4 results
Review of Oxypoda species in Canada and Alaska (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae): systematics, bionomics, and distribution
- Jan Klimaszewski, Georges Pelletier, Carole Germain, Timothy Work, Christian Hébert
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- Journal:
- The Canadian Entomologist / Volume 138 / Issue 6 / December 2006
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 April 2012, pp. 737-852
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A review of the rove beetle species of the genus Oxypoda Mannerheim from Canada and Alaska is presented. Thirty-seven species are treated, of which 4 have uncertain status, 6 are described as new to science, 8 (excluding new species) represent new distribution records for Canada, 17 (excluding new species) represent new province or territory records, 7 represent new state records, and 15 are newly synonymized. New species are Oxypoda canadensis Klimaszewski, sp. nov., O. chantali Klimaszewski, sp. nov., O. longicarinata Klimaszewski, sp. nov., O. smithi Klimaszewski, sp. nov., O. vockerothi Klimaszewski, sp. nov., and O. volkeri Klimaszewski, sp. nov. New country records are O. brachyptera (Stephens), O. gatosensis Bernhauer, O. gnara Casey, O. inimica Casey, O. orbicollis Casey, O. opaca (Gravenhorst), O. operta Sjöberg, and O. perexilis Casey. New synonyms are O. amica Casey (= O. chillcotti Lohse syn. nov.), O. convergens Casey (= O. iowensis Casey syn. nov., O. profecta Casey syn. nov.), O. dubia Fenyes (= O. tenera Bernhauer syn. nov.), O. lucidula Casey (= O. parafunebris Lohse syn. nov.), O. manitobae Casey (= O. lata Lohse syn. nov.), O. mimetica Casey (= O. truncatella Casey, O. virginica Casey, O. canora Casey, O. latebricola Casey syn. nov.), O. perexilis Casey (= O. affecta Casey, O. croceola Casey, O. mollicula Casey, O. tenuicola Casey syn. nov.), and O. subpolaris Casey (= O. hemingi Lohse syn. nov.). The Canadian and Alaskan Oxypoda species are classified into 14 new species groups reflecting their presumed relationships. All treated species are illustrated, and distribution maps are included. New data on bionomics, distribution, and relationships are presented. Hylota ochracea Casey is removed from Oxypoda and reinstated to its original combination.
Conservation of forest-dwelling arthropod species: simultaneous management of many small and heterogeneous risks1
- John R. Spence, David W. Langor, Joshua M. Jacobs, Timothy T. Work, W. Jan A. Volney
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- Journal:
- The Canadian Entomologist / Volume 140 / Issue 4 / August 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 April 2012, pp. 510-525
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The Canadian insect fauna is too inadequately understood to support well-informed assessments about its conservation status; however, the foregoing collection of synthetic papers illustrates potential threats from industrial forestry. Loss of forest species and dramatic changes in forest insect assemblages driven by forestry activities are well illustrated by studies from places where industrial forest management has been more intensive or of longer duration. Improved understanding of how arthropod species are coupled to habitats, especially microhabitats, appears to be central to progress toward their conservation. Studies of arthropods conducted at the species level are most relevant for applied conservation purposes, because only species-level work that is well documented with voucher specimens provides adequate comparative data to document faunal change. Although taxonomic infrastructure required to support such work is seriously under-resourced in Canada, entomologists can help themselves by producing useful modern resources for species identification, by undertaking collaborative biodiversity work that minimizes the split between taxonomists and ecologists, and by supporting incentives for work at the species level. Securing the future of arthropod diversity in Canadian forests through effective policy will require sound regionally defined bases for whole-fauna conservation that mesh with broader land-use planning. Building these will require a practical understanding of how “ecosite”-classification systems relate to arthropod diversity, accurate inventories of the predisturbance forest fauna in all regions, and development of sound monitoring plans designed to both detect faunal change efficiently and identify its drivers. Such monitoring plans should include both baseline inventories and monitoring of designated control areas. In addition, effective biomonitoring efforts will facilitate the development of suites of arthropod indicators, accommodate both seasonal (especially phenological) and annual variation, clarify the relationship between cost-effective samples and reality, and ensure adequate consideration of “rare” species. Return on investment in monitoring will depend on effective preplanned linkage to policy development that can respond to drivers of faunal change in a way that effectively addresses undesired changes.
Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in northern Nearctic forests1
- Greg Pohl, David Langor, Jan Klimaszewski, Timothy Work, Pierre Paquin
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- Journal:
- The Canadian Entomologist / Volume 140 / Issue 4 / August 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 April 2012, pp. 415-436
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Rove beetles are useful subjects for Nearctic forest biodiversity work because they are abundant, diverse, and easily collected, and have strong habitat affinities. Excellent identification keys exist for most groups, although there is a dearth of ecological and life-history information. There is considerable variation in species composition and abundance within the active summer season and in abundance from year to year. Community composition varies among larger geographical regions and to a lesser extent among forest types in more localized areas. Within the Nearctic boreal forest there are significant differences between beetle communities from the eastern and western portions. For the most part, the same species tend to dominate rove beetle communities in the western boreal forest. At the landscape level there are differences in rove beetle communities along successional gradients. In the boreal forest the communities of younger aspen-dominated and older conifer-dominated stands are somewhat distinct, with intermediate-aged stands containing a mix of the two communities. At the ecosite and microsite level there is significant variation, which remains poorly understood. Fire is the dominant mode of disturbance in the Nearctic boreal forest. It has a profound effect on rove beetles by destroying the forest communities and resetting the successional trajectory to the earliest stages. The burn pattern results in a patchwork of different communities at various stages in the successional cycle. In contrast to fire, forest harvesting does not directly destroy the rove beetle community, but to a large extent it destroys the forest habitat. This results in a unique rove beetle community characterized by a mix of forest species and open-ground specialists, and overall high diversity in this period of flux. In the years after harvesting, the rove beetle community goes through successional changes and becomes more similar to the forest community, but it skips the early postfire stage and proceeds along the successional trajectory more rapidly than after fire. In at least one forest type in western Canada, the post-fire and post-harvest communities, though similar, have not converged after 29 years. Other less direct effects of harvesting on rove beetles are a decrease in the proportion of the land base suitable for communities associated with older successional stages; alteration of forests by post-harvest site preparations and planting of exotic tree species; edge and fragmentation effects that are detrimental to the remaining forest surrounding harvested areas; and an influx of exotic arthropod species with affinities for disturbed sites. More information is needed on the habitat affinities of individual species. It is recommended that future work explore the effects of post-harvest forestry activities, fragmentation, and edges on rove beetles in forested habitats. As well, such studies should consider the effects on beetles of riparian zones and wetlands.
Evaluation of carabid beetles as indicators of forest change in Canada1
- Timothy T. Work, Matti Koivula, Jan Klimaszewski, David Langor, John Spence, Jon Sweeney, Christian Hébert
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- Journal:
- The Canadian Entomologist / Volume 140 / Issue 4 / August 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 April 2012, pp. 393-414
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Our objective was to assess the potential of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as effective bioindicators of the effects of forest management at a Canadian national scale. We present a comparison of carabid beetle assemblages reported from large-scale studies across Canada. Based on the initial response following disturbance treatment, we found that carabid assemblages consistently responded to disturbance, but responses of individual species and changes in species composition were nested within the context of regional geography and finer scale differences among forest ecosystems. We also explored the relationship between rare and dominant taxa and species characteristics as they relate to dispersal capacity and use of within-stand habitat features such as coarse woody debris. We found no relationship between life-history characteristics (such as body size, wing morphology, or reported associations with downed wood) and the relative abundance or frequency of occurrence of species. Our results suggest that carabids are better suited to finer scale evaluations of the effects of forest management than to regional or national monitoring programs. We also discuss several knowledge gaps that currently limit the full potential of using carabids as bioindicators.
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