Geographical variability in Thanatophilus sinuatus (Coleoptera: Silphidae) thermal constants

Bc. Iana Ipatova

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Necrophagous beetles are an important but understudied group of insects, which are highly useful for forensic entomology. This thesis presents novel information regarding Thanatophilus sinuatus (Fabricius, 1775) developmental biology. T. sinuatus is frequently found in the carrion and is widely distributed throughout the Palearctic region. In this study, beetles from different geographic regions (Czech Republic, Germany and Italy) were collected and bred at three constant temperatures (14, 20, and 24°C). Development time for all developmental stages was gathered and analyzed. In total, 417 out of 733 specimens reached adulthood. Thermal summation models and standard errors were calculated for all developmental stages (data were excluded for egg) for the three different geographical localities. The obtained developmental lengths differed among temperatures and populations. When comparing the thermal constants, low values of LDT and high values of ADD were attained in colder locality in Czech Republic (LDT = 7.38; ADD = 346.37) dissimilar results were obtained in warmer localities as Italy (LDT = 9.49; ADD = 278.82), in accordance to the literature.

Keywords

Silphidae, Thermal summation models, Coleoptera, Forensic entomology, Larval development

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 31. 3. 2022

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedúci: doc. Mgr. Jan Růžička, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Environmental Sciences

Master programme / odbor:
Environmental Sciences / Applied Ecology