
Pavel JakubecCzech University of Life Sciences Prague | CULS
Pavel Jakubec
PhD
About
42
Publications
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Introduction
Ecology, distribution and development of necrophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae and Cholevinae).
Additional affiliations
September 2015 - present
September 2011 - September 2015
Education
September 2009 - June 2011
Publications
Publications (42)
The worldwide distributed subfamily of rove beetles Silphinae contains two well‐established tribes, based on both morphological and molecular data. The relationships within the tribe Nicrophorini have been mostly resolved; however, the tribe Silphini still lacks a robust phylogeny. Thus, here we resolved the phylogeny of the tribe based on 42 speci...
Sexual communication in nocturnal fireflies has been presumed to be facilitated exclusively by bioluminescence, which has replaced the pheromones used by diurnal species. Although some fireflies are suspected of using combined signalling, this view has so far not been supported by empirical evidence, and these species have been viewed more as outli...
To accurately model the food webs, we need to acquire precise data on food ecology of the interacting species. This allows better understanding of the trophic interactions and for the necrophagous species this information could be used in medico-legal investigations. For this reason, we recently proposed standardized laboratory methodology to asses...
Necrophagous Diptera are the most important group of insects used for the purposes of forensic entomology. While the most utilized fly family in this context is the family Calliphoridae, there are several other families that can be of great importance during real-case investigations. This article analyzes the necrophagous flies of all families reco...
Proper fixing and long-term preservation of entomological evidence are essential in collections and research and crucial in applied fields such as forensic entomology. Incorrectly stored samples may lose important morphological features over time, rendering molecular analyses exceedingly difficult. The most effective method for preserving soft samp...
The tribe Silphini is a small group of beetles, with 13 extant species currently known from the Czech Republic, which despite the group's common name (large carrion beetles), have various diets and lifestyles. While the morphology of the adult stages is well known, the descriptions of larvae and their instars are mostly outdated, inaccurate, or eve...
Integrative taxonomy of Diamesus Hope, 1840 (Coleoptera: Silphinae) is presented. Adults of D. bimaculatus Portevin, 1914 (endemic to Taiwan) and D. osculans (Vigors, 1825) (widely distributed from northern India to Australia) are redescribed, keyed and figured, including characters of the male and female genitalia of both species. Variation in ely...
The forensically important genus Thanatophilus Leach, 1815 (Coleoptera: Silphidae) is a widespread group of carrion beetles that occupies the Holarctic and Afrotropical realms. It has recently received more recognition, as its species are frequently detected on large carrion, including humans, and can be useful in estimating the time of colonizatio...
The standard procedure for fluid preservation of insects consists of two steps. First, the specimen is killed and prepared in a fixative fluid and then transferred to a storage fluid. Recommendations for using specific chemicals or mixtures differ depending on the size and anatomy of the animal and vary among the authors. However, controlled compar...
Biotope or habitat preferences are important species characteristics that can be used for understanding their ecology, as well as their conservation, and even as a tool for crime investigations for detection of post-mortem body manipulation. However, the characterization of species' habitat preferences can be difficult. There are several limiting f...
We assessed the influence of diet on the development and survival in the immature stages of the necrophagous beetle Oiceoptoma thoracicum (Linnaeus, 1758). The species is frequently observed on large cadavers, including humans, and thus can be of potential forensic relevance. We compared multiple meat tissues from three animal sources, and detected...
Necrophagous blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are of great importance particularly during investigations of suspicious deaths. Many studies have analyzed the distribution of blowflies based on pig experiments and baited trapping; however, data from real case scenarios are rarely used. In this article, the distribution of blowflies found during in...
Coleoptera are currently considered a fundamental tool to help solve criminal investigations, allowing forensic entomologists to estimate post-mortem intervals and obtain other ecology-related information. Thanatophilus rugosus (Linnaeus, 1758) is an important necrophagous beetle distributed through most of the Palaearctic region, where it is readi...
This study examined the effects of various diets on the development time and survival of the carrion beetle Thanatophilus rugosus (Fabricius, 1775). We attempted to find the best diet for rearing the species in laboratory conditions for entomological research and forensic purposes, and to further understand its feeding habits. The larval stages wer...
Providing clear and detailed morphological descriptions of endemic species in limited areas enables new knowledge of their biology and ecology to be obtained through citizen science. This information can be further used for their protection. Our study presents the first morphological description of the larvae of all three instars of Heterotemna ten...
Carrion beetles of genus Thanatophilus (Leach, 1815) are an important group of necrophagous insects, with great potential for forensic entomology in temperate zones of Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Developmental models for majority of Thanatophilus species remain unknown. In this study, we will provide new thermal summation models for all the...
The postmortem interval (PMI) estimation, in cases where the body was discovered in an advanced stage of decomposition, is predominantly based on entomological evidence. However, very few forensically important species are sufficiently known in detail to allow a practical application. One of them is the carrion beetle, Necrophila (Calosilpha) brunn...
Precise data regarding feeding habits of necrobiont species are a key element of food web and evolutionary ecology. They can also be used to assess the utility and value of those species for forensic entomology, where obligatory necrophagous species in particular are considered good bioindicators of postmortem or preappearance interval. However, th...
Pitfall trapping is a widely used sampling technique that is standardly employed to collect various data on ground-dwelling arthropods. However, the validity of this method as a quantitative tool has been repeatedly questioned as the representation of species is influenced by their relative activity and some species are only rarely collected using...
Necrophagous beetles of genus Thanatophilus are well recognized as a group of beetles with a high potential utility in forensic entomology. They can be used to estimate postmortem interval (PMI) or validate the value for other groups of insects commonly encountered on human remains, like blowflies (Calliphoridae). However, reliable tools for instar...
Odonates are an ancient group of freshwater invertebrates that have complex life cycles and highly variable phenotypes and behaviours. These traits make odonates a very attractive model group to study various aspects and phenomena in the fields of ecology, behaviour, and evolutionary biology.
Such variability in appearance and behaviour can influen...
Aim
Landscape simplification and the spread of invasive species are considered beyond the main threats to global biodiversity. It is well recognized that non‐crop habitats bring complexity to farmland and provide refuge for a wide range of organisms, including arthropods. However, knowledge about the effects of invasive trees on arthropods in non‐c...
Obtaining taxonomic-grade images is a vital part of probably every present-day morphological study of insects, even though the task itself is perceived as a “necessary evil” due to high investment of both time and effort to produce representable images. Cleaning the background and making it appear as a solid color of known properties is probably on...
Carrion beetles are an important part of the decomposition processes in the Northern Hemisphere ecosystems. Along with the flies, they are the main consumers of dead animal tissues, thus driving the nutrients from the carcass to other parts of the ecosystem. These animals can also be used as bio indicators in forensic entomology, where they help to...
Determination of insect species and their instars, occurring on human remains, is important information that allows us to use insects for estimation of postmortem interval and detect possible manipulation with the body. However, larvae of many common species can be identified only by molecular methods, which is not always possible. The instar deter...
Distributional data on Cholevinae found in caves in Iran are presented. In total, three species are reported. Anemadus sengleti Giachino & Vailati, 1993 is redescribed, including previously unknown female characters, based on material from two localities in Iran, with the first records from Isfahan, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Provinces. Catops...
Carrion beetles of genus Thantophilus are an important part of the North Hemisphere ecosystems. They provide valuable ecosystem services by promoting nutrient cycling and biological control of pests. They also regularly occurs on human remains and some of them are established forensic bio-indicators as they could provide valuable information regard...
Littorella uniflora (Plantaginaceae) is a scarce and declining aquatic plant in Europe. Its population has been strongly reduced by changes in fishpond management (eutrophication) in the Czech Republic since the 1950s. We studied its seed bank in both recent (n = 8) and historical localities (the last found from 1972 to 2000; n = 10) and tested the...
Pitfall trapping is a sampling technique frequently used by entomologists around the world. However, there exist sampling biases linked to particular trapping designs, which require investigation. In this study, we compared the effects of the type of preservative fluid (propylene glycol or formaldehyde) and the presence of fish bait in pitfall trap...
Necrophagous beetles are underrepresented in forensic entomology studies despite their undeniable utility for the field. In the present article, information is presented regarding the developmental biology and instar determination of
Sciodrepoides watsoni
(Spence, 1813), a very common species occurring across the Holarctic region. Wild collected be...
Necrophagous beetles (Coleoptera) are very interesting and diverse ecological group of species with an immense impact on a natural nutrient cycle. Their main food source and breeding ground are carrions of vertebrates, human remains included. This relationship is often used in various ways by forensic entomology, but its potential was not jet fully...
Necrophagous beetles are underrepresented in forensic entomology studies despite their undeniable utility for the field. In our article we would like to address this problem and provide information regarding developmental biology and instar determination of Sciodrepoides watsoni (Spence, 1813), which is very common species occurring across the Hola...
Necrophagous beetles are underrepresented in forensic entomology studies despite their undeniable utility for the field. In our article we would like to address this problem and provide information regarding developmental biology and instar determination of Sciodrepoides watsoni (Spence, 1813), which is very common species occurring across the Hola...
Carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) provide a valuable ecosystem service by promoting nutrient cycling and controlling pests like noxious flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae). Our main goal was to examine the relationship between the occurrence of carrion beetles and soil type. We used pitfall traps to collect 43,856 specimens of 15...
Burying beetles of genus Nicrophorus are an important part of the North Hemisphere ecosystems. They are providing valuable ecosystem services by promoting nutrient cycling and biological control of pests. The presence of four endangered burying beetles was previously reported from the Czech Republic and our goal was to confirm their presence and to...
Butterflies are often used as a bio-indicator species, because they possess two crucial features of good indicator: Adults are very conspicuous and easy to observe, and they are very sensitive to the changes in environment. The main aim of our research was to study the impact of landscape heterogeneity maintained by a different type of management o...
Climate change is not only linked with increase of mean temperature, but also with higher probability of the weather extremes like heavy rains, late frosts, heat waves and droughts. It is crucial to understand how these events can influence populations of insects. In this review we provided overview of direct and indirect effects of droughts on ins...
Sciodrepoides watsoni (Spence, 1813) is the most common representative of family Leiodidae. It is saprophagous species, which occurs mainly in open landscapes. Recent works suggest that it can be used to post mortem interval estimation in times where commonly used flies are not active. I try to calculate lower developmental threshold (Tmin) and sum...
Beetles of the family Silphidae are an important but imperfectly understood part of Palaearctic ecosystems. Our team studied the ecology of open-landscape silphids around Louny, Kutná Hora, Zábřeh and Židlochovice in 2008 and 2009. We used 420 baited pitfall traps and, at 84 localities, we collected 71 234 specimens of 15 silphid species. Distribut...
Questions
Questions (2)
I would like to find out how much meat a larvae of necrophagous insects needs to eat before they complete their development. However I have no experience in feeding experiments, therefore my knowledge of the usual protocols or the common pitfalls is very limited. To avoid stupid mistakes and bad articles I would like to ask you what works and what doesn't and if you could recommend me some good articles or books, it would be terrific.
Thank you all,
Pavel
I am looking for a protocol that would give me some idea about the diet of the carrion beetles and probably some other species of beetles. I do not need to know exact species they ate, but only broad categories (plant, vertebrate (carrion) or invertebrate based diet).
The biggest obstacle is that the protocol should be doable from start to finish in field condition as I cannot take samples back to lab. Although I will have access to some limited equipment including a microscope.
Thank you for any suggestions.