Development and characterization of seven polymorphic microsatellite loci in Bembidion atrocaeruleum (Coleoptera: Carabidae).

We isolated seven polymorphic microsatellite loci from a ground beetle (Bembidion atrocaeruleum, Coleoptera, Carabidae (Stephens, 1826)) associated with naturally and regularly disturbed floodplain habitat in northwest Europe. Loci were tested on 157 individuals collected from five distinct habitat patches across two adjacent drainage basins in Wales, United Kingdom, to assess their potential for revealing population structure across a relatively short spatial extent. Alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 12.

Responses to river inundation pressures control prey selection of riparian beetles.

Background: Riparian habitats are subjected to frequent inundation (flooding) and are characterised by food webs that exhibit variability in aquatic/terrestrial subsidies across the ecotone. The strength of this subsidy in active riparian floodplains is thought to underpin local biodiversity. Terrestrial invertebrates dominate the fauna, exhibiting traits that allow exploitation of variable aquatic subsidies while reducing inundation pressures, leading to inter-species micro-spatial positioning.