Like moths to a flame: A review of what we know about pyrophilic insects

Bell, Aaron

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120629

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…Based on the ground beetle activity results, it is possible to argue that pyrophilous ground beetle species may not have reproduced in the large study area. Since the first moments after the fire, the area has been colonized by individuals from distant locations [40], allowing them to spread effectively over the large area with limited trap captures. The activity of pyrophilous ground beetles concentrated in the second half of the sampling season suggests that these are likely the next generations of the initial pyrophilous colonizers that arrived from more distant sites.…”

Section: Pyrophilous Ground Beetlementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ground beetles, along with butterflies, represent the most extensively studied group of insects in relation to forest fires [18]. Burnt forests play a crucial role as an essential habitat for the pyrophilous species of ground beetles and other beetle species [33,40], as well as hymenopterans [30]. The reproduction of "fire-loving" (pyrophilous) beetles depends on forest fires [41].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reproduction of "fire-loving" (pyrophilous) beetles depends on forest fires [41]. Pyrophilous insects represent a highly specialized and endangered group of insects [40]. Pyrophilous beetles have evolved specific adaptations to thrive in extreme fire-related conditions, including exceptional olfactory abilities to detect smoke over long distances [42], infrared sensors for identifying excessively hot surfaces [43], and high dispersal and reproductive capabilities [40,44,45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pyrophilous insects represent a highly specialized and endangered group of insects [40]. Pyrophilous beetles have evolved specific adaptations to thrive in extreme fire-related conditions, including exceptional olfactory abilities to detect smoke over long distances [42], infrared sensors for identifying excessively hot surfaces [43], and high dispersal and reproductive capabilities [40,44,45]. Pyrophilous ground beetles primarily use the sterility of their post-fire environment to reproduce without facing predatory competition [45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short-Term Response of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to Fire in Formerly Managed Coniferous Forest in Central Europe

Zumr,

Remeš,

Nakládal

2024

Fire

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Forest fires represent a natural element in the dynamics of forest ecosystems. This study investigated the impact of a large-scale forest fire in 2022 (ca. 1300 ha) on epigeic ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). The research was conducted in coniferous forests at six pairwise study sites: burnt and unburnt dead spruce from bark beetles, burnt and unburnt clear cut, and burnt and unburnt healthy sites. Each site was replicated in four plots, with two pitfall traps deployed within each plot. In total, 48 pitfall traps (6 × 4 × 2) were installed in April 2023. It was tested how individual sites affected the similarity of ground beetle communities, whether they contained similar life guilds, and how significantly large-scale fire affects the abundance of pyrophilous ground beetles. A total of 5952 individuals and 63 species were recorded. We observed a significant decline in abundance at clear-cut and dead spruce burnt sites (73% and 77.5%, respectively) compared to the unburnt sites. Conversely, abundance increased by 88% at the burnt healthy site compared to the unburnt healthy site. Additionally, significant differences in the number of species per trap and species richness diversity (q = 0, q = 1, q = 2) were found only between burnt and unburnt healthy sites. In general, the highest species richness in the comparison of all study sites was at unburnt clear-cut and burnt healthy sites. Communities of ground beetles responded considerably to the fire, differing significantly from unburnt sites, and demonstrating a high degree of similarity. The original healthy spruce stands had highly homogeneous communities. On the contrary, any disturbance (bark beetle calamity, clear-cut) resulted in an increase in the alpha, beta, and gamma diversities of the ground beetle communities. Burnt sites attracted pyrophilous species (Sericoda quadripunctata, Pterostichus quadrifoveolatus) at very low abundances, with the highest activity in the second half of the season. In conclusion, ground beetles demonstrated a strong short-term response to large-scale fire, forming specific communities. However, pyrophilous ground beetles were unable to occupy a large-scale fire area due to the initial low abundance. Understanding post-fire processes can provide important guidance for management in areas designated for biodiversity enhancement.

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Section: Pyrophilous Ground Beetlementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short-Term Response of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to Fire in Formerly Managed Coniferous Forest in Central Europe

Zumr,

Remeš,

Nakládal

2024

Fire

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“…Not surprisingly, evolution also brought forth some totally new sensor types. Particularly interesting is the evolution of infrared (i.e., radiant heat) sensors in fire beetles, which use them to locate recent burn areas (yet avoid actual fires; T#29; Hinz et al, 2018;Bell, 2023), and in pit vipers, which use them to hunt rodents in darkness (T#30; Newman and Hartline, 1982). The details of these novel sensor types differ between the lineages (Gracheva et al, 2010), as one would expect, given their independent evolution.…”

Section: Sensory Receptor Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating evolution into neuroscience teaching

Striedter

2023

Front. Educ.

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Neuroscience courses can be enriched by including an evolutionary perspective. To that end, this essay identifies several concepts critical to understanding nervous system evolution and offers numerous examples that can be used to illustrate those concepts. One critical concept is that the distribution of features among today’s species can be used to reconstruct a feature’s evolutionary history, which then makes it possible to distinguish cases of homology from convergent evolution. Another key insight is that evolution did not simply add new features to old nervous systems, leaving the old features unchanged. Instead, both new and old features have changed, and they generally did so along divergent trajectories in different lineages, not in a linear sequence. Some changes in nervous system organization can be linked to selective pressures (i.e, adaptation), especially if they occurred convergently in different lineages. However, nervous system evolution has also been subject to various constraints, which is why many neural features are, in a sense, suboptimal. An overarching theme is that evolution has brought forth tremendous diversity across all levels of the nervous system and at all levels of organization, from molecules to neural circuits and behavior. This diversity provides excellent research opportunities, but it can also complicate the extrapolation of research findings across species.

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