David V Beresford

• Trent University

We document the blow fly species caught at two baited traps from May to July 2021 in a suburban region of southern Ontario. Baited traps were deployed in a residential area of St Catharines, Ontario, which captured blow flies from 7 species, the most abundant being Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826) (878) and Phormia regina Meigen, 1826 (397). Traps w...

The Far North region of Ontario, Canada, is a wilderness area comprising 451,808 square kilometers of intact boreal forest and wetlands. Until the work presented here the most recent extensive survey for crayfish in the Far North region of Ontario was conducted in 1963. We sampled 81 locations across the Far North region of northern Ontario and the...

Horse flies and deer flies are important components of habitat for many species, but how logging may alter the communities of biting flies in the boreal forest is largely unexplored. Such knowledge is important to conservation, because biting flies can shape the behaviour and sometimes even the demography of vertebrates in the boreal forest. We com...

Documenting biodiversity, species occurrence, and species status require reliable monitoring techniques, but the complex life history and cryptic behavior of many anurans create challenges for conventional monitoring approaches. Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys are a promising alternative (or complement) to conventional anuran monitoring, but their...

Biting flies can strongly influence the behaviour of their hosts, for example, there is evidence that some species may avoid harassment by reducing their locomotory activity. We tested the hypothesis that potential hosts can reduce their attraction to deer flies by remaining stationary—that reducing locomotory movement reduces exposure to new deer...

We present a summary of inventory information on jewel beetles from northern Ontario and adjacent Akimiski Island in the territory of Nunavut collected as part of several broader biodiversity surveys. We provide updates for seven species: Agrilus cyanescens Ratzeberg, 1837, Anthaxia inornata (Randall, 1938), Buprestis maculativentris Say, 1824, Bup...

The distribution and diversity of fauna of remote regions, including much of the boreal forest, are incompletely known. We took part in extensive biodiversity surveys in the Far North of Ontario (north of 51° N), Canada from 2009 to 2015. In the family Carabidae Latreille (Coleoptera), we report new records and range extensions for 600 specimens re...

Determining why some animals form groups while others remain solitary is a longstanding goal in behavioural ecology. Group formation can help mitigate predation risk through various mechanisms, including risk dilution and group vigilance. The selfish herd hypothesis proposes that prey can reduce their risk by minimizing the area around which all po...

We provide a thorough historical account of the genus Pollenia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Polleniidae) in North America through published records beginning in 1849. From this, we have gleaned insights into their presence on this continent, how they were perceived as pests, and studies of their biology to better frame current work on this gen...

The current study was developed as part of Far North Biodiversity Project of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, conducted from 2010 to 2014. Out of 2903, we assigned 2735 specimens to 66 species. The remaining 168 specimens were identified to 17 genera only (i.e., unassociated forms). One new species Bryophaenocladius beresford...

In this paper, we report on the diversity and distribution of Dytiscidae (Coleoptera: Adephaga) collected in Far North Ontario, Canada during the years 2009 to 2014. A total of 387 individuals from 34 species and 14 genera were collected, which represent 20.9% of the known Ontario fauna. Of these, 24 species are Nearctic (70.6%) and 10 species Hola...

Density-dependent mortality by predation and cannibalism has been observed in aquatic insects such as dragonflies in response to shrinking habitat caused by summer drought. Winter conditions might also reduce the amount of livable habitat in temperate ponds and could augment rates of cannibalism. We hypothesized that cannibalism in dragonfly nymphs...

Twelve experimental pools (30 cm width × 30 cm depth) around a large stormwater management pond (SWMP) were used to test the hypothesis that small puddles of water similar to animal hoofprints or other irregularities support more abundant and diverse mosquito populations due to having fewer insect predators. Six of the 12 pools were connected to th...

The coexistence of ecologically similar species is thought to require resource partitioning to minimize competition. Phenological, seasonal differences in activity may provide an important axis for resource partitioning. Here, we test for evidence of seasonal differences in activity within a diverse guild of carrion beetles (Silphidae) in a habitat...

Genus Doncricotopus Sæther, 1981 is reviewed based on type and voucher material from Canada and Finland. Along with additions and emendation for adult male’s characters of Doncricotopus bicaudatus Sæther, 1981 and Doncricotopus dentatus Tuiskunen, 1985, we describe a new species, Doncricotopus nunavummiuti, with description of its female, pupal and...

Passive transport has likely contributed to the post-glacial dispersal of species in temperate regions. However, identifying such processes from patterns can be obscured by confounding environmental conditions. We studied the distribution of ground beetles in Ontario’s Far North, a vast (450,000 km²) and largely intact region, to identify mechanism...

Syrphids (Diptera: Syrphidae) are a diverse and widespread family of pollinating flies. Their diverse life history traits not only allow them to thrive in a wide range of habitats but also make them potential bioindicators of environmental change. Here, we report on their distributions from a previously understudied and undeveloped part of northern...

Body size is a key biological trait, influencing the biomechanics, physiology, behaviour, and ecology of species. Describing variation in body size within and among co-occurring species within an ecological guild can provide important context for understanding the ecology of species and the structure of ecological communities. Here, we focus on a g...

Farmland creates unique conservation challenges, including opportunities to increase biodiversity (Schieltz and Rubenstein 2016). Studies of local and small-scale farm systems are urgently needed, or the opportunity to understand the biodiversity of these areas will be lost. Increasingly, producers are under pressure to remove fencerows and hedges,...

A systematic revision of the genera Georthocladius Strenzke, 1941 and Parachaetocladius Wülker, 1959, and a key to adult males is presented. Two new Holarctic species are diagnosed and described based on morphological characters of the adult male: Parachaetocladius pyrenaeus sp. n. (Palaearctic region) and Parachaetocladius broankerothurrie sp. n....

The coexistence of closely related species plays an important role in shaping local diversity. However, competition for shared resources can limit the ability of species to coexist. Many species avoid the costs of coexistence by diverging in habitat use, known as habitat partitioning. We examine patterns of habitat use in seven co-occurring species...

Here, we assess regional differences in decomposition rates of allochthonous plant detritus in the littoral zones of lake ecosystems. Specifically, we measured breakdown rates and elemental composition of aspen leaves (Populus tremuloides) over 60–70 days in 14 lakes from four lake regions located > 1000 km apart in Ontario, Canada. We found substa...

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a crucial role in terrestrial and aquatic carbon and biogeochemical cycles; however, molecular transformations between aquatic and terrestrial systems remain poorly understood due to the complexity and heterogeneity of DOM. In this study, we investigated the molecular diversity of aquatic DOM and adjacent soil d...

There is a recognized disconnect in priority and synergy between academic and practitioners in forensic science. In this work, we personally reflect on our experiences in conducting research studies that directly involve academic and practitioner stakeholders. We believe, amongst others, that this "gap" can be mitigated through regular and producti...

The measurement of insects is an important component of many entomological applications, including forensic evidence, where larvae size is used as a proxy for developmental stage, and hence time since colonization/death. Current methods for measuring insects are confounded by varying preservation techniques, biased and non-standardized measurements...

Adults of eight species of beetles in the subfamily Elaphrinae (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Elaphrinae) were collected in the Far North of Ontario and on Akimiski Island, Nunavut, Canada. We found first records for Nunavut (territory) of seven species: Blethisa julii LeConte, 1863; Blethisa quadricollis Haldeman, 1847; Diacheila arctica (Gyllenhal, 1810...

Blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae are commonly used in forensic cases to determine postmortem intervals using development rates and successional changes in community composition. Studies are conducted from different regions to provide these data. We wanted to know how widely applicable these data are. We examined whether urbanized landscapes...

From 2008–2015 we sampled for species of Nicrophorus Fabricius from northern Ontario and nearby Akimiski Island, Nunavut, using a variety of methods. We report on new range records, including a known range extension for Nicrophorus pustulatus Herschel and Nicrophorus sayi Laporte in Ontario, and first territorial records for 3 species in Nunavut: N...

Flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are a diverse group of pollinators found almost worldwide. Species surveys of these flies provide unique challenges as they can be difficult to collect due to different trapping biases. Here, we test the efficacy of the Nzi trap for use in the collection of syrphids by comparing the richness and abundance of syrphi...

The 1990–1991 Geological Survey of Canada from the Hot Weather Creek in Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island produced a large and comprehensive collection of Chironomidae. In this first attempt of description of the Chironomidae fauna of this region based on this collection, we describe the female of Chaetocladius (Chaetocladius) glacialis (Lundströ...

Adults of 16 species of Dytiscidae (Coleoptera: Adephaga) were collected in wetland habitats of Akimiski Island (Nunavut, Canada). Except for Colymbetes dolabratus (Paykull) and Hydroporus lapponum Gyllenhal, both of which are considered Arctic or Subarctic elements, all other species collected are characteristic of the Boreal ecozone. Whereas all...

