Trophic relations between adult water beetles from the Dytiscidae family and non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Abstract

Predation is an exceptionally important interaction observed in the natural environment. It regulates the population size of potential prey and at the same time decreases competitiveness between them. Among predators inhabiting water environments, especially notable predators are water beetles, particularly adults of Dytiscidae. The results presented herein are an attempt to learn the trophic relations between adult Dytiscidae and non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae). The studies were conducted in one-month intervals from April to September 2012–2013. In the diet structure of adult Dytiscidae of two size categories, the genus

Effect of changes in the fractal structure of a littoral zone in the course of lake succession on the abundance, body size sequence and biomass of beetles

“…In our study, the smallest quantitative impact of predatory beetles (same as the number of saprophages) was identified in the Sphagnum mat. There they represented classes of organisms with small body size, e.g., Hydroporus , which do not limit the presence of other water beetles, as they use other food resources, e.g., zooplankton, smaller insects, like mayflies, or insect eggs ( Frelik & Pakulnicka, 2015 ; Frelik, Koszałka & Pakulnicka, 2016 ; Perissinotto, Bird & Bilton, 2016 ). According to Scheffer & Van Nes (2006) , Pakulnicka et al (2013) and Scheffer et al (2015) , what happens here is the evident division of functions, which relies on the principle of minimising similarity (being similar albeit different), as this minimizes competitiveness.…”

Exposure of Midge Larvae (Chironomus riparius) to Graphene Oxide Leads to Development Alterations

“…Thus, the GO-related size reduction of larvae observed following exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations could impair the population dynamics. In addition, the chironomid larval size constitutes a parameter that was shown to influence prey–predator relationships [ 42 , 82 ]. Thus, we can hypothesize that significant changes in the size distribution of chironomids could influence the rest of the food chain, modifying trophic interactions between species.…”

Regional differences in water beetle communities networks settling in dystrophic lakes in northern Poland

“…Water beetles are among the organisms that tap various food resources 14 – 16 , 59 . Species from the families Dytiscidae, Noteridae and Gyrinidae are actively hunting predators, Hydrophilidae are mainly shredders and feed on macromolecular organic material, although Hydrophilus sp.…”

“…They are a group of organisms that are highly diverse in terms of species and ecology, are widespread in the environment and typically occur in large numbers in very different habitats 15 . The literature shows that beetles use a pool of nutrients from different trophic levels, although most beetles are predatory, which underlines their important role in trophic networks as regulators of the numbers of other organisms 13 , 14 , 16 , 17 . The classification of beetles into specific functional groups, indicating not only the type of food consumed but also the way food is obtained, is extremely important for a more comprehensive analysis of trophic networks 12 , 18 , 19 .…”

“…It allows the construction of the trophic structure of biocenoses and the assessment of the influence of rare species on the stability of the network 22 . The network analysis allows to conduct detailed studies even on less charismatic and non–model species, which often have a small body size, which can help identify several unexpected but potentially important trophic links in the network 13 , 16 , 17 , 26 , 27 . Some authors 13 point out that species network structures are less known in smaller water bodies than in lakes or rivers, so further studies are warranted 12 .…”