Body mass distributions along successional gradients in epigeic carabid beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Background and purpose: Body mass distributions may be related to the stage of succession of a habitat and provide with information for assessing successional processes. Therefore, body mass distributions of carabid assemblages were studied in three research areas, which were post-industrial areas near the city of Bełchatów (Central Poland) planted with different tree and shrub species, moist and wet forest stands in the Puszcza Knyszyńska forest (Northeastern Poland), and beech stands in the Ruhr valley (Western Germany) in order to analyze the changes in body mass distributions within single assemblages along successional gradients.   Materials and Methods: For each carabid assemblage, the mean individual biomass (MIB) as well as MIB standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) were calculated. SD and CV were plotted against the age of study sites and MIB values, respectively. Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA) were carried out with SD and CV as dependent variables and the age of study sites and MIB as covariates.   Results: SD was low at young stages of succession, but increased rapidly and plateaued at advanced stages in beech but not in wet forest stands. Accordingly, CV was low at very young stages of succession, showing a rapid increase and subsequent decrease in the beech stands, whereas in the wet stands it stayed on a constant level. ANCOVA revealed significant differences in SD and CV between the research areas and significant changes with age or MIB, but, with the exception of CV as dependent variable and MIB as covariate, interactions were also significant.   Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that data on body mass distributions within single carabid assemblages may be useful in the assessment and comparison of successional stages and processes between different habitat types.</p

Variability of Carabidae in time and space in open areas

The temporal and spatial variability of carabid fauna was studied on a colliery spoil heap area in Germany and on an area of post-agricultural soil in Poland using pitfall traps. Applying Mean Individual Biomass (MIB) of carabids as an indicator of environmental quality, all plots were assessed as being young stages of succession. Species richness and total carabid abundance fluctuated remarkably among different plots and study years. Total numbers of individuals fluctuated significantly in time, whereas species richness remained strikingly constant. The Jaccard’s index ofspecies similarity was low for the level of individual sampling plots but high for the total catches when comparing different years. Individual species showed asynchronicity of fluctuations in numbers of individuals at the level of individual plots. Based on these results we suggest that the observed patterns can be explained by the ‘spreading of risk’ hypothesis

Forty years of carabid beetle research in Europe - from taxonomy, biology, ecology and population studies to bioindication, habitat assessment and conservation

Volume: 100Start Page: 55End Page: 14

Państwo i społeczeństwo w XXI wieku. Rodzina wobec zagrożeń XXI wieku

Słowo wstępne: "Książka, którą oddajemy do rąk Czytelnika jest pokłosiem IV Międzynarodowej Konferencji Naukowej „Państwo i Społeczeństwo w XXI wieku” zorganizowanej w Krakowie, w dniach 30 maja -1 czerwca 2004 roku przez Krakowską Szkołę Wyższą im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego. Konferencja ta poświęcona była wielu fundamentalnym, jakże istotnym dla Polski w zjednoczonej Europie kwestiom państwa i jego instytucji, społeczeństwa i jego problemów, w tym problemów rodziny. Dodajmy, rodziny XXI wieku, bo pod takim hasłem odbywały się obrady tej sekcji tematycznej."(...

Model of succession in degraded areas based on carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Degraded areas constitute challenging tasks with respect to sustainable management of natural resources. Maintaining or even establishing certain successional stages seems to be particularly important. This paper presents a model of the succession in five different types of degraded areas in Poland based on changes in the carabid fauna. Mean Individual Biomass of Carabidae (MIB) was used as a numerical measure for the stage of succession. The run of succession differed clearly among the different types of degraded areas. Initial conditions (origin of soil and origin of vegetation) and landscape related aspects seem to be important with respect to these differences. As characteristic phases, a ‘delay phase’, an ‘increase phase’ and a ‘stagnation phase’ were identified. In general, the runs of succession could be described by four different parameters: (1) ‘Initial degradation level’, (2) ‘delay’, (3) ‘increase rate’ and (4) ‘recovery level’. Applying the analytic solution of the logistic equation, characteristic values for the parameters were identified for each of the five area types. The model is of practical use, because it provides a possibility to compare the values of the parameters elaborated in different areas, to give hints for intervention and to provide prognoses about future succession in the areas. Furthermore, it is possible to transfer the model to other indicators of succession

Animals as an indicator of carbon sequestration and valuable landscapes

Possibilities of the assessment of a landscape with the use of succession development stages, monitored with the value of the Mean Individual Biomass (MIB) of carabid beetles and the occurrence of bird species are discussed on the basis of an example from Poland. Higher variability of the MIB value in space signifies a greater biodiversity. Apart from the variability of MIB, it is suggested to adopt the occurrence of the following animals as indicators, (in the order of importance), representing underlying valuable landscapes: black stork, lesser spotted eagle, white-tailed eagle, wolf, crane and white stork. The higher number of these species and their greater density indicate a higher value of the landscape for biodiversity and ecosystem services, especially carbon sequestration. All these indicators may be useful to assess measures for sustainable land use

Solidification phenomena in Ge films upon nano- and pico-second laser pulse melting

Melting has been induced in amorphous Ge films upon irradiation with both nano- and pico-second laser pulses. The role of undercooling and heat flow in the subsequent rapid solidification process has been investigated by analyzing the behavior of films with different thicknesses (30-180 nm) grown on Si(100) substrates by means of real time reflectivity measurements in the ns timescale. Recalescence is observed in films with a thickness above a threshold value which depends on the pulse duration. An additional solidification scenario, i.e. surface initiated solidification, is observed upon ps pulse irradiation in films with intermediate thicknesses.This work has been partially supported by CICYT under project TIC93-0125. We thank J.M. Ballesteros (I. Optica, CSIC) for fruitful discussions and help.Peer Reviewe