Diversity, Habitat Use and Potential Biocontrol Services of Rove Beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in Soybean Agroecosystems and Adjacent Hedgerows by Adam J. Brunke A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Biology Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Adam J. Brunke, August, 2011 ABSTRACT DIVERSITY, HABITAT USE AND POTENTIAL BIOCONTROL SERVICES OF ROVE BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: STAPHYLINIDAE) IN SOYBEAN AGROECOSYSTEMS AND ADJACENT HEDGEROWS Adam James Brunke Advisors: University of Guelph, 2011 Professor Rebecca H. Hallett Professor Stephen A. Marshall Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) in Ontario soybean-hedgerow agroecosystems were surveyed in 2009-2010 to identify common, widespread species and assess their potential biological control of Soybean Aphid and Bean Leaf Beetle. The spatiotemporal distributions, habitat use, and co-occurrence of staphylinids with soybean pests were studied to provide a framework for future agroecological studies of biocontrol services in soybean. A taxonomic review of the Staphylinina (Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) (‘large rove beetles’) for the geographic area of study was conducted and identification keys were created to assist in future staphylinid research. Common soybean staphylinids were generally exotic, penetrated field interiors, utilized hedgerow habitat outside the growing season and co-occurred with pest populations during vulnerable life stages. Several species exhibited nocturnal activity in soybean foliage. Biocontrol of overwintering Soybean Aphid and Bean Leaf Beetle populations in hedgerows by staphylinids may occur in buckthorn canopies and leaf litter, respectively. Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my advisors Drs. Rebecca Hallett and Stephen Marshall for their academic guidance and unwavering support over the course of my thesis research. I also wish to thank the people of the Insect Systematics and Hallett labs for creating such an enjoyable place to work each day. Thanks to Christie Bahlai for many fruitful discussions involving SBA biology, factors driving population dynamics and natural predator ecology, and for extensive assistance with statistical methodology. I sincerely thank Dave Cheung for his support and patience over the past three years and for many hours of technical assistance and essential training used to construct the online version of the keys found in Chapter II. Dave Cheung and Morgan Jackson assisted me with mapping software and creation of the custom maps in Chapter II. Thanks to Justin Renkema and Don McAlpine for bringing the presence of Platydracus cinnamopterus in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to my attention, respectively. Reggie Webster and Ales Smetana recognized the misidentification present in Klimaszewski et al. (2005) and allowed me to represent this in Chapter II. Margaret Thayer read an earlier version of Chapter II and provided many helpful comments. Cody Anderson, Lauren DesMarteaux, Adam Jewis-Gaines and Dave Makynen provided impeccable support as field and lab assistants and were instrumental in the retrieval of accurate data over the season. I am so grateful to have had such dedicated friends working with me. Thanks to participating soybean growers and to Tracey Baute (OMAFRA) who provided the initial list of contacts for field sites. I’d like to thank the iii Nature Conservancy of Canada and rare Charitable Research Reserve for access to their properties. Thanks to Alfred Newton, Margaret Thayer, Jan Klimaszewski, Alexey Solodovnikov and Christopher Majka for their generosity, hospitality and mentorship. Your enthusiasm and friendship has inspired me to become a lifelong student of Staphylinidae. Funding for this thesis was provided by the Grain Farmers of Ontario, an NSERC PGS-M and rare research scholarship awarded to A. Brunke and an OMAFRA-University of Guelph Sustainable Production Systems research grant to R. Hallett. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements........................................................................................................... iii Table of contents.................................................................................................................v List of tables.................................................................................................................... viii List of maps........................................................................................................................ix List of figures....................................................................................................................xii Chapter I: Literature Review and Research Focus 1. Introduction...............................................................................................................1 2. Ecology and life history of two major soybean pests and notes on others ...............2 3. Rove beetle biology and spatiotemporal distributions..............................................9 4. Staphylinids as predators of agricultural pests........................................................13 5. Staphylinid agroecology .........................................................................................19 6. Sampling Staphylinidae in agroecosystems............................................................21 7. Research Objectives................................................................................................25 Chapter II: Taxonomic Review. The Staphylinidae of Eastern Canada and Adjacent United States (ECAS). Key to subfamilies; Staphylininae: Tribes and Subtribes, and Species of Staphylinina 1. Introduction.............................................................................................................28 2. Materials and Methods............................................................................................30 3. Results and Discussion 3.1 Key to the subfamilies in ECAS...................................................................35 3.2 Key to the tribes and subtribes of Staphylininae in ECAS ...........................41 3.3 Key to the genera of Staphylinina in ECAS .................................................42 3.4 Key to the Dinothenarus species in ECAS...................................................44 3.5 Key to the Ocypus species in ECAS.............................................................44 3.6 Key to the Ontholestes species in ECAS......................................................44 3.7 Key to the Platydracus species in ECAS .....................................................44 3.8 Key to the Tasgius species in ECAS ............................................................48 3.9 The subfamilies of Staphylinidae in ECAS ..................................................48 3.10 The tribes and subtribes of Staphylinidae in ECAS ...................................67 3.11 The species of Staphylinina in ECAS.........................................................78 Chapter III: Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in southern Ontario soybean fields and adjacent hedgerows: assemblage composition, seasonality and habitat use 1. Introduction...........................................................................................................152 2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Study sites...................................................................................................154 v 2.2 Sampling protocol.......................................................................................154 2.3 Specimen identification and categorization................................................160 2.4 Statistical analyses ......................................................................................161 3. Results 3.1 Assemblage abundance, richness and origin ..............................................162 3.2 Species excluded from study ......................................................................164 3.3 Common species.........................................................................................164 3.4 Seasonality and habitat use of common soybean species ...........................166 3.5 Influence of hedgerow habitat type on common soybean species..............183 4. Discussion 4.1 Assemblage richness and composition .......................................................183 4.2 Seasonal activity patterns in soybean fields ...............................................186 4.3 Habitat use of common soybean Staphylinidae..........................................188 4.4 Potential biocontrol services and future directions.....................................190 4.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................191 Chapter IV: Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) associated with Soybean Aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) and Bean Leaf Beetle (Ceratoma trifurcata (Forster)) populations in soybean-hedgerow landscapes 1. Introduction...........................................................................................................192 2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Spatiotemporal distributions of rove beetles ..............................................194 2.2 Population dynamics of soybean pests .......................................................195 2.3 Diel activity patterns in the soybean rove beetle assemblage.....................195 2.4 Statistical analyses ......................................................................................196 3. Results 3.1 Seasonal occurrence