Competition between Nicrophorus orbicollis and N. defodiens: Resource Locating Efficiency and Temporal Partitioning

Trumbo, Stephen T.; Bloch, Philip L.

doi:10.2307/3858573

Cited by 16 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…Larger beetles will typically outcompete (interspecifically or intraspecifically) smaller individuals for carcasses (Wilson et al, 1984;Otronen, 1988;Trumbo, 1990;Safryn and Scott, 2000). To avoid interspecific competition, smaller species of burying beetle have adapted to be more active at times of the season with lower temperatures when larger species are slower to find carcasses (Wilson et al, 1984;Trumbo, 1990;Trumbo and Bloch, 2002). Seasonal changes in beetle populations in this study were consistent with this interaction of temperature dependence with body size.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Other studies have demonstrated that larger forests support higher species diversity of burying and dung beetles (Klein, 1989;Gibbs and Stanton, 2001) and rates of carcass utilization (Trumbo and Bloch, 2000) than smaller, fragmented forests. Smaller resource bases (Didham et al, 1996;Kozlov, 1996) and disrupted interactions among species (Fisher, 1998;Trumbo and Bloch, 2002) are the mechanisms likely responsible for reductions in beetle diversity and the diminution of their ecological role in fragmented landscapes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fragmented forests, temperatures may be too high for smaller beetle species to compete with larger ones for carrion, larger beetles may be restricted by search area and smaller carcasses, and neither able to stave off competition from vertebrate scavengers. Smaller species of burying beetles can also provide clues to larger species that carrion is available (Trumbo and Bloch, 2002). The loss of species interactions thus potentially reduces the diversity of the entire burying beetle community (Fisher, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Silphids in urban forests: Diversity and function

Wolf

Gibbs

2004

Urban Ecosyst

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Many ecologists have examined the process of how urbanization reduces biological diversity but rarely have its ecological consequences been assessed. We studied forest-dwelling burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae)-a guild of insects that requires carrion to complete their life cycles-along an urban-rural gradient of land use in Maryland. Our objective was to determine how forest fragmentation associated with urbanization affects (1) beetle community diversity and structure and (2) the ecological function provided by these insects, that is, decomposition of vertebrate carcasses. Forest fragmentation strongly reduced burying beetle diversity and abundance, and did so far more pervasively than urbanization of the surrounding landscape. The likelihood that beetles interred experimental baits was a direct, positive function of burying beetle diversity. We conclude that loss of burying beetle diversity resulting from forest fragmentation could have important ecological consequences in urban forests.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Silphids in urban forests: Diversity and function

Wolf

Gibbs

2004

Urban Ecosyst

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“…defodiens based on temperature. Trumbo & Bloch (2002) found that Ni. defodiens can locate carcasses sooner than other species, but Ni.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban forests sustain diverse carrion beetle assemblages in the New York City metropolitan area

Fusco

Zhao

Munshi‐South

2017

PeerJ

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Urbanization is an increasingly pervasive form of land transformation that reduces biodiversity of many taxonomic groups. Beetles exhibit a broad range of responses to urbanization, likely due to the high functional diversity in this order. Carrion beetles (Order: Coleoptera, Family: Silphidae) provide an important ecosystem service by promoting decomposition of small-bodied carcasses, and have previously been found to decline due to forest fragmentation caused by urbanization. However, New York City (NYC) and many other cities have fairly large continuous forest patches that support dense populations of small mammals, and thus may harbor relatively robust carrion beetle communities in city parks. In this study, we investigated carrion beetle community composition, abundance and diversity in forest patches along an urban-to-rural gradient spanning the urban core (Central Park, NYC) to outlying rural areas. We conducted an additional study comparing the current carrion beetle community at a single suburban site in Westchester County, NY that was intensively surveyed in the early 1970’s. We collected a total of 2,170 carrion beetles from eight species at 13 sites along this gradient. We report little to no effect of urbanization on carrion beetle diversity, although two species were not detected in any urban parks. Nicrophorus tomentosus was the most abundant species at all sites and seemed to dominate the urban communities, potentially due to its generalist habits and shallower burying depth compared to the other beetles surveyed. Variation between species body size, habitat specialization, and % forest area surrounding the surveyed sites also did not influence carrion beetle communities. Lastly, we found few significant differences in relative abundance of 10 different carrion beetle species between 1974 and 2015 at a single site in Westchester County, NY, although two of the rare species in the early 1970’s were not detected in 2015. These results indicate that NYC’s forested parks have the potential to sustain carrion beetle communities and the ecosystem services they provide.

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“…Nicrophorus defodiens, which tends to bury carrion in the surface litter layer and is competitive on shallower soils, may also prefer forest habitats (Anderson and Peck, 1985;Trumbo and Bloch, 2002). For example, thinner soils with higher granitic parent material tend to be associated with coniferous forests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When the prairie varies: the importance of site characteristics for strategising insect conservation

Looney

Caldwell

Eigenbrode

2009

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Abstract. 1. The bunchgrass prairies of the Palouse region in eastern Washington state and adjacent Idaho have been mostly converted to agriculture in the past century. Prairie habitat currently exists only on small remnants scattered across the landscape. 2. The invertebrate fauna of these habitat remnants is poorly known, both in terms of species diversity and community composition. 3. Baited pitfall traps were used to sample carrion‐attracted beetles during June and July of 2003 from high‐quality prairie remnants of varying size and soil characteristics. 4. Twenty‐three beetle species in five families were found. Species richness and Shannon‐Wiener diversity were not significantly correlated with habitat area or perimeter–area ratio. 5. Beetle abundance and community structure were strongly correlated with soil characteristics. Deeper, loessal soils had greater overall beetle abundance than shallower, rocky soils, although some species were more frequently captured in shallower, rocky soil sites. 6. Conservation plans emphasising only remnant size and condition do not sufficiently capture variability in insect communities across Palouse prairie remnants.

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Competition between Nicrophorus orbicollis and N. defodiens: Resource Locating Efficiency and Temporal Partitioning

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

Silphids in urban forests: Diversity and function

Silphids in urban forests: Diversity and function

Urban forests sustain diverse carrion beetle assemblages in the New York City metropolitan area

When the prairie varies: the importance of site characteristics for strategising insect conservation

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