Changes in the phenology of the ground beetle Pterostichus madidus (Fabricius, 1775)

Abstract

A growing body of evidence shows that climate change can alter the phenology of plants and animals. In this study long‐term data from the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) were analyzed to investigate whether there has been a change in the phenology of the ground beetle Pterostichus madidus (Fabricius, 1775). Pitfall trap data were available from 12 ECN sites across the United Kingdom, most of which have been in operation for more than 15 years. Weather and vegetation datasets were also utilized. Pitfall trap lines were categorized to eight vegetation types. Trend analysis over time was carried out first using all the available dates of capture events, then the datasets grouped by vegetation type and site. Shifts in high‐activity periods were also analyzed. P. madidus appearance dates advanced significantly at seven sites and in five vegetation types. Peak activity advanced at two sites. At one site the timing of activity became significantly later. The last day of activity did not change significantly, supporting the theory that the cessation of the activity period is more likely to be controlled by photoperiod than temperature. The relationships between phenological variables and climatic factors were also investigated. However, no significant correlations were detected. These results demonstrate that between 1992 and 2008, phenology of P. madidus at seven sites from the eight analyzed has changed. Global warming may be driving these changes and future work will investigate underlying processes.

Winter warming effects on overwinter survival, energy use, and spring emergence ofCerotoma trifurcata(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

“…In nature, most thermal regimes fluctuate, and such fluctuations can have unexpected consequences, depending on whether the fluctuations lead to cold mortality or energy savings at low temperatures, and energy drain or damage repair at higher temperatures (Colinet et al , ). Thus, warmer winters could increase survival by reducing chilling injury (Bale & Hayward, ) or allowing earlier spring emergence (van Asch et al , ; Hahn & Denlinger, ; Pozsgai & Littlewood, ), although they could decrease survival by reducing insulating snow cover (Lawrence & Slater, ), leading to exposure to lethal air temperatures (Joshi et al , ; Bale & Hayward, ) or increased rates of energy use that deplete energy reserves (Bosch & Kemp, ; Irwin & Lee, ; Williams et al , ; Hahn & Denlinger, , ). The relative importance of each of these scenarios remains to be determined and is likely to be both region and species specific.…”

Grazing impacts on ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) abundance and diversity on semi‐natural grassland

“…Evidence of detrimental effects of climate change is also growing. For example, changing phenologies of some ground beetle species have been linked with climate change (Pozsgai & Littlewood, 2011, 2014; Pozsgai et al ., 2018) and changes in upland ground beetle assemblages and an increased prevalence of generalist species have been linked to decreasing maximum temperatures and increasing rainfall (Pozsgai et al ., 2015).…”

Hoverfly Communities in Semi-Natural Grasslands, and their Role in Pollination

“…Conversely, increasing ambient temperature has been shown to have contrasting phenological responses in plants and their Dipteran pollinators in arctic ecosystems, significantly reducing the amount of time during the flowering season that plants can be successfully pollinated (Hoye et al 2013). The consequences for any change in peak hoverfly abundance and species-richness driven by climate change is therefore unclear, for while phenological change in invertebrate taxa have been widely observed (Pozsgai & Littlewood 2011;Kuhlmann et al 2012), the implications for plant pollinator interactions are not well understood (Byers 2017).…”