Complex-to-predict generational shift between nested and clustered organization of individual prey networks in digger wasps

Although diet has traditionally been considered to be a property of the species or populations as a whole, there is nowadays extensive knowledge that individual specialization is widespread among animal populations. Nevertheless, the factors determining the shape of interactions within food webs remain largely undiscovered, especially in predatory insects. We used an aggregation of the digger wasp Bembix merceti to 1) analyse patterns of individual prey use across three flying seasons in a network-based context; and 2) test the effect of four potential factors that might explain network topologies (wasp mass, nest spatial distribution, simultaneous nest-provisioning, prey availability). Inter-individual diet variation was found in all three years, under different predator-prey network topologies: Individuals arranged in dietary clusters and displayed a checkerboard pattern in 2009, but showed nestedness in 2008 and 2010. Network topologies were not fully explained by the tested factors. Larger females consumed a higher proportion of the total number of prey species captured by the population as a whole, in such a way that nested patterns may arise from mass-dependent prey spectrum width. Conversely, individuals with similar body mass didn't form clusters. Nested patterns seemed to be associated with a greater availability of the main prey species (a proxy for reduced intra-specific competition). Thus, according with theory, clusters seemed to appear when competition increased. On the other hand, the nests of the individuals belonging to a given cluster were not more closely located, and neither did individuals within a cluster provision their nests simultaneously. Thus, a female-female copying behaviour during foraging was unlikely. In conclusion, wasp populations can maintain a considerable individual variation across years under different food web organizations. The tested factors only partially accounted for the shift in network properties, and new analyses should be carried out to elucidate how diet network topologies arise in wasp populations. © 2014 Ballesteros et al.This work was supported by the Projects SA094A09 and SA010A06 (Junta de Castilla y León) and CGL2010-16730 (MICINN). CP was funded by a post-doctoral contract within the Program JAE-Doc ‘‘Junta para la Ampliacio´n de Estudios,’’ funded by the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and the FSE.Peer Reviewe

Post-mating shift towards longer-chain cuticular hydrocarbons drastically reduces female attractiveness to males in a digger wasp

[EN]Females of most aculeate Hymenoptera mate only once and males are therefore under a strong competitive pressure which is expected to favour the evolution of rapid detection of virgin females. In several bee species, the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile exhibited by virgin females elicits male copulation attempts. However, it is still unknown how widespread this type of sexual communication is within Aculeata. Here, we investigated the use of CHCs as mating cues in the digger wasp Stizus continuus, which belongs to the family (Crabronidae) from within bees arose. In field experiments, unmanipulated, recently emerged virgin female dummies promptly elicit male copulation attempts, whereas 1–4 days old mated females dummies were still attractive but to a much lesser extent. In contrast, old (10–15 days) mated female dummies did not attract males at all. After hexane-washing, attractiveness almost disappeared but could be achieved by adding CHC extracts from virgin females even on hexane-washed old mated females. Thus, the chemical base of recognition of females as appropriate mating partner by males is coded in their CHC profile

Desarrollo de rúbricas para la evaluación de los Trabajos Fin de Grado en la Facultad de Biología

Memoria ID-0055. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2015-2016

Actualización y mejora de las claves de identificación de los seres vivos del Campus de Canalejas para la creación de una aplicación movil para la didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales en los Grados en Maestro en Educación Primaria y Maestro en Educación Infantil

Memoria ID-195. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2018-2019

La gamificación mediante el uso de las TICs: contribución a la alfabetización digital en los grados en Biología y en Maestro en Educación Infantil y Primaria

Memoria ID-126. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2019-2020.[ES]El objetivo general del proyecto es contribuir a la alfabetización digital de los alumnos a través del empleo de la gamificación y las TICs en los Grados en Biología y en Maestro de Educación Infantil y Primaria, y crear y consolidar una red de colaboración en innovación docente entre la Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) y la Universidad de Alicante (UA

"La caza del tesoro" mediante el uso de aplicaciones móviles para el estudio de la biodiversidad: adaptación de las prácticas de campo en los grados de biología y en maestro en educación infantil y primaria a distintos escenarios (Presencial, semipresencial y "on-line") y

