Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-7qhmt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-26T22:51:53.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Spatial and temporal patterns of carabid activity-density in cereals do not explain levels of predation on weed seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2007

P. Saska*
Affiliation:
Crop Research Institute, Drnovska 507, Prague 6 – Ruzyne, 161 06, Czech Republic
W. van der Werf
Affiliation:
Wageningen University, Group Crop and Weed Ecology, Haarweg 333, Wageningen, 6709 RZ, the Netherlands
E. de Vries
Affiliation:
Wageningen University, Group Crop and Weed Ecology, Haarweg 333, Wageningen, 6709 RZ, the Netherlands
P.R. Westerman
Affiliation:
Wageningen University, Group Crop and Weed Ecology, Haarweg 333, Wageningen, 6709 RZ, the Netherlands
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: +420 2 333 11 592 E-mail: saska@vurv.cz

Abstract

Seed predation is an important component of seed mortality of weeds in agro-ecosystems, but the agronomic use and management of this natural weed suppression is hampered by a lack of insight in the underlying ecological processes. In this paper, we investigate whether and how spatial and temporal variation in activity-density of granivorous ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) results in a corresponding pattern of seed predation. Activity-density of carabids was measured by using pitfall traps in two organic winter wheat fields from March to July 2004. Predation of seeds (Capsella bursa-pastoris, Lamium amplexicaule, Poa annua and Stellaria media) was assessed using seed cards at the same sites and times. As measured by pitfall traps, carabids were the dominant group of insects that had access to the seed cards. In the field, predation of the four different species of seed was in the order: C. bursa-pastoris>P. annua>S. media>L. amplexicaule; and this order of preference was confirmed in the laboratory using the dominant species of carabid. On average, seed predation was higher in the field interior compared to the edge, whereas catches of carabids were highest near the edge. Weeks with elevated seed predation did not concur with high activity-density of carabids. Thus, patterns of spatial and temporal variation in seed predation were not matched by similar patterns in the abundance of granivorous carabid beetles. The lack of correspondence is ascribed to effects of confounding factors, such as weather, the background density of seeds, the composition of the carabid community, and the phenology and physiological state of the beetles. Our results show that differences in seed loss among weed species may be predicted from laboratory trials on preference. However, predator activity-density, as measured in pitfall traps, is an insufficient predictor of seed predation over time and space within a field.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, W.S. (1925) A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide. Journal of Economic Entomology 18, 263267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Begon, M., Townsend, C.R. & Harper, J.L. (2006) Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems. 752 pp. Oxford, Blackwell.Google Scholar
Boeken, M., Desender, K., Drost, B., van Gijzen, T., Koese, B., Turin, H. & Vermeulen, R. (2002) De Loopkevers van Nederland & Vlaanderen (Coleoptera: Carabidae). 666 pp. Utrecht, Jeugdbondsuitgeverij.Google Scholar
Bradford, K.J. (1995) Water relations in seed germination. pp. 351396in Kigel, J. & Galili, G. (Eds) Seed Development and Germination. New York, Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar
Brust, G.E. (1994) Seed-predators reduce broadleaf weed growth and competitive ability. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 48, 2734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brust, G.E. & House, G.J. (1988) Weed seed destruction by arthropods and rodents in low-input soybean agroecosystems. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 3, 1925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cardina, J., Norquay, H.M., Stinner, B.R. & McCartney, D.A. (1996) Postdispersal predation of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) seeds. Weed Science 44, 534539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cloudsley-Thompson, J.L. (1989) Temperature and the activity of ants and other insects in central Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 16, 185192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cromar, H.E., Murphy, S.D. & Swanton, C.J. (1999) Influence of tillage and crop residue on postdispersal predation of weed seeds. Weed Science 47, 184194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Firbank, L.G. & Watkinson, A.R. (1986) Modelling the population dynamics of an arable weed and its effects upon crop yield. Journal of Applied Ecology 23, 147159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallandt, E.R. (2005) Experimental substrate affects rate of seed removal in assays of invertebrate seed predation. Weed Technology 19, 481485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, S.K., Regnier, E.E. & Schmoll, J.T. (2003) Postdispersal predation of giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) seed in no-tillage corn. Weed Science 51, 955964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hengeveld, R. (1980) Polyphagy, oligophagy and food specialization in ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Netherlands Journal of Zoology 30, 564584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, J.M. (2002) The Agroecology of Carabid Beetles. 356 pp. Andover, Intercept.Google Scholar
Holland, J.M., Perry, J.N. & Winder, L. (1999) The within-field spatial and temporal distribution of arthropods in winter wheat. Bulletin of Entomological Research 89, 499513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, J.M., Hutchison, M.A.S., Smith, B. & Aebischer, N.J. (2006) A review of invertebrates and seed-bearing plants as food for farmland birds in Europe. Annals of Applied Biology 148, 4971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, R.J. & Froud-Williams, R.J. (2005) Post-dispersal weed seed predation by avian and non-avian predators. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 105, 2327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honek, A. (1997) The effect of temperature on the activity of Carabidae (Coleoptera) in a fallow field. European Journal of Entomology 94, 97104.Google Scholar
