Effect of using different types of animal dung for feeding and nesting by the dung beetle<i>Onthophagus lecontei</i>(Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae)

Arellano, Lucrecia; Castillo‐Guevara, Citlalli; Huerta, Carmen; Germán-García, A.; Lara, Carlos

doi:10.1139/cjz-2014-0226

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Equally experimental choice trials in the laboratory have shown variation in dung beetle species resource use [37,72]. Although more time consuming, feeding and breeding choice experiments in the field are key to enabling mechanistic questions surrounding attractiveness of dung to dung beetles to be addressed, such as identifying the association between dung type used for brood provisioning and adult body size [31,73].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dung beetle–mammal associations: methods, research trends and future directions

Raine

Slade

2019

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Dung beetles are increasingly used as a study taxon—both as bioindicators of environmental change, and as a model system for exploring ecosystem functioning. The advantages of this focal taxon approach are many; dung beetles are abundant in a wide range of terrestrial ecosystems, speciose, straightforward to sample, respond to environmental gradients and can be easily manipulated to explore species-functioning relationships. However, there remain large gaps in our understanding of the relationship between dung beetles and the mammals they rely on for dung. Here we review the literature, showing that despite an increase in the study of dung beetles linked to ecosystem functioning and to habