The effects of overwintering, sex, year, field identity and vegetation at the boundary of fields on the body condition of Anchomenus dorsalis (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Body condition, in terms of body mass corrected for structural body size, represents an animal's energetic reserves and is an indicator of the health and fitness of an organism. This study investigates the variability in the body condition of the carabid beetle, Anchomenus dorsalis, in time and space at a small scale. The beetles were collected in four fields with two types of boundary (grassy and forest) near Prague-Suchdol in autumn 2009 and 2010 and in spring 2010 and 2011. Body condition was significantly affected by overwintering (the body condition of post-overwintering individuals collected in spring was worse than that of pre-overwintering indi- viduals collected in autumn), sex (females were in better condition than males) and to a lesser extent by sampling year, field identity and several interactions, e.g., overwintering : sex (greater decrease in body condition during overwintering in males than in females), over- wintering : year (difference in body condition between pre-overwintering and post-overwintering individuals was greater in 2009/2010 than 2010/2011). Type of boundary had no substantial effect on the body condition of A. dorsalis. This study shows the importance of sampling body condition several times a year for more than one season, which has rarely been performed to date.