Daylengths affect burying beetles’ breeding: studyCLIMATE CHANGE: The study examines the adaptability to environment of different populations of burying beetles, which are sensitive to temperature changesBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe reproduction of burying beetles is affected by differing daylengths, while they develop different survival mechanisms at varied elevations and latitudes, Academia Sinica Biodiversity Research Center associate research fellow Shen Sheng-feng (沈聖峰) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The research team studied the behavior of burying beetles (Nicrophorus nepalensis), which are found across mountains in Asia and are sensitive to temperature changes, to examine the environmental adaptability of different populations of the species, Shen said. Academia Sinica Biodiversity Research Center associate research fellow Shen Sheng-feng, third right, and his research team hold placards showing burying beetles and their habitats at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. To focus on their genetic traits, the team bred the beetles in a laboratory and studied their offspring, Shen said. Even if the beetles at lower elevations emerged from cocoons in times with longer daylengths, they were not sexually mature, he said.

Source: Taipei Times June 19, 2020 15:56 UTC