Honek, A., Martinkova, Z. & Jarosik, V. (2003) Ground beetles (Carabidae) as seed predators. European Journal of Entomology 100, 531544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honek, A., Martinkova, Z. & Saska, P. (2005) Post-dispersal predation of Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) seed. Journal of Ecology 93, 345352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honek, A., Saska, P. & Martinkova, Z. (2006) Seasonal variation in seed predation by adult carabid beetles. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 118, 157162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honek, A., Martinkova, Z., Saska, P. & Pekar, S. (2007) Size and taxonomic constraints determine the seed preferences of Carabidae (Coleoptera). Basic and Applied Ecology 8, 343353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulme, P.E. (1994) Seedling herbivory in grassland–relative impact of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores. Journal of Ecology 82, 873880.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulme, P.E. & Kollmann, J. (2005) Seed predator guild, spatial variation in post-dispersal seed predation and potential effects on plant demography: a temperate perspective. pp. 930in Forget, P.-M., Lambert, J.E., Hulme, P.E. & Vander Wall, S.B. (Eds) Seed Fate. Predation, Dispersal and Seedling Establishment. Wallingford, CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurka, K. (1996) Carabidae of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Carabidae České a Slovenské Republiky. 365 pp. Zlín, Kabourek.Google Scholar
Jørgensen, H.B. & Toft, S. (1997) Role of granivory and insectivory in the life cycle of the carabid beetle Amara similata. Ecological Entomology 22, 715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keen, A. & Engel, B. (2005) IRREML procedure. pp. 4144in Goedhart, P.W. & Thissen, J.T.N.M. (Eds) Biometris GenStat Procedure Library Manual. Wageningen, Biometris.Google Scholar
Kollmann, J. & Bassin, S. (2001) Effects of management on seed predation in wildflower strips in northern Switzerland. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 83, 285296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kromp, B. (1999) Carabid beetles in sustainable agriculture: a review on pest control efficacy, cultivation impacts and enhancement. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 74, 187228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kromp, B. & Steinberger, K.-H. (1992) Grassy field margins and arthropod diversity: a case study on ground beetles and spiders in eastern Austria (Coleoptera: Carabidae; Arachnida: Aranei, Opiliones). Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 40, 7193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luff, M.L. (1993) The Carabidae (Coleoptera) larvae of Fennoscandia and Denmark. 186 pp. Leiden, Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marino, P.C., Gross, K.L. & Landis, D.A. (1997) Weed seed loss due to predation in Michigan maize fields. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 66, 189196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marino, P.C., Westerman, P.R., Pinkert, C. & Van der Werf, W. (2005) Influence of seed density and aggregation on post-dispersal weed seed predation in cereal fields. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment 106, 1725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinkova, Z., Saska, P. & Honek, A. (2006) Consumption of fresh and buried seed by ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). European Journal of Entomology 103, 361364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mauchline, A.L., Watson, S.J., Brown, V.K. & Froud-Williams, R.J. (2005) Post-dispersal seed predation of non-target weeds in arable crops. Weed Research 45, 157164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mittelbach, G.G. & Gross, K.L. (1984) Experimental studies of seed predation in old-fields. Oecologia 65, 713.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neven, L.G. (2000) Physiological responses of insects to heat. Postharvest Biology and Technology 21, 103111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Rourke, M.E., Heggenstaller, A.H., Liebman, M. & Rice, M.E. (2006) Post-dispersal weed seed predation by invertebrates in conventional and low-external-input crop rotation systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 116, 280288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, A.W., Kaufman, G.A. & Kaufman, D.W. (2005) Rodent seed predation and GUDs: effect of burning and topography. Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue Canadienne de Zoologie 83, 12791285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saska, P. & Jarošík, V. (2001) Laboratory study of larval food requirements in nine species of Amara (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Plant Protection Science 37, 103110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saska, P., Vodde, M., Heijerman, T., Westerman, P. & van der Werf, W. (2007) The significance of a grassy field boundary for the spatial distribution of carabids within two cereal fields. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 122, 427434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skuhravý, V. (1959) Potrava polnich strevlikovitych [Die Nahrung der Feldcarabiden]. Časopis Československé Spolecnosti Entomologické 56, 118.Google Scholar
Tooley, J.A. & Brust, G.E. (2002) Weed seed predation by carabid beetles. pp. 215229in Holland, J.M. (Ed.) The Agroecology of Carabid Beetles. Andover, Intercept.Google Scholar
Tooley, J.A., Froud-Williams, R.J., Boatman, N.D. & Holland, J.M. (1999a) Laboratory studies of weed seed predation by carabid beetles. pp. 571572 in Brighton Crop Protection Conference: Weeds. Proceedings of an International Conference. 15–18 November 1999, Brighton, UK.Google Scholar
Tooley, J.A., Froud-Williams, R.J., Boatman, N.D. & Holland, J.M. (1999b) Weed seed predation in arable field margins by carabid beetles (Carabidae: Coleoptera). Aspects of Applied Biology 54, 211216.Google Scholar
van Dijk, T.S. (1983) The influence of food and temperature on the amount of reproduction in carabid beetles. pp. 105123in Brandmayr, P., den Boer, P.J. & Weber, F. (Eds) Ecology of Carabids: The Synthesis of Field Study and Laboratory Experiment. Münster, University of Münster.Google Scholar
Westerman, P.R., Hofman, A., Vet, L.E.M. & van der Werf, W. (2003a) Relative importance of vertebrates and invertebrates in epigeaic weed seed predation in organic cereal fields. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 95, 417425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westerman, P.R., Wes, J.S., Kropff, H.J. & van der Werf, W. (2003b) Annual losses of weed seeds due to predation in organic cereal fields. Journal of Applied Ecology 40, 824836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westerman, P., Liebman, M., Menalled, F.D., Heggenstaller, A.H., Hartzler, R.G. & Dixon, P.M. (2005) Are many little hammers effective?–Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) population dynamics in two- and four-year crop rotation systems. Weed Science 53, 382392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar