Flight capabilities and feeding habits of silphine beetles: are flightless species really "carrion beetles"?
Flight capabilities and feeding habits of silphine beetles: are flightless species really "carrion beetles"?
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DOI：
10.1007/s11284-006-0012-1
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发表时间：
2007-03-01
影响因子：
2
通讯作者：
Abe, Toshio
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ikeda, Hiroshi;Kubota, Kohei;Abe, Toshio
测定了9种天牛成虫的飞行能力和食性，并阐明了它们之间的关系。我们研究了silphine甲虫的存在或不存在的飞行肌肉，并估计他们的饮食习惯，通过比较的碳和氮的稳定同位素比值为他们与那些necrophorine种和carnivorous carabine种。长角丝蜂Silpha longicornis、长角丝蜂S. Perforata和Phosphugaatrata）完全缺乏具有飞行肌的个体，而一种日本真丝绸（Eusilphajaponica）表现出飞行肌二型性。稳定同位素分析表明，这些物种是食肉动物，主要以土壤无脊椎动物为食。大多数飞行物种的同位素比值高于不会飞的物种。其中一些物种的同位素比值接近于nicrophorine物种，表明这些物种主要以脊椎动物尸体为食。不会飞的Silphine物种在寻找零散和不可预测的尸体资源方面能力有限。进一步的研究是必要的，以了解适应性进化的飞行能力和食性在这一组。
We determined the flight capabilities and feeding habits of adults of nine silphine beetle species and illustrated their relationship. We examined the silphine beetles for the presence or absence of flight muscles and estimated their feeding habits by comparing the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios for them with those of necrophagous nicrophorine species and carnivorous carabine species. Three species (Silpha longicornis, S. perforata and Phosphuga atrata) completely lacked individuals with flight muscles, and one species (Eusilpha japonica) showed flight muscle dimorphism. Stable isotope analysis suggested that these species were carnivores, mainly feeding on soil invertebrates. Most flight species showed higher isotopic ratios than the flightless species. Some of them have isotopic ratios close to those of the nicrophorine species, suggesting that these species mainly feed on vertebrate carcasses. Flightless silphine species would have limited ability to search for patchy and unpredictable carcass resources. Further studies are necessary to understand the adaptive evolution of flight capability and the feeding habits in this group.