molécules odorantes sont plus fortes à partir de la face interne de l'antenne que de la face externe mais le même profil de réponse a été obtenu que le branchement ait été réalisé en position, dorsale, centrale ou ventrale sur la massue. Au total, 109 molécules ont été identifiées dans les extraits d'odeur de dattier. Dix produits ont induit des électroantennogrammes reproductibles dans les analyses CPG-EAG dont un, l'anisole, a été identifié. L'effet phérosynergique de deux mélanges élaborés à partir des analyses d'odeurs de dattier, d'un mélange de molécules déclenchant des EAG de fortes amplitudes et de 21 mélanges bâtis à partir de 52 molécules issues de la bibliographie ont été étudiés. Parmi tous les mélanges testés sur le terrain, un mélange d'éthanol et d'acétate d'éthyle (50:50 v/v) à une dose de 300 mg/j a présenté un effet phérosynergique compétitif avec 0,35 kg de stipe de dattier et parfois avec 1,2 kg. Une variabilité importante de l'effet relatif entre ce mélange et le tissu de dattier a été observé au cours des trois saisons de travail. Aucun des mélanges plus complexes évalués n'a présenté d'effet notablement supérieur. L'activité antennaire de produits non identifiés dans l'odeur naturelle de dattier et l'absence d'effet phérosynergique des molécules testées, compétitif avec l'odeur naturelle, mettent en évidence le rôle important de composants de l'odeur du dattier non identifiés et/ou l'existence d'effets de mélange non évalués lors du présent travail. Le mélange d'éthanol et d'acétate d'éthyle, simple et bon marché, offre néanmoins une alternative intéressante pour améliorer le piégeage olfactif de R. ferrugineus dans la pratique, compte tenu du statut actuel de ce ravageur et de l'absence de meilleure alternative à l'usage d'appâts naturels.

<p>Sexual conflict can lead to antagonistic coevolution between the sexes, but empirical examples are few. In this thesis secondary sexual characters in diving beetles are interpreted in the light of sexual conflict theory. Whether the male tarsal suction cups and female dorsal modifications are involved in a coevolutionary arms race is tested in two ways. First eight populations of a species with dimorphic females that varied in frequency of the morphs were investigated and male tarsal characteristics quantified. The frequency of female morphs is shown to be significantly correlated to the average number and size of male tarsal suction cups in the population, a prediction of the arms race hypothesis. Second, the hypothesis is tested in a phylogenetic perspective by optimizing the secondary sexual characters on a phylogeny. A full taxonomic revision of the genus <i>Acilius</i> is presented, including new synonyms, lectotype designations, geographic distributions based on more than five thousand examined museum specimens and the description of a new species from northeastern USA. Specimens of all species (except one possibly extinct that failed to be found in Yunnan, China 2000), were field collected between 2000 and 2003 in Sardinia, Sweden, Russia, Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, New York, Maryland, California and Alberta. Three genes (CO1, H3 and Wingless) were sequenced from the fresh material as well as scoring a morphological character matrix all of which was used to derive a robust and complete hypothesis of the phylogenetic relationship in the group. The phylogeny was derived using Bayesian phylogenetics with Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques and received a posterior probability of 0.85. Changes in male and female characters turned out to be perfectly correlated across the phylogeny, providing one of the best empirical examples to date of an antagonistic arms race between the sexes in a group of organisms. Finally, a review of a pitfall to phylogenetic analysis known under the name long-branch attraction (LBA), is provided. The problem is well known theoretically but has been questioned to occur in real data, and LBA has been in the core center of the hard debate between parsimony and likelihood advocates since different inference methods vary in sensitivity to the phenomenon. Most important conclusions from the review are; LBA is very common in real data, and is most often introduced with the inclusion of outgroups that almost always provide long branches, pulling down long terminal ingroup branches towards the root. Therefore it is recommended to always run analyses with and without outgroups. Taxon sampling is very important to avoid the pitfall as well as including different kind of data, especially morphological data, i.e. many LBA-affected conclusions have recently been reached by analyses of few taxa with complete genomes. Long-branch extraction (incl. outgroup exclusion), methodological disconcordance (parsimony vs modelbased), separate partition analyses (morphology vs molecules, codon positions, genes, etc), parametric simulation (incl. random outgroups), and split graphs are available relevant methods for the detection of LBA that should be used in combinations, because none alone is enough to stipulate LBA.</p>