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 Acilius 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.

This thesis documents the development and application of a unique database orientated software package, BugsCEP, for environmental and climatic reconstruction from fossil beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages. The software tools are described, and the incorporated statistical methods discussed and evaluated with respect to both published modern and fossil data, as well as the author’s own investigations. BugsCEP consists of a reference database of ecology and distribution data for over 5 800 taxa, and includes temperature tolerance data for 436 species. It also contains abundance and summary data for almost 700 sites - the majority of the known Quaternary fossil coleopteran record of Europe. Sample based dating evidence is stored for a large number of these sites, and the data are supported by a bibliography of over 3 300 sources. Through the use of built in statistical methods, employing a specially developed habitat classification system (Bugs EcoCodes), semi-quantitative environmental reconstructions can be undertaken, and output graphically, to aid in the interpretation of sites. A number of built in searching and reporting functions also increase the efficiency with which analyses can be undertaken, including the facility to list the fossil record of species found by searching the ecology and distribution data. The existing Mutual Climatic Range (MCR) climate reconstruction method is implemented and improved upon in BugsCEP, as BugsMCR, which includes predictive modelling and the output of graphs and climate space maps. The evaluation of the software demonstrates good performance when compared to existing interpretations. The standardization method employed in habitat reconstructions, designed to enable the inter-comparison of samples and sites without the interference of differing numbers of species and individuals, also appears to be robust and effective. Quantitative climate reconstructions can be easily undertaken from within the software, as well as an amount of predictive modelling. The use of jackknifing variants as an aid to the interpretation of climate reconstructions is discussed, and suggested as a potential indicator of reliability. The combination of the BugStats statistical system with an enhanced MCR facility could be extremely useful in increasing our understanding of not only past environmental and climate change, but also the biogeography and ecology of insect populations in general. BugsCEP is the only available software package integrating modern and fossil coleopteran data, and the included reconstruction and analysis tools provide a powerful resource for research and teaching in palaeo-environmental science. The use of modern reference data also makes the package potentially useful in the study of present day insect faunas, and the effects of climate and environmental change on their distributions. The reconstruction methods could thus be inverted, and used as predictive tools in the study of biodiversity and the implications of sustainable development policies on present day habitats. BugsCEP can be downloaded from http://www.bugscep.com

Uracanthus is a large group of longicorn beetles in the Australian Region. The larvae of this genus are borers of at least 31 genera of trees and parasitic plants, including some economically important crops such as citrus, litchi, peach, plum, and apricot. Several species are important pests of orchards. Adults visit flowers of various tree species and are attracted to the light. In this thesis, I undertook a thorough taxonomic revision, analysed the phylogeny using morphological and molecular characters, and appraised biogeographic distribution of the genus. In the taxonomic revision, I redefine the scope of the genus, describe and illustrate new and previously known species, and provide a key to all species. The revised Australian Uracanthus includes 39 species, eight of which are established as new to science: U. pseudogigas sp. nov., U. maculatus sp. nov., U. griseus sp. nov., U. bicoloratus sp. nov., U. perthensis sp. nov., U. punctulatus sp. nov., U. quadristriolatus sp. nov., and U. bistriolatus sp. nov. Six new synonyms are proposed (senior synonyms last): U. multilineatus McKeown with U. ventralis Lea, U. dentiapicalis McKeown with U. parvus Lea, U. marginellus Hope and U. inermis Lea (not Aurivillius) with U. bivittatus Newman, U. fuscostriatus McKeown with U. lateroalbus Lea, and U. daviumbus Gressitt with U. longicornis Lea. Dorsal views of all species are presented as photographs, terminalia of both sexes illustrated, and distributions mapped. Brief comments are also given on the biology of this genus. In the full morphological phylogenetic analyses of all 39 species, I use 55 informative characters and cladistic method to test the monophylies of Uracanthus and its species groups. My results show that the monophylies of the genus and seven species groups are confirmed. However, several species groups still need additional steps to become monophyletic and are currently considered paraphyletic. In the molecular phylogenetic studies, due to the situations beyond my control (difficulties of extracting DNA from some old species and prohibitions of extracting DNA from type specimens), I analyse only 21 species. I extract and amplify the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) region of the mtDNA from 21 species and perform a phylogenetic analysis using molecular characters. To make the molecular phylogeny comparable to the morphological phylogeny, I also cladistically analyse the phylogeny of these 21 species using morphological and combined morphological-molecular characters. A comparison of trees obtained from morphological, mtDNA and combined data shows that the relationships of several closely related taxa remain constant, for example, the sister relationships of U. gigas + pseudogigas, U. insignis + punctulatus, and U. acutus + loranthi. However, the placement of U. insignis and U. punctulatus on the phylogenetic trees varies from the most basal in the full morphological analysis to the highly derived in the combined and molecular analyses. Considering the amount of available data is more limited in the molecular analysis than in the morphological analysis, the molecular phylogeny presented in this study should be interpreted with caution. The Uracanthus fauna can be divided into five subregions: the Kosciuskan, Western and Eyrean in southern and central Australia, and the Torresian and Timorian in northern Australia. The fauna are richest with highest endemism in the Kosciuskan and Western. The Kosciuskan and Western are similar in faunal composition and closely related; the Eyrean has probably acted as a faunal exchange transit area between the Kosciuskan and Western, and the two northern Australian subregions have no endemic species. When the areas of endemism of each species are attached to the phylogenetic tree generated from the full morphological analysis, a clear picture of the distribution patterns of species groups in relation to phylogeny is obtained. It is suggested that the speciation and species radiation of Uracanthus may have occurred first in the Kosciuskan, then in the Western, and finally in the Eyrean, Torresian, and Timorian.

