02904nas a2200325   4500008004100000245009000041210006900131260000800200300001100208490000700219520202400226653001402250653002302264653001302287653001602300653001802316653002102334653001502355653001502370653001102385653001302396653001702409653001702426653001502443653003202458100001802490700001702508700001902525856003402544       1999                        eng d00aInteractions between dung, plants and the dung fauna in a heathland in northern Italy0 aInteractions between dung plants and the dung fauna in a heathla  cMar  a97-1090 v433 aThe influence of the insect fauna on cattle dung degradation and the development of a natural vegetal community was studied during three successive summers in a heathland in northern Italy. In 1992 and 1993, small (864 cm(2)) rectangular iron sheet frames were placed on the ground and assigned to three experimental groups: one (Control) had no dung, the second contained an artificially made (0.5 kg) dung pat protected with a mesh in order to exclude insects, while the third group contained dung which was colonised by insects. Above-ground primary production within the cages was collected at regular intervals from June to September. Dung addition had a huge effect on plant growth in both years (+29-31 %), in addition to this, in the first year, but not in the second, dung insects transferred to the soil an amount of organic material that also significantly stimulated (+14.5 %) the external growth of the plants. We suggest that the difference between 1992 and 1993 could have been determined by different numbers of grazing cattle in the study area: in consequence of this, we hypothesise that dung insects populations were larger and more active in the first year compared with the second. In 1994, the role of the insect fauna on dung degradation was investigated in greater detail. The total dry matter decrease in dung attributable to the activity of the insect community, after 20 days from dung deposition, was 18.4 % of the original dry weight; of that percentage, less than one third (5.8 %) was related to underground nesting (paracoprid) beetles. Earthworms were not active in the season when our survey was carried out. We concluded that the dung insect fauna can influence dung degradation and the growth of a natural plant community occurring on an acidic and impoverished soil, but that these effects are only of minor importance. This seems to be a consequence of the low densities of dung beetles in the study area and the absence of large-sized paracoprid and telecoprid scarabaeid species.10aabundance10abeetles coleoptera10abush fly10acattle dung10adisappearance10adung degradation10adung fauna10aearthworms10aEurope10amuscidae10aplant growth10aScarabaeidae10asheep dung10avetustissima walker diptera1 aBorghesio, L.1 aLuzzatto, M.1 aPalestrini, C.  u<Go to ISI>://00007909330000103256nas a2200325   4500008004100000245009200041210006900133300001200202490000800214520225500222653002602477653003702503653001102540653001402551653001502565653001702580653001702597653001502614653002502629653002002654653001602674653001302690653001702703653001702720653002202737653002102759100001902780700001602799856011502815       2001                        eng d00aBody size and paternal invest ment in the genus Onthophagus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea)0 aBody size and paternal invest ment in the genus Onthophagus Cole  a405-4120 v2553 aDuring reproduction, dung beetles of the genus Onthophagus typically bury portions of dung removed from the dung pad. Even though females are capable of successfully constructing and provisioning nests when unaccompanied by males, extensive levels of co-operation between sexes have been reported. In some species, males show a clear dimorphism in body plan and only large horned males are known to assist females. In O. taurus this form of paternal investment is facultative and depends on social context (namely the presence of other males). We studied relationships between body size and paternal investment in five Onthophagus species (i.e. O. coenobita, O. fracticornis, O. illyricus, O. taurus and O. vacca). Two types of tests were established. In test A, a large and a small male were placed with a single, medium-size female, in test B, a large and a small female were placed with a single large male. In controls one male was placed with one female. Individuals were maintained for 10 days. Then the enclosures were opened to assess the position of each beetle. When two mates were found in close vicinity or in the same tunnel provisioning dung, a co-operative behaviour was assumed. In competitive tests, small males and small females never cooperated with their potential mates whilst large and medium-size individuals often co- operated with mates inside the same tunnels. No differences in frequencies of co-operation were found between large and medium-size females. Small females and small males scarcely co- operated with large or medium-size mates in controls. These results suggest that large individuals outcompete the small ones. They also suggest that paternal investment depends on body size of both mates. Large males of all species assist medium-size and large females, whereas small males do not. However, large males do not invest much parental effort on small females that, in fact, are poorly, assisted. We assume that large individuals of both sexes are reproductively superior to small ones. The propensity of both small females and small males to excavate was lower than that of larger individuals, accordingly, digging capacity could be a proximate factor explaining facultative paternal investment in these species.10aACUMINATUS COLEOPTERA10aALTERNATIVE REPRODUCTIVE TACTICS10abeetle10abody size10aBROOD CARE10aco-operation10aDung beetles10ainvestment10aMALE HORN DIMORPHISM10aMALE MORPHOLOGY10aOnthophagus10apaternal10areproduction10aScarabaeidae10aTAURUS COLEOPTERA10aVACCA COLEOPTERA1 aPalestrini, C.1 aRolando, A.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/body-size-and-paternal-invest-ment-genus-onthophagus-coleoptera-scarabaeoidea