Rheocricotopus (Rheocricotopus) reduncusoides sp. n. is described from Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada. Its discovery was made while curating and examining specimens deposited by H. V. Danks in 1969 at the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa, Canada. We also report the first Canadian record of Parametriocnemus hamatus (Johannsen, 1934) from Qué...

Closely related species with overlapping geographic ranges encounter a significant challenge: they share many ecological traits and preferences but must partition resources to coexist. In Ontario, potentially eleven species of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) live together and require vertebrate carrion for reproduction. Their reliance on an...

Dataset used in our study, including zeros (traps that did not catch any beetles).

R code: Test for differences between ground and canopy traps in number of species and number of beetles, random forest models, binomial GLM models.

Readme file: description of variables in the datasets.

Dataset used in our study, excluding zeros (traps that did not catch any beetles).

Communities of benthic invertebrates from a series of intermittent headwater streams spanning over a short elevation gradient (i.e., ~ 180–500 m) were investigated in April–July 2010 and May–July 2011. The main purpose of this study was to better understand whether the potential future effect of environmental change on biological communities of the...

Habitat loss has been implicated in the decline of forest-dwelling caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), but it is unknown how biting insects, potentially important components of boreal forest habitat for caribou, influence the activity of this threatened species. During summers in 2011 and 2012 in northern Ontario, Canada, we quantified the relativ...

Northern Ontario, Canada, is one of the few places in North America with little to no data on the local/resident bumble bee fauna. This region is rich in mineral resources and is at risk of being developed for resource extraction before its fauna are catalogued. We report on 220 individuals from 11 species of bumble bees (Bombus spp.) collected as...

We report on 2 first records of Chironomidae for Ontario, Rheosmittia spinicornis (Brundin, 1956) and Sublettea coffmani (Roback 1975), and confirm a previous record of Odontomesa fulva (Kieffer 1919) from Ontario. Specimens of S. coffmani have been only reported from New Brunswick whereas R. spinicornis has records from northern, western and centr...

Tiger beetles typically have specific habitat requirements and because of this, and their ease of identification, can serve as useful indicators of ecosystem condition. However, in northern Ontario, Canada, especially the Far North, distribution information for tiger beetles is generally historic or lacking.We conducted tiger beetle inventories acr...

Closely related species with overlapping geographic ranges encounter a significant challenge: they share many ecological traits and preferences but must partition resources to coexist. In Ontario, potentially eleven species of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) live together and require vertebrate carrion for reproduction. Their reliance on an...

Closely related species with overlapping geographic ranges encounter a significant challenge: they share many ecological traits and preferences but must partition resources to coexist. In Ontario, potentially eleven species of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) live together and require vertebrate carrion for reproduction. Their reliance on an...

Leeches have a worldwide distribution, yet numerous geographical regions remain to be adequately surveyed. Here, we present leech species records for one of these regions: the far north of Ontario, Canada. This region is primarily wetland habitat and includes two of Ontario’s three ecozones. Morphological examinations, as well as a single instance...

Populations of stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans, and other filth flies are often sampled using sticky traps. We wanted to know whether flies already caught on sticky traps might inhibit to some extent subsequent flies from being caught. To test this, we recorded the number of stable flies landing on white plastic corrugated panels (Coroplast®), wh...

This paper reports the first record of Carabus granulatus L. from Moosonee, Ontario. The record extends the range of the species northward in Ontario by approximately 200 km. Carabus granulatus was first introduced into North America in 1890 from Europe. The historic area of C. granulatus in North America was plotted against year. The square root o...

This paper reports the first record of tiger beetles for Nunavut, Canada, with records from Akimiski Island in the Qikiqtaaluk region: Cicindela tranquebarica (Herbst) and Cicindela longilabrus (Say). These records extend the range of both species northward by 180 km from the southern tip of James Bay.

Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Phormia regina (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are morphologically similar blow fly species commonly used for estimating postmortem intervals. Field collection and storage of adults can result in color changes, in particular on calypters and palps; often collected specimens...

Forensic entomology involves the use of insects and arthropods to assist a spectrum of medico-criminal investigations that range from identifying cases of abuse, corpse movements, and most commonly, post mortem interval estimates. Many of these applications focus on the use of blowflies given their predicable life history characteristics in their l...

Postfeeding dispersal involves migration of larvae away from their food source in order to pupate. Puparia are difficult to find, yet are important for estimating PMI, and missing puparia during collection can result in inaccurate estimations. This study investigates the late season maggot dispersal patterns for blow flies at coyote carcasses in tw...

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-invasive, geophysical tool that can be used for the identification of clandestine graves. GPR operates by detecting density differences in soil by the transmission of high frequency electromagnetic waves from an antenna. Domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) carcasses were clothed in 100% cotton t-shirts and 5...