Memoria ID-156. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2020-2021

Diversity of insect pollinators in the Iberian Peninsula

Numerosas observaciones y estudios que se han llevado a cabo en las últimas décadas demuestran que, además de las abejas (Hymenoptera; Anthophila) otros grupos de insectos desempeñan un papel primordial en la polinización entomófila. En este artículo se revisa la información y bibliografía disponible sobre la contribución de los principales polinizadores tradicionalmente considerados como "secundarios": los coleópteros, los lepidópteros, los dípteros, las avispas y las hormigas. Para cada uno de estos grupos se sigue un esquema común, con una breve introducción, la enumeración de las características básicas -tanto morfológicas como de comportamiento- en relación con la polinización, su efectividad como polinizadores y el estatus de conservación en la península ibérica. Esta revisión pone de manifiesto la importancia de todos estos grupos en la polinización entomófila y la necesidad de incluirlos en estudios exhaustivos sobre este fenómeno. Aunque los datos existentes en general son muy limitados, también se evidencia un declive general en la mayoría de estos grupos y una necesidad apremiante de mejorar los conocimientos sobre sus tendencias poblacionales.Numerous observations and studies that have been carried out in recent decades show that, in addition to bees ((Hymenoptera; Anthophila), other groups of insects play a major role in entomophilous pollination. This article reviews the information and literature available on the contribution of the main groups of pollinators that traditionally have been considered as "secondary": beetles, butterflies and moths, dipterans, wasps and ants. For each of these groups a common outline is followed, with a brief introduction, a summary of the basic characteristics - both morphological and behavioral - in relation to pollination, their effectiveness as pollinators and their conservation status in the Iberian Peninsula. This review highlights the importance of all these groups in entomophilous pollination and the need to include them in comprehensive studies on this phenomenon. Although data are generally very limited, there is clear evidence of a general decline in most of these groups which calls for a pressing need to improve knowledge about their population trends

Guiones y cuadernos de prácticas de campo en el entorno digital: innovación para mejorar su accesibilidad y contenido

Memoria ID2022-133 Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2022-2023

Analysis of the Diversity of Megachilidae Bees on the Northern Subplateau of the Iberian Peninsula

In the western Mediterranean, 772 species of bees in the family Megachilidae have been reported. Special emphasis has been placed on the Iberian Peninsula, where to date 218 species are known. However, few intensive studies providing information about communities of Megachilidae have been carried out. Two earlier works cite 70 species; almost one third of those known on the Peninsula. With an aim of gaining insight into the structure of the communities of Megachilidae and the factors influencing them, an analysis was made of the alpha and beta diversity of different localities in the northern subplateau. Malaise traps (black and white) were used, and 559 specimens belonging to 55 species were identified of which most exhibited a nest-holder-type nesting habit. Abundance and richness were higher for white traps, although a considerable degree of complementarity was observed with the black traps. In the study zone, diversity can be considered medium-high with a phylogenetic diversity corresponding to stable populations. Regarding the composition of the Megachilidae communities, the influence of the landscape structure, of the microhabitat, and of the colour of the trap used to collect the specimens was detected. The following are recommended: (1) the use of both black and white traps, since they show high complementarity and offer different information about community structure, (2) homogenization of the samples in comparisons among communities, owing to the influence of the color of the trap, which masks the importance of ecological factors in community structuring, and (3) the collection of samples from at least two years previous, in view of the elevated “replacement” of species observed with species richness estimators

Base de datos de abejas ibéricas

Las abejas son un grupo extremadamente diverso con más de 1000 especies descritas en la península ibérica. Además, son excelentes polinizadores y aportan numerosos servicios ecosistémicos fundamentales para la mayoría de ecosistemas terrestres. Debido a los diversos cambios ambientales inducidos por el ser humano, existen evidencias del declive de algunas de sus poblaciones para ciertas especies. Sin embargo, conocemos muy poco del estado de conservación de la mayoría de especies y de muchas de ellas ignoramos cuál es su distribución en la península ibérica. En este trabajo presentamos un esfuerzo colaborativo para crear una base de datos de ocurrencias de abejas que abarca la península ibérica e islas Baleares que permitirá resolver cuestiones como la distribución de las diferentes especies, preferencia de hábitat, fenología o tendencias históricas. En su versión actual, esta base de datos contiene un total de 87 684 registros de 923 especies recolectados entre 1830 y 2022, de los cuales un 87% presentan información georreferenciada. Para cada registro se incluye información relativa a la localidad de muestreo (89%), identificador y colector de la especie (64%), fecha de captura (54%) y planta donde se recolectó (20%). Creemos que esta base de datos es el punto de partida para conocer y conservar mejor la biodiversidad de abejas en la península ibérica e Islas Baleares. Se puede acceder a estos datos a través del siguiente enlace permanente: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6354502ABSTRACT: Bees are a diverse group with more than 1000 species known from the Iberian Peninsula. They have increasingly received special attention due to their important role as pollinators and providers of ecosystem services. In addition, various rapid human-induced environmental changes are leading to the decline of some of its populations. However, we know very little about the conservation status of most species and for many species, we hardly know their true distributions across the Iberian Peninsula. Here, we present a collaborative effort to collate and curate a database of Iberian bee occurrences to answer questions about their distribution, habitat preference, phenology, or historical trends. In total we have accumulated 87 684 records from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands of 923 different species with 87% of georeferenced records collected between 1830 and 2022. In addition, each record has associated information such as the sampling location (89%), collector and person who identified the species (64%), date of the capture (54%) and plant species where the bees were captured (20%). We believe that this database is the starting point to better understand and conserve bee biodiversity in the Iberian Peninsula. It can be accessed at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6354502Esta base de datos se ha realizado con la ayuda de los proyectos EUCLIPO (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-028360/EUCLIPO) y SAFEGUARD (ref. 101003476 H2020 -SFS-2019-2).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio