Abstract
Olfactory ability is an element of fitness in many animals, guiding choices among alternatives such as mating partners or food. Ground beetles (Coleoptera; Carabidae), exhibit preferences for prey, and some species are well-known weed seed predators. We used olfactometer-based bioassays to determine if olfactory stimuli are associated with detection of Brassica napus L., Sinapis arvensis L., and Thlaspi arvense L. seeds by ground beetles characteristic of agroecosystems, and whether behavioural responses to seed odors depended on seed physiological state (imbibed or unimbibed). Imbibed B.napus seeds were preferred over other weed species by two of the three carabid species tested. Only A. littoralis responded significantly to unimbibed seeds of B. napus. Sensitivity to olfactory cues appeared to be highly specific as all carabid species discriminated between the olfactory cues of imbibed brassicaceous weed seeds, but did not discriminate between weed seeds that were unimbibed. Overall, our data suggest that depending on seed physiological state, odours can play an important role in the ability of carabids to find and recognize seeds of particular weed species.
Highlights
Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are invertebrate predators, some of which consume weed seeds in temperate agroecosystems [1,2,3]
A similar trend was observed for H. affinis (χ2 = 7.05, P = 0.07), while no statistically significant differences in response to odors were observed for P. melanarius (χ2 = 5.2, P = 0.16)
Residence times were significantly longer in response to unimbibed seed odour than to controls for P. melanarius (F = 4.51; df = 3, 117; P = 0.004), H. affinis (F = 13.53, df = 3, 114; P = 0.001 Fig 3a;) and A. littoralis (F = 86.12; df = 3, 117; P = 0.0001)
Summary
Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are invertebrate predators, some of which consume weed seeds in temperate agroecosystems [1,2,3]. Post-dispersal seed consumption by carabids can limit population growth of weedy plants [4, 5] and affects the population dynamics of weeds in agroecosystems [5,6]. Most invertebrate predators use a variety of sensory cues in localizing prey or habitats in which prey may be found [14,15,16]. Ground beetles assess habitat suitability using a range of cues and, it is well known that volatile chemicals associated with the habitat can be involved.
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