Abstract

1. It is generally assumed that generalist predatory carabids are food limited, and the degree of food limitation can vary in space and time, but there are only a few studies that investigate whether or not temporal variation in insect condition is synchronised among sites. 2. In this paper temporal and spatial variation in four fitness-related traits body mass corrected for size, body size, fat content, and fecundity - of two carabid species, Pterostichus cupreus (L.) and Pterostichus melanarius (Ill.), differing in overwintering strategy, lifespan, diet, and habitat breadth were studied. 3. Interactions between temporal, and spatial variation for the fitness-related traits were found for both species. Temporal changes in food limitation were not synchronised among sites, and fitness-related traits. were not generally higher on some sites than on others. 4. There was an effect of study year on body mass, fat content, and fecundity for both species, suggesting that temporal environmental variation over large areas is more important than the spatial environmental variation within a year. 5. Within a time period, most different fitness-related traits, except body size, were positively correlated to each other among individuals of the same species. The fitness-related traits of females and males of the same species were generally positively correlated. However, despite the fact that the food resources of the two species overlap, there was no correlation in fitness-related traits between the two species

Published in

Ecological Entomology
2005, Volume: 30, number: 1, pages: 63-69
Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHING LTD

SLU Authors

• Östman, Örjan

  • Department of Ecology and Crop Production Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0307-6946.2005.00661.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/9229