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Title: BIOTOPE PREFERENCES OF OICEOPTOMA THORACICUM (COLEOPTERA: SILPHIDAE)
BIOTOPE PREFERENCES OF OICEOPTOMA THORACICUM (COLEOPTERA: SILPHIDAE)

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Pavel Jakubec; Santiago Montoya-Molina; Jarin Qubaiova; Martin Novak; Martina Vetrovska
10.5593/sgem2022/5.1/s20.011
10.5593/sgem2022/5.1
1314-2704
978-619-7603-46-0
English
22
5.1
•    Prof. DSc. Oleksandr Trofymchuk, UKRAINE 
•    Prof. Dr. hab. oec. Baiba Rivza, LATVIA
Ecology and Environmental Protection
Biotope or habitat preferences are important species characteristics that can be used for understanding their ecology, as well as their conservation, and even as a tool for crime investigations for detection of post-mortem body manipulation. However, the characterization of species’ habitat preferences can be difficult. There are several limiting factors like lack of quantitative data and reliance on anecdotal evidence for this trait. Further, we must consider the reaction to the border between two neighboring habitats. These ecotones are important biodiversity hotspots in the landscape, which combine characteristics of both habitats, but some specialist species seem to avoid them. To characterize habitat preference of the potentially forensically important necrophagous beetle Oiceoptoma thoracicum (Linnaeus, 1758), we set up an experiment in the transition zone between the meadow and forest habitat. The individuals of O. thoracicum were collected using baited pitfall traps across two habitats and at ecotone. The traps were exposed for two weeks after which the samples were taken to the laboratory, where they were sorted and the specimens of O. thoracicum were sexed and counted. The obtained data were evaluated by a generalized linear model to establish the relationship between the presence and abundance of the focal species and distance from the ecotone. We found that the abundance of the species significantly changes along the forest-meadow gradient and shows a preference for woods. Its abundances at the ecotone and on meadows was low, showing a clear preference for forest habitats. This has important implications for the forensic use of the species, as it can be used to detect post-mortem body manipulation.
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The project was supported by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (grant no. VI20192022130).
conference
https://doi.org/10.5593/sgem2022/5.1/s20.011
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Proceedings of 22nd International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2022
22nd International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2022, 04 - 10 July, 2022
Proceedings Paper
STEF92 Technology
International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM
SWS Scholarly Society; Acad Sci Czech Republ; Latvian Acad Sci; Polish Acad Sci; Serbian Acad Sci and Arts; Natl Acad Sci Ukraine; Natl Acad Sci Armenia; Sci Council Japan; European Acad Sci, Arts and Letters; Acad Fine Arts Zagreb Croatia; Croatian Acad Sci and Arts; Acad Sci Moldova; Montenegrin Acad Sci and Arts; Georgian Acad Sci; Acad Fine Arts and Design Bratislava; Turkish Acad Sci.
77-82
04 - 10 July, 2022
website
8675
Edge effect, Ecology, Beetles, Silphidae