Staphylinid beetles as bioindicators

Abstract

The family Staphylinidae is one of the largest beetle families and is distributed worldwide in almost all types of ecosystems. The morpho-ecological characteristics of staphylinid beetle adults and developmental stages are summarized, and features pertaining to their potential use as bioindicators are highlighted. Methods of study and practical examples are given for the application of staphylinids as bioindicators both in seminatural and cultural landscapes. The structure of staphylinid communities in biotopes with various management practices is described. Future refinements in identification and sampling methods should result in increased use of staphylinids as bioindicators, possibly in combination with studies of other insects competing for the same resources.

Interactions between a detrital resource pulse and a detritivore community

“…1f; linear regression, P=0.0122; Kruskal-Wallis, P=0.0724), but showed a nonsignificant positive relationship with cicada carcass availability in days 14-21 (linear regression, P=0.0808; Kruskal-Wallis, P=0.3488). Nearly all known carabid and staphylinid beetles are polyphagous predators, though supplemental scavenging and detritus-associated predation is widespread in these diverse groups (Lovei and Sunderland 1996;Bohac 1999;Toft and Bilde 2002).…”

Genome-wide genetic diversity of rove beetle populations along a metal pollution gradient

“…As all life stages of S. erythropterus live in the topsoil litter layer, where most emitted metals end-up, they are exposed to pollution, especially considering the fact they absorb soil porewater and feed on animals recognized as macroconcentrators of metals. According to the review of Bohac (1999) Staphylinid larvae are considered more sensitive to pesticide and radionuclide pollution than imagos. However, Zvereva et al ( 2003) concluded that beetle larvae are less sensitive to metal pollution than adults because they are able to get rid of accumulated metals during molting.…”

Analysis of the richness of Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) on different scales of a sub-Andean rural landscape in Colombia

“…Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) have been proposed as bioindicators or surrogates (Bohac 1999;Anderson and Ashe 2000;Pohl et al 2007) given that they are abundant and diverse (47,000 species); occupy a great variety of habitats worldwide; are easy to collect, given that the majority of the species are found among leaf litter and fallen trunks, forming one of the commonest groups of insects and ecologically the most important of the soil-related fauna; and the determination of the majority of the subfamilies is relatively well known (Bohac 1999;Navarrete-Heredia et al 2002;Newton et al 2005). In Colombia around 796 species and 230 genera of staphylinids are known, but some 5000 species are estimated, placing this family in a taxonomic information gap (Newton et al 2005).…”