| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 1991 |
| Authors: | E. Galante, Garcia, R. M., Barrera, I., Galindo, P. |
| Journal: | Environmental Entomology |
| Volume: | 20 |
| Pagination: | 90-97 |
| Keywords: | Animalia-, Animals-, Arthropoda-, Arthropods-, Coleoptera-: Insecta-, dung elimination seasonal distribution trapping, Insects-, Invertebrata-, Invertebrates- |
| Abstract: | The seasonal and spatial distributions of dung-feeding scarabs in an open pastureland and in wooded (holm oak) pastureland in a typical Mediterranean area of the western part of the Iberian Peninsula (Salamanca) were compared. Six pitfall traps baited with bovine dung were placed in each habitat according to a model by J. P. Lumaret. Only beetles in the families Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae were studied because they are the most for 1 yr produced 6,909 specimens. Of the 18 species found, the largest beetles and biomass were concentrated mainly in the wooded habitat, especially in the summer. This constitutes a problem for dung removal because large amounts of dung remain in open pasturelands, possibly resulting in the impoverishment of such areas. |