Composition and diversity of spring-active carabid beetle assemblages in relation to soil management in organic wheat fields in Denmark

Patterns in spring-active carabid assemblages were described in relation to four organic soil management regimes (no soil nutrient addition, undersowing, animal manure, undersowing + manure) in two areas of Denmark. On the island of Zealand, the Flakkebjerg study area had 22 species, 3-10 species/trap, and the species rank of these was the same for all treatments. The dominant species were Pterostichus melanarius, Agonum dorsale, Harpalus rufipes and Calathus fuscipes. At Foulum, Jutland, there were 46 species, 12-15 species/ trap, dominated by P. versicolor, P. melanarius, A. dorsale and Nebria brevicollis. Their rank, however, was not the same for all treatments. There were remarkable differences in the carabid assemblages of the two sites, and manure addition modified the assemblages, more pronouncedly so in the poorer-soil Flakkebjerg site. However, we did not detect clear effects of the studied treatments on carabid species richness, overall abundance or Pterostichus melanarius alone

Generalised entropy indices have a long history in ecology -a comment

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Applicability and feasibility of systematic review for performing evidence-based risk assessment in food and feed safety

Food and feed safety risk assessment uses multi-parameter models to evaluate the likelihood of adverse events associated with exposure to hazards in human health, plant health, animal health, animal welfare, and the environment. Systematic review and meta-analysis are established methods for answering questions in health care, and can be implemented to minimize biases in food and feed safety risk assessment. However, no methodological frameworks exist for refining risk assessment multi-parameter models into questions suitable for systematic review, and use of meta-analysis to estimate all parameters required by a risk model may not be always feasible. This paper describes novel approaches for determining question suitability and for prioritizing questions for systematic review in this area. Risk assessment questions that aim to estimate a parameter are likely to be suitable for systematic review. Such questions can be structured by their "key elements" [e.g., for intervention questions, the population(s), intervention(s), comparator(s), and outcome(s)]. Prioritization of questions to be addressed by systematic review relies on the likely impact and related uncertainty of individual parameters in the risk model. This approach to planning and prioritizing systematic review seems to have useful implications for producing evidence-based food and feed safety risk assessment

Distribuição de Carabidae e Staphylinidae em agroecossistemas Distribution of Carabidae and Staphylinidae in agroecosystems

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a distribuição da riqueza de espécies e a preferência pelo habitat de Carabidae e Staphylinidae (Coleoptera), em áreas com rotação de soja e milho, em plantio direto e convencional, e em áreas adjacentes a estas com fragmento florestal e povoamento de pínus, respectivamente. Os besouros foram amostrados por meio de armadilhas de solo distribuídas em dois transectos de 100 m de comprimento. A distribuição da riqueza de espécies nas culturas, no fragmento florestal e no pínus foi avaliada por meio de análise de regressão linear. A análise de agrupamento foi empregada para identificar as espécies quanto à preferência pelos habitats: fragmento florestal, pínus, cultura e interface. A distribuição da riqueza de espécies de Carabidae e Staphylinidae não variou em relação à posição no transecto, enquanto a riqueza de espécies observada nas interfaces foi elevada em comparação com a encontrada nos demais habitats. A ocorrência de espécies de Carabidae diferiu conforme o tipo de cobertura vegetal: Megacephala sp. e Scarites sp. preferiram áreas cultivadas em sistema de rotação soja-milho; Odontochila nodicornis (Dejean) preferiu o fragmento florestal e o povoamento de pínus. A espécie Abaris basistriatus Chaudoir caracterizou-se como generalista quanto à preferência pelo habitat.<br>The objective of this work was to determine the distribution of species richness and habitat preference of Carabidae and Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) in two areas cultivated with soybean/corn under no-tillage and conventional tillage systems and in adjacents areas with forest fragment and a Pinus stand, respectively. Beetles were sampled by pitfall traps which were distributed in two transects of 100 m. The distribution of species richness in the crops and forest fragment/Pinus was evaluated by regression analysis. Cluster analysis was used to identify species in relation to preference for the forest fragment, Pinus, crop and interface. The distribution of Carabidae and Staphylinidae species richness did not show variation in relation to the position in transect, while the species richness observed in the interfaces between forest fragment or Pinus stand and crops were higher compared with the ones found in other habitats. The occurrence of Carabidae species differed in relation to the vegetation type: Megacephala sp. and Scarites sp. preferred crop areas under soybean/corn rotation system. The same was observed with Odontochila nodicornis (Dejean) in the forest fragment and Pinus stand. The species Abaris basistriatus Chaudoir was characterized as a generalist species in relation to habitat preference