There are many factors which affect the rate of decomposition in a grave site including; the depth of burial, climatic conditions, physical conditions of the soil (e.g. texture, pH, moisture), and method of burial (e.g. clothing, wrappings). Clothing is often studied as a factor that can slow the rate of soft tissue decomposition. In contrast, the...

We sampled stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), populations using a CO2 baited cloth trap (Nzi trap) each day throughout the summer and autumn at a beef farm near Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, from 1997 to 2001. Females (2,512) were dissected for ovarian age-grading, to produce a demographic profile of farm populations. The number of follicles we...

We applied a gamma transit time model to predict the rate of range expansion of the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus Pallas, 1814) in the Trent-Severn Waterway (Ontario, Canada). Gamma distributions were fit to actual transit times of the population front from 2009 to 2011. A lack of model fit in the second year is thought to be indicative of an...

A taxonomic diagnosis of chironomid larvae collected from Precambrian Shield headwater streams, Canada, is provided for 51 species. In addition, the Nearctic distribution is given for each species, including 17 new records, along with and information on their ecology and habitat.

A taxonomic diagnosis of chironomid larvae collected from Precambrian Shield headwater streams, Canada, is provided for 51 species. In addition, the Nearctic distribution is given for each species, including 17 new records, along with and information on their ecology and habitat.

Numerous environmental pressures have precipitated long-term population reductions of many insect species. Population declines in aerially foraging insectivorous birds have also been detected, but the cause remains unknown partly because of a dearth of long-term monitoring data on avian diets. Chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are a model aerial i...

We are monitoring the variations in arthropods abundance and activity throughout the summer. Modified Malaise traps (pitfall trap with vertical mesh screen and bottle trap attached above to increase capture of flying insects) are used to capture surface active and low-flying arthropods. Two transects of 5 traps each (20m between each trap) are depl...

The effects of natal experience on the oviposition behaviour of adult female mosquitoes were investigated in the laboratory using Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). 'Treatment' mosquitoes were exposed to a dilute repellent (inducing stimulus) in their breeding water (aquatic stages) and/or in the air (adults) during various combinations of li...

Blow fly species (Calliphoridae) are commonly used in forensic investigations. Adults are often sampled at crime scenes and during species surveys using sticky traps. Trap catches are species specific and can vary due to trap design. We tested sticky traps set near a fresh pig carcass to identify catch differences of blow fly species based on trap...

The instantaneous rate of population increase was used to assess the ability of attractive targets coated with permethrin to control stable fly populations on 3 dairy farms in south central Ontario, Canada. Two attractive targets were deployed over 10 wk in 2001 at each of 6 dairy farms. Three farms were outfitted with 2 untreated targets and 3 wer...

Stable fly (Diptera: Muscidae) populations in south central Ontario, Canada, first occur on dairy farms in late spring, grow exponentially throughout the summer, and are frozen back each autumn. We examined the extent of overwinter persistence on 22 dairy farms in a 55- by 60-km region north of Lake Ontario that spans four climatic zones. Our overw...

In south-central Ontario, the stable flies disperse from their overwintering farms and re-establish populations at neighbouring dairy and beef farms each spring. Two species of phoretic macrochelid mites commonly found on stable flies are Macrocheles muscaedomesticae and M. subbadius. We tested the hypothesis that mite phoresy affects the dispersal...

Male stable flies require at least one or more blood meals to reach sexual maturity and are often caught in CO2-baited traps. We tested the hypothesis that young male stable flies (one to three days, one blood feeding session) would be more responsive to CO2 bait than older male stable flies by monitoring the upwind movement of different-aged male...

Time series data are commonly obtained by trapping over a standardized period of time, for example daily or weekly. In this paper we present evidence that such sampling designs are inherently irregularly spaced due to the varying developmental rates and population parameters caused by changing temperatures during a sampling season. We modeled an ex...

Stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans L.) are blood-feeding pests of cattle, whose populations are often monitored using sticky traps. Trap responses at different heights were compared with: 1) a choice and no-choice test, with sticky cards set at 30 and 121 cm heights (above ground), and 2) tall (120 cm) traps placed in short (3 cm) and tall (40 cm) g...

Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), are a blood-feeding pest of cattle worldwide. A new trapping material, Coroplast, was compared with Alsynite sticky traps based on the number, sex, and parity of stable flies caught. Coroplast sticky traps caught more stable flies than Alsynite (trap catches of 2384 versus 753 on 15 traps)...