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

Epigeic beetle communities were studied on three agroecosystems with different crops grown. All three agroecosystems were located in the vicinity of Ceske Budejovice (Lišov). The first eco-agroecosystem was alfalfa field. On the second one was meadow. The third eco-agroecosystem was permanent grassland. The agroekosystems differd not only in crops but also in agrotechnical operations during the capture. For all agroecosystems was for capture of the organisms used method of pitfall traps. Subsequently, those organisms have been studied. Then was studied the measure of human impact on the biodiversity of species of different ecological groups found in these locations.

Community composition of floricolous insects, beetles (Coleoptera) and bees and wasps (aculeate Hymenoptera) at six sites in Podyjí National Park was studied using four different colours of Moericke (pan) traps. Effects of different trap colours, forest habitats, and environmental variables in traps vicinity on the number of species and species composition were analysed. Influence of different conditions on trap catch is discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:48:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:00:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 09622.pdf: 5768165 bytes, checksum: e2892f39925cad85d839fbede925fbad (MD5) / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:05:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo1819_1.pdf: 692718 bytes, checksum: ce1b836911cebfd13bace4a9b04fd91d (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / A fauna de Coleoptera foi investigada em um fragmento de Mata Atlântica da Reserva Ecológica de Gurjaú, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, PE durante os picos das estações chuvosa (maio e junho de 2003) e seca (outubro e novembro de 2003) através de armadilhas Malaise e de solo. A estrutura de comunidade de besouros foi reconhecida pelo emprego de índices de diversidade de Pielou, Brillouin, Shannon e Simpson; teste T e análise de variância um critério de abundância, da riqueza e da diversidade de Coleópteros; e pela caracterização dos grupos tróficos (herbívoros, carnívoros, fungívoros e detritívoros). Os efeitos da precipitação e da umidade sobre a abundância de Coleóptera foram analisados através do emprego do coeficiente de correlação de Spearman. Os dados obtidos nas armadilhas de Malaise foram analisados tomando-se como base nas morfoespécies enquanto que os dados das armadilhas de solo foram analisados na abundância das famílias. Foram coletados 3.872 besouros, 58,2% nas armadilhas de solo e 41,8% nas armadilhas Malaise. Em ambos os levantamentos, foram registrados abundâncias significativamente maiores na estação chuvosa, sendo a abundância influenciada pelos fatores climáticos analisados. Na armadilha Malaise, a abundância foi similar nos pontos de borda e interior enquanto que nas armadilhas de solo a abundância foi destacadamente maior no interior. Nas armadilhas Malaise, houve uma elevada proporção de herbívoros em termos de riqueza de famílias, riqueza de espécies e abundância, com destaque para as famílias Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae e Mordellidae. Nas armadilhas de solo, também foi observada uma elevada abundância de herbívoros, representada quase que totalmente pela família Bostrychidae e uma abundância muito baixa de carnívoros. A elevada proporção de herbívoros e a reduzida proporção de carnívoros e detritívoros poderiam indicar que o fragmento encontra-se submetido a altos níveis de perturbação, confirmando a hipótese de que os taxa de níveis tróficos mais altos são mais susceptíveis à fragmentação

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:04:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo1766_1.pdf: 916614 bytes, checksum: d16125fdbdb2b99a4f6d33952c69a16b (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / O bicudo do algodoeiro, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, é considerado a maior praga da cotonicultura mundial, ocasionando danos que repercutem principalmente na produtividade, qualidade do algodão colhido e gasto com medidas de controle. Neste estudo foi realizada pela primeira vez, uma análise da diversidade e estrutura genética das populações naturais de A. grandis do Brasil. Doze populações coletadas em seis estados brasileiros (Paraíba, Ceará, Bahia, Pará, Mato Grosso e Goiás) em áreas onde são praticadas a agricultura em escala empresarial e agricultura familiar, foram avaliadas pelas técnicas de Polimorfismo do DNA Amplificado Randomicamente (RAPD), Isoenzimas e Microssatélite. Os resultados obtidos em seis populações pela técnica de RAPD baseados em 25 loci, revelaram uma heterozigosidade média de 0,262, com polimorfismo (P) variando de 52 a 84%. A diferenciação genética entre as populações foi extremamente elevada e significativa (GST = 0,258; p < 0,05), refletindo a existência de baixo fluxo gênico entre as mesmas (Nm = 0,72). A análise de cinco populações com 6 loci alozímicos mostrou uma heterozigosidade média de 0,212 e polimorfismo (P) variando entre 25 e 100%. O índice de diferenciação genética FST obtido por este marcador entre as populações correspondeu a 0,544 (p < 0,05), sugerindo a ocorrência de baixo fluxo gênico (Nm = 0,210) entre as populações. A heterozigosidade e o polimorfismo (P) observados em onze populações pela análise de 8 loci de microssatélites variaram entre 0,038 e 0,224 e de 37,5 a 75%, respectivamente. O FST entre as populações correspondeu a 0,220, produzindo um Nm de 0,8. Os três marcadores moleculares utilizados revelaram que as populações de A. grandis dos estados brasileiros avaliados apresentam baixa diversidade genética, em comparação às populações dos Estados Unidos, México e demais países da América do Sul, sugerindo que a colonização deste inseto ocorreu em uma ou poucas áreas. Os resultados obtidos relativos à diversidade genética também permitiram distinguir populações oriundas de regiões onde é praticada a agricultura em escala empresarial das áreas de agricultura familiar, assim como mostrou que as populações do nordeste podem estar servindo de fonte para colonização de novas áreas e de áreas já tratadas

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:48:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:00:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 09622.pdf: 5768165 bytes, checksum: e2892f39925cad85d839fbede925fbad (MD5) / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP