In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consi... more In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consisting of a gelatinous spermatophylax attached to the paired ampulla with the sperm. The spermatophylax acts as a sperm protection device; during its consumption, the sperm are transferred into the female’s spermatheca. Males of the bushcricket Letana inflata (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878) show strongly extended copulation duration. When the pair finally separates, only an ampulla is visible at the females’ genital opening, but no spermatophylax. To better understand copulation dynamics in the absence of a spermatophylax, we studied copula duration and sperm transfer pattern. Our results show that in Letana inflata the missing spermatophylax is replaced by extended copulation, securing the transfer of sperm into the spermatheca.
In recent years, the decline of insect biodiversity and the imminent loss of provided ecosystem f... more In recent years, the decline of insect biodiversity and the imminent loss of provided ecosystem functions and services has received public attention and raised the demand for political action. The complex, multi-causal contributors to insect decline require a broad interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach that addresses ecological and social aspects to find sustainable solutions. The project Diversity of Insects in Nature protected Areas (DINA) assesses insect communities in 21 nature reserves in Germany, and considers interactions with plant diversity, pesticide exposure, spatial and climatic factors. The nature reserves border on agricultural land, to investigate impacts on insect diversity. Part of the project is to obtain scientific data from Malaise traps and their surroundings, while another part involves relevant stakeholders to identify opportunities and obstacles to insect diversity conservation. Our results indicate a positive association between insect richness and b...
Citizen Science (CS) is a research approach that has become popular in recent years and offers in... more Citizen Science (CS) is a research approach that has become popular in recent years and offers innovative potential for dialect research in ornithology. As the scepticism about CS data is still widespread, we analysed the development of a 3-year CS project based on the song of the Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) to share best practices and lessons learned. We focused on the data scope, individual engagement, spatial distribution and species misidentifications from recordings generated before (2018, 2019) and during the COVID-19 outbreak (2020) with a smartphone using the ‘Naturblick’ app. The number of nightingale song recordings and individual engagement increased steadily and peaked in the season during the pandemic. 13,991 nightingale song recordings were generated by anonymous (64%) and non-anonymous participants (36%). As the project developed, the spatial distribution of recordings expanded (from Berlin based to nationwide). The rates of species misidentifications w...
The worldwide rapid declines in insect and plant abundance and diversity that have occurred in th... more The worldwide rapid declines in insect and plant abundance and diversity that have occurred in the past decades have gained public attention and demand for political actions to counteract these declines are growing. Rapid large-scale biomonitoring can aid in observing these changes and provide information for decisions for land management and species protection. Malaise traps have long been used for insect sampling and when insects are captured in these traps, they carry traces of plants they have visited on the body surface or as digested food material in the gut contents. Metabarcoding offers a promising method for identifying these plant traces, providing insight into the plants with which insects are directly interacting at a given time. To test the efficacy of DNA metabarcoding with these sample types, 79 samples from 21 sites across Germany were analysed with the ITS2 barcode. This study, to our knowledge, is the first examination of metabarcoding plant DNA traces from Malaise...
We adopt an allometric framework of scaling relationships for comparison between mating-related t... more We adopt an allometric framework of scaling relationships for comparison between mating-related traits in the middle European bushcricket Roeseliana roeselii (Hagenbach, 1822). Eight characters, covering ontogenetic fitness (size traits; fixed at final moult), male condition (mass traits) and mating motivation (reproductive behaviours), were analysed in unrestricted matings and in matings involving genital manipulation. Shortening the male titillators had no effect on mating-related traits in males. However, titillators, known to be under sexual selection, scale hyperallometrically, with larger males possessing proportionally longer titillators, performing more titillator movements and exhibiting a reduced duration of copulation. Scaling was also hyperallometric for spermatophore mass, with larger males being heavier and transferring heavier nuptial gifts. Both titillator length and spermatophore mass might be condition-dependent indicators, because their variances were nearly twice...
The majority of bushcricket species (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) use acoustic signals for... more The majority of bushcricket species (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) use acoustic signals for mate attraction. Song production and the sound‐producing structures, therefore, can be argued to be under sexual selection. The sound‐producing structures might determine differences in the acoustic parameters of male songs, like the fundamental frequency. We investigated the morphology and scaling relationships of the sound production organs in males of the bushcricket Poecilimon ampliatus. Selection acting on morphological traits can be inferred from allometric relationships. Our results show that heavier and larger males have bigger sound‐producing organs: wing area scales positively with body mass as well as with body size. The length of the stridulatory file and the stridulatory teeth length both increase with wing area. In contrast, the number and density of teeth on the stridulatory file decrease in heavier males. As a result, males with larger wings and longer stridulatory files...
In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consi... more In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consisting of a gelatinous spermatophylax attached to the paired ampulla with the sperm. The spermatophylax acts as a sperm protection device; during its consumption, the sperm are transferred into the female’s spermatheca. Males of the bushcricket Letana inflata (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878) show strongly extended copulation duration. When the pair finally separates, only an ampulla is visible at the females’ genital opening, but no spermatophylax. To better understand copulation dynamics in the absence of a spermatophylax, we studied copula duration and sperm transfer pattern. Our results show that in Letana inflata the missing spermatophylax is replaced by extended copulation, securing the transfer of sperm into the spermatheca.
Open science approaches enable and facilitate the investigation of many scientific questions in b... more Open science approaches enable and facilitate the investigation of many scientific questions in bioacoustics, such as studies on the temporal and spatial evolution of song, as in vocal dialects. In contrast to previous dialect studies, which mostly focused on songbird species with a small repertoire, here we studied the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), a bird species with a complex and large repertoire. To study dialects on the population level in this species, we used recordings from four datasets: an open museum archive, a citizen science platform, a citizen science project, and shared recordings from academic researchers. We conducted the to date largest temporal and geographic dialect study of birdsong including recordings from 1930 to 2019 and from 13 European countries, with a geographical coverage of 2,652 km of linear distance. To examine temporal stability and spatial dialects, a catalog of 1,868 song types of common nightingales was created. Instead of dialects,...
In Germany, the decline of insect biomass was observed in nature conservation areas in agricultur... more In Germany, the decline of insect biomass was observed in nature conservation areas in agricultural landscapes. One of the main causal factors discussed is the use of synthetic pesticides in conventional agriculture. In a Germany-wide field study, we collected flying insects using Malaise traps in nature conservation areas adjacent to agricultural land. We used a multi-component chemical trace element analysis to detect 92 common agricultural pesticides in ethanol from insect traps sampled in May and August 2020. In total, residues of 47 current use pesticides were detected, and insect samples were on average contaminated with 16.7 pesticides. Residues of the herbicides metolachlor-S, prosulfocarb and terbuthylazine, and the fungicides azoxystrobin and fluopyram were recorded at all sites. The neonicotinoid thiacloprid was detected in 16 of 21 nature conservation areas, most likely due to final use before an EU-wide ban. A change in residue mixture composition was noticeable due to ...
In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consi... more In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consisting of a gelatinous spermatophylax attached to the paired ampulla with the sperm. The spermatophylax acts as a sperm protection device; during its consumption, the sperm are transferred into the female’s spermatheca. Males of the bushcricket Letana inflata (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878) show strongly extended copulation duration. When the pair finally separates, only an ampulla is visible at the females’ genital opening, but no spermatophylax. To better understand copulation dynamics in the absence of a spermatophylax, we studied copula duration and sperm transfer pattern. Our results show that in Letana inflata the missing spermatophylax is replaced by extended copulation, securing the transfer of sperm into the spermatheca.
In recent years, the decline of insect biodiversity and the imminent loss of provided ecosystem f... more In recent years, the decline of insect biodiversity and the imminent loss of provided ecosystem functions and services has received public attention and raised the demand for political action. The complex, multi-causal contributors to insect decline require a broad interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach that addresses ecological and social aspects to find sustainable solutions. The project Diversity of Insects in Nature protected Areas (DINA) assesses insect communities in 21 nature reserves in Germany, and considers interactions with plant diversity, pesticide exposure, spatial and climatic factors. The nature reserves border on agricultural land, to investigate impacts on insect diversity. Part of the project is to obtain scientific data from Malaise traps and their surroundings, while another part involves relevant stakeholders to identify opportunities and obstacles to insect diversity conservation. Our results indicate a positive association between insect richness and b...
Citizen Science (CS) is a research approach that has become popular in recent years and offers in... more Citizen Science (CS) is a research approach that has become popular in recent years and offers innovative potential for dialect research in ornithology. As the scepticism about CS data is still widespread, we analysed the development of a 3-year CS project based on the song of the Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) to share best practices and lessons learned. We focused on the data scope, individual engagement, spatial distribution and species misidentifications from recordings generated before (2018, 2019) and during the COVID-19 outbreak (2020) with a smartphone using the ‘Naturblick’ app. The number of nightingale song recordings and individual engagement increased steadily and peaked in the season during the pandemic. 13,991 nightingale song recordings were generated by anonymous (64%) and non-anonymous participants (36%). As the project developed, the spatial distribution of recordings expanded (from Berlin based to nationwide). The rates of species misidentifications w...
