No increase in fluctuating asymmetry in ground beetles (Carabidae) as urbanisation progresses

No increase in fluctuating asymmetry in ground beetles (Carabidae) as urbanisation progresses

Environmental stress can lead to a reduction in developmental homeostasis, which could be reflected in increased variability of morphological traits. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is one possible manifestation of such a stress, and is often taken as a proxy for individual fitness. To test the usefulnes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Community ecology Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 131 - 138
Main Authors: Elek, Z, G. L. Lövei, M. Bátki
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cham Akadémiai Kiadà 01-12-2014
AKADÉMIAI KIADÓ
Springer International Publishing
Subjects:
Animal Ecology
Antisymmetry
Beetles
Biodiversity
Carabidae
Carabus nemoralis
Community & Population Ecology
Developmental instability
environmental indicators
environmental quality
females
Fluctuating asymmetry
Forest habitats
forests
Ground beetles
habitat fragmentation
habitats
homeostasis
Insect morphology
Life Sciences
Male animals
males
Marine & Freshwater Sciences
Metropolitan areas
Microbial Ecology
Nebria brevicollis
Plant Ecology
Pterostichus melanarius
Species diversity
Urban forestry
Urban habitats
Urbanisation
Urbanization
Urbanisation
Developmental instability
Fluctuating asymmetry
Ground beetles
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Summary:Environmental stress can lead to a reduction in developmental homeostasis, which could be reflected in increased variability of morphological traits. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is one possible manifestation of such a stress, and is often taken as a proxy for individual fitness. To test the usefulness of FA in morphological traits as an indicator of environmental quality, we studied the effect of urbanisation on FA in ground beetles (Carabidae) near a Danish city. First, we performed a critical examination whether morphological character traits suggested in the literature displayed true fluctuating asymmetry in three common predatory ground beetles, Carabus nemoralis, Nebria brevicollis and Pterostichus melanarius. Eight metrical (length of the second and third antennal segments, elytral length, length of the first tarsus segment, length of the first and second tibiae, length of the proximal and distal spines on the first femurs) and one meristic (the number of spines on the second tibiae) traits were examined. Most of them showed FA but not consistently. Females generally displayed a higher level of FA than males. Finally, we examined the changes in the level of FA in bilateral morphological traits along an urbanisation gradient (forest - suburban forest - forest fragments in urban park) to test whether environmental stress created by urbanisation is reflected in FA. Ground beetles common along a Danish urbanisation gradient did not seem to indicate differences in habitat quality by their level of FA.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1556%2FComEc.15.2014.2.1
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1585-8553
1588-2756
DOI:10.1556/ComEc.15.2014.2.1