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Anaerobiosis in the Overwintering Beetle Pelophila borealis

Abstract

AT Finse, situated at 1,200 m above sea level in the mountain plateau of Hardangervidda, Norway, adult Pelophila borealis (Coleoptera, Carabidae) overwinter in the soil of a sedimentation flat1. During the winter the flat is periodically flooded by the adjacent river, and consequently covered by a layer of ice. Sixty to 120 cm of snow covers the ground from late September until early June. Soil temperatures at the beetle's overwintering sites are normally slightly below 0° C, but rarely drop below −;3° to −4° C.

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CONRADI-LARSEN, EM., SØMME, L. Anaerobiosis in the Overwintering Beetle Pelophila borealis. Nature 245, 388–390 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/245388a0

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