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Community ecology of insects inhabiting ephemeral habitats.
SLÁDEČEK, František
The aim of this thesis was to investigate community assembly mechanisms driving the temporal patterns, succession and seasonality, in dung-inhabiting insects as a model community of insects inhabiting ephemeral habitats. I have shown that the succession of dung-inhabiting beetle and fly species follows the mechanisms of habitat filtering. This was reflected in species successional aggregation in adult dung-visiting flies, aggregation of beetle and fly functional groups in succession, sized-based successional patterns of dung-inhabiting beetle predators and, finally, by reflection of successional patterns of dung-emitted volatiles by beetle and fly species' succession. Seasonality follows the mechanisms of niche differentiation among adult flies and beetle predators, while it should rather follow principles of habitat filtering between all beetles and flies.
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Interplay of succession and seasonality reflects resource utilization in an ephemeral habitat
SLÁDEČEK, František
The temporal aspects, succession, seasonality, of coprophilous beetles? assemblage were studied for the first time in Central Europe. Specifically all beetles? families were targeted including both the coprophagous and predatory species. In general, the pattern of species successional turn-over resembles the patterns retrieved from Northern Europe, however with the late successional species optima shifted towards earlier days of succession. The successional position of coprophages species reflets their oviposion strategy, while the predatory species are separated according to their size. The seasonal displacement applies predominantly to the species presented in the later part of succession.
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Heterotrophic succession of dung insect communities of the warmer part of European temperate region
SLÁDEČEK, František
The mechanisms of dung inhabiting insects' heterotrophic succession were studied by preventing the colonisation of early successional insect. The early successional insect, predominantly the large larvae of Calyptratae Diptera, both facilitated and inhibited the later establishing insect. Whereas the removal of early successional species affected negatively the late successional Coleoptera (facilitation), the small late successional larvae of Acalyptratae Diptera were affected positively (inhibition). The patterns retrieved from the heterotrophic succession strongly resemble the patterns retrieved from the autotrophic, mostly plant, succession Therefore it is possible to suggest, that similar mechanisms are behind both the autotrophic and the heterotrophic succession.
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host ::
RSS.