TY - JOUR T1 - A simple assay to determine the nutrional suitability of cattle dung for coprophagous beetles JF - Entomologia experimentalis et applicata Y1 - 1989 A1 - Aschenborn, H. H. A1 - Loughnan, M. L. A1 - Edwards, P. B. SP - 73 EP - 79 KW - cattle dung KW - coprophagous beetles KW - dung beetle KW - Euoniticellus KW - food KW - mammals KW - nutrition KW - resources AB - An assay using extracted dung fluid was developed to provide an objective method of assessing the suitability of cattle dung for the dung beetle Euoniticellus intermedius. Fluid was extracted from whole dung by twisting gauze-wrapped samples by hand, or by use of an hydraulic press set sequentially at 2 MPa, 6 MPa and 10 MPa. Artificial dung was made by adding dung fluid to shredded fibre-board in a 15 : 1 weight ratio. The rate of brood-ball ( = egg) production by female E. intermedius fed on the artificial dung made from fluid extracted by the hydraulic press at 2 MPa was the same as that on natural whole dung. Reproductive performance on all artificial dungs was significantly correlated with the percent dry matter content of the dung fluid used in the mixture. Thus the percent dry matter in the fluid extracted at 2 MPa pressure provides an objective measurement for comparing the quality of different dungs as food for adult E. intermedius, without the need for performing bioassays. The results confirm that the fluid component of dung is the major source of nutrition for adult dung beetles. VL - 53 N1 - digital copy ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Life history traits and resource utilisation in an assemblage of north temperate Aphodius dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) JF - Ecography Y1 - 1997 A1 - Gittings, T. A1 - Giller, P. S. SP - 55 EP - 66 KW - cattle dung KW - community KW - coprophagous beetles KW - Europe KW - GUILD AB - To help understand and interpret the structure and function of Aphodius dung beetle assemblages, life history traits and resource utilisation were studied for the ten species comprising the local assemblage of intensively grazed pastures in southern Ireland. Most species were univoltine but one species (A. fimetarius) was at least partly bivoltine. However, temporal overlap in adult flight periods does not necessarily imply overlap in resource use. Three different strategies of ovarian development were distinguished and were related to the preferred oviposition site and successional occurrence of the various species. Evidence suggested that absence of mature eggs in a female's ovaries did not necessarily imply that a female was in a non-reproductive state. Two species (A. prodromus and A. sphacelatus) did not breed in dung; in the laboratory larvae were reared in decaying vegetation. One species (A. erraticus) developed in brood masses beneath the dung pat. Larvae of all the other species developed within the dung pat. There were consistent interspecific differences in the larval development rates, with two species (A. rufipes and A. rufus) overwintering mainly as prepupae and the other species mainly as adults. Previous studies have considered Aphodius assemblages as single guilds but the detailed natural histories of these species may affect guild designation. VL - 20 UR - ://A1997WK11400006 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of brood parasitism on host reproductive success: evidence from larval interactions among dung beetles JF - Oecologia Y1 - 2003 A1 - Gonzalez-Megias, A. A1 - Sanchez-Pinero, F. SP - 195 EP - 202 KW - abundance KW - aphodius ater KW - assemblage KW - cleptoparasite KW - COLEOPTERA KW - community KW - coprophagous beetles KW - desert ecology KW - hymenoptera KW - intraspecific competition KW - kleptoparasitism KW - Larval mortality KW - resource utilization KW - Scarabaeidae AB - This paper investigates the effect of brood parasitism in a dung beetle assemblage in an arid region of Spain. The study was conducted during the spring season (March-May 1994-1998) using mesh cylinders buried into the ground, filled with sand and with sheep dung on top. We quantified the proportion of nests containing larvae of parasitic beetles and their effect on host larvae survival. Experiments on the effect of parasitic larvae on host-larvae survival were conducted by placing scarab brood masses (raised from captive scarabs in the laboratory) in containers with and without aphodiid larvae. During the spring, dung desiccation is rapid, preventing aphodiids nesting in the dung, and forcing these species to adopt brood parasitism as a nesting strategy. Parasitic aphodiids were found in 12-47% of scarab nests of three species. The incidence of brood parasitization was positively related with the number of brood masses contained in the nests, being also higher in the most abundant species. Field data and experiments showed that brood parasites significantly reduced host larvae survival from 74.8% in non-parasitized nests to 8.8% in parasitized nests. Because different rates of nest parasitization and mortality were caused by parasites, brood parasitism had a differential effect on different host species. Thus, brood, parasitism constitutes an important mortality factor reducing the reproductive success of the host species and potentially affecting the beetle abundance in the area. 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J. Y1 - 2005 A1 - Fonseca, Vania Maria de Oliveira A1 - Kerr, Warwick Estevam SP - 61 EP - 68 KW - biological control KW - coprophagous beetles KW - reproduction VL - 21 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Escarabajos coprofagos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) de Colombia JF - Biota Colombiana Y1 - 2001 A1 - Medina, Claudia A. A1 - Lopera Toro, Alejandro A1 - Vitolo, Adriana A1 - Gill, Bruce SP - 131 EP - 144 KW - COLEOPTERA KW - Colombia KW - coprophagous beetles KW - list of species KW - Scarabaeidae VL - 2 ER -