03021nas a2200205   4500008004100000245007100041210006900112300001200181490000700193520235800200653002002558653002302578653003402601653001802635653002102653653000702674100001502681700002302696856009602719       2004                        eng d00aOptimal maternal investment in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus?0 aOptimal maternal investment in the dung beetle Onthophagus tauru  a302-3120 v553 aOptimal investment theory is based on the assumption that the proximate constraint acting on parental investment is resource based. A trade-off between per offspring investment and total investment seems intuitive. Consequently, a parent’s investment strategy is expected to represent a trade-off between the benefits of investment for current offspring and the costs to future reproduction for parents. In this study, we provide clear evidence that the costs and benefits of maternal provisioning in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus influence the amount of provisions provided by the mother. Horse dung is typically of a higher nutritional value than cow dung and females were shown to provide 20% less dung to offspring when provisioning with horse dung. By reducing their investment per offspring and exhibiting a clear preference to provision offspring with horse dung, females were able to produce significantly more offspring. Females provisioning with horse dung received greater fitness returns per unit of investment and experienced lower provisioning costs, in terms of the minimum amount of dung required to produce a surviving offspring, than females provisioning with cow dung. Females provisioning in soil of low moisture content were found to have higher tunneling costs than those provi- sioning in soil of high moisture content, while the fitness returns per unit of investment did not differ. We adopted a marginal value theorem (MVT) approach to calculate the theoretical optimal level of investment for each dung type and for each soil moisture. Predicted levels of provision- ing were lower for horse dung than for cow dung and for moist soil than for dry soil. Therefore, the results of this study are in qualitative agreement with MVT predictions and provide empirical support for the proposal that females can adaptively adjust their level of investment in response to resource and/or habitat quality. However, the theoretically predicted optimal investment yielded a poor quantitative fit with our observed levels of investment, with females providing over twice the investment predicted by the MVT approach. We suggest that this difference may reflect either our inability in directly quantifying all the necessary costs and benefits of investment in O. taurus and/or the applicability of the underlying assumptions of MVT.10aHabitat quality10aOnthophagus taurus10aOptimal investment strategies10aParental care10aResource quality10a·1 aHunt, John1 aSimmons, Leigh, W.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/optimal-maternal-investment-dung-beetle-onthophagus-taurus02417nas a2200301   4500008004100000245006700041210006400108300001000172490000700182520151100189653002301700653001501723653001601738653002801754653002601782653002701808653002701835653002301862653001301885653001801898653002201916653002401938653001301962100001301975700002001988700002002008856008702028       2002                        eng d00aA cost of maternal care in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus?0 acost of maternal care in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus  a57-640 v153 aParental care theory assumes that investment in current offspring will trade against future investment. A number of field studies on birds have used clutch size manipulations to demonstrate a survival cost to chick rearing. However, such studies do not account for costs accrued during earlier stages of reproduction because not all aspects of reproductive effort are manipulated by varying the number of nestlings. in this study, we investigate the effect of reproductive effort on female survival in the dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus. By experimentally manipulating mating status and dung availability, we demonstrate that virgin females survive longer than mated females and that the survival of mated females was negatively associated with the number of brood masses produced. Using a novel manipulation of the mating system, we separated the effects of egg production and maternal care on female survival. Previously, we have shown that females provisioning with the assistance of a major male provide relatively less care than unassisted females. However, paternal assistance did not alter the number of brood masses produced and hence the amount of reproductive effort that was allocated to egg production. Therefore, our finding, that female survival was increased when receiving paternal assistance provides, to our knowledge, the first definitive evidence that maternal care reduces female lifespan. These results are of major importance to theoretical models on the evolution of parental care.10aBREEDING BLUE TITS10aBROOD-SIZE10aCLUTCH-SIZE10adrosophila-melanogaster10afluctuating asymmetry10aLIFE-HISTORY EVOLUTION10alife-history trade-off10aOnthophagus taurus10aPARENTAL10aParental care10areproductive cost10areproductive effort10aSURVIVAL1 aHunt, J.1 aSimmons, L., W.1 aKotiaho, J., S.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/cost-maternal-care-dung-beetle-onthophagus-taurus00797nas a2200217   4500008004100000245011400041210006900155260001500224300001200239490000700251653001600258653002400274653002200298653002200320653002400342653001800366653001700384100002200401700002000423856013600443       1981                        eng d00aInfluence of adult size of Onthophagus gazella on manure pat degredation, nest construction, and progeny size0 aInfluence of adult size of Onthophagus gazella on manure pat deg  cOctober 15  a625-6300 v1010adung beetle10aecological function10aecosystem service10aNest construction10aOnthophagus gazella10aParental care10aProgeny size1 aLee, Marshall, J.1 aPeng, Ying-Shin  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/influence-adult-size-onthophagus-gazella-manure-pat-degredation-nest-construction-and-progeny-size02412nas a2200313   4500008004100000245013900041210006900180260001200249300001200261490000700273520145000280653002401730653002001754653001801774653002701792653001201819653003001831653001401861653002101875653001601896653002701912653001801939653003901957653001501996100001902011700001902030700001502049856003402064       2003                        eng d00aNestmate recognition in burying beetles: the "breeder's badge" as a cue used by females to distinguish their mates from male intruders0 aNestmate recognition in burying beetles the breeders badge as a   cMar-Apr  a212-2200 v143 aBurying beetles use small vertebrate carcasses as food for their larvae and defend these carcasses against intra- and interspecific competitors. Breeding associations on carcasses can consist of single females, heterosexual pairs, or various combinations of males and females. When a heterosexual pair collaborate in a breeding attempt, they do not typically exhibit aggressive behavior toward each other, but do attack newly arrived conspecifics that attempt to usurp the carcass. We investigated the cues involved in discrimination between breeding partners and intruders by female burying beetles. We found that resident females tolerate males that have cared for a brood, as well as males that have not cared for a brood but have been on a carcass for a day or two. Males that have had no prior contact with a carcass are attacked. Females appear to use a chemical cue, the "breeder's badge," an apolar substance on the male's cuticle that can be removed by washing with pentane. This cue is reliably correlated with recent male experience with a carcass that is suitable for reproduction. The breeder's badge develops as a result of prolonged contact with such a carcass, and disappears on removal from the carcass; its presence does not require contact with a female or with larvae. Female recognition of their male partners in burying beetles thus does not involve individual recognition, but rather recognition of reproductive condition.10aaggressive behavior10aburying beetles10achemical cues10acuticular hydrocarbons10ahormone10aintraspecific competition10ajuvenile-10amate recognition10aNicrophorus10anicrophorus-orbicollis10aParental care10arecognition of reproductive status10areproducti1 aMuller, J., K.1 aEggert, A., K.1 aElsner, T.  u<Go to ISI>://000181661100008