The worldwide rapid declines in insect and plant abundance and diversity that have occurred in th... more The worldwide rapid declines in insect and plant abundance and diversity that have occurred in the past decades have gained public attention and demand for political actions to counteract these declines are growing. Rapid large-scale biomonitoring can aid in observing these changes and provide information for decisions for land management and species protection. Malaise traps have long been used for insect sampling and when insects are captured in these traps, they carry traces of plants they have visited on the body surface or as digested food material in the gut contents. Metabarcoding offers a promising method for identifying these plant traces, providing insight into the plants with which insects are directly interacting at a given time. To test the efficacy of DNA metabarcoding with these sample types, 79 samples from 21 sites across Germany were analysed with the ITS2 barcode. This study, to our knowledge, is the first examination of metabarcoding plant DNA traces from Malaise...
We adopt an allometric framework of scaling relationships for comparison between mating-related t... more We adopt an allometric framework of scaling relationships for comparison between mating-related traits in the middle European bushcricket Roeseliana roeselii (Hagenbach, 1822). Eight characters, covering ontogenetic fitness (size traits; fixed at final moult), male condition (mass traits) and mating motivation (reproductive behaviours), were analysed in unrestricted matings and in matings involving genital manipulation. Shortening the male titillators had no effect on mating-related traits in males. However, titillators, known to be under sexual selection, scale hyperallometrically, with larger males possessing proportionally longer titillators, performing more titillator movements and exhibiting a reduced duration of copulation. Scaling was also hyperallometric for spermatophore mass, with larger males being heavier and transferring heavier nuptial gifts. Both titillator length and spermatophore mass might be condition-dependent indicators, because their variances were nearly twice...
The majority of bushcricket species (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) use acoustic signals for... more The majority of bushcricket species (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) use acoustic signals for mate attraction. Song production and the sound‐producing structures, therefore, can be argued to be under sexual selection. The sound‐producing structures might determine differences in the acoustic parameters of male songs, like the fundamental frequency. We investigated the morphology and scaling relationships of the sound production organs in males of the bushcricket Poecilimon ampliatus. Selection acting on morphological traits can be inferred from allometric relationships. Our results show that heavier and larger males have bigger sound‐producing organs: wing area scales positively with body mass as well as with body size. The length of the stridulatory file and the stridulatory teeth length both increase with wing area. In contrast, the number and density of teeth on the stridulatory file decrease in heavier males. As a result, males with larger wings and longer stridulatory files...
In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consi... more In most bushcricket species, the male transfers a nuptial gift to the female during mating, consisting of a gelatinous spermatophylax attached to the paired ampulla with the sperm. The spermatophylax acts as a sperm protection device; during its consumption, the sperm are transferred into the female’s spermatheca. Males of the bushcricket Letana inflata (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878) show strongly extended copulation duration. When the pair finally separates, only an ampulla is visible at the females’ genital opening, but no spermatophylax. To better understand copulation dynamics in the absence of a spermatophylax, we studied copula duration and sperm transfer pattern. Our results show that in Letana inflata the missing spermatophylax is replaced by extended copulation, securing the transfer of sperm into the spermatheca.
Open science approaches enable and facilitate the investigation of many scientific questions in b... more Open science approaches enable and facilitate the investigation of many scientific questions in bioacoustics, such as studies on the temporal and spatial evolution of song, as in vocal dialects. In contrast to previous dialect studies, which mostly focused on songbird species with a small repertoire, here we studied the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), a bird species with a complex and large repertoire. To study dialects on the population level in this species, we used recordings from four datasets: an open museum archive, a citizen science platform, a citizen science project, and shared recordings from academic researchers. We conducted the to date largest temporal and geographic dialect study of birdsong including recordings from 1930 to 2019 and from 13 European countries, with a geographical coverage of 2,652 km of linear distance. To examine temporal stability and spatial dialects, a catalog of 1,868 song types of common nightingales was created. Instead of dialects,...
In Germany, the decline of insect biomass was observed in nature conservation areas in agricultur... more In Germany, the decline of insect biomass was observed in nature conservation areas in agricultural landscapes. One of the main causal factors discussed is the use of synthetic pesticides in conventional agriculture. In a Germany-wide field study, we collected flying insects using Malaise traps in nature conservation areas adjacent to agricultural land. We used a multi-component chemical trace element analysis to detect 92 common agricultural pesticides in ethanol from insect traps sampled in May and August 2020. In total, residues of 47 current use pesticides were detected, and insect samples were on average contaminated with 16.7 pesticides. Residues of the herbicides metolachlor-S, prosulfocarb and terbuthylazine, and the fungicides azoxystrobin and fluopyram were recorded at all sites. The neonicotinoid thiacloprid was detected in 16 of 21 nature conservation areas, most likely due to final use before an EU-wide ban. A change in residue mixture composition was noticeable due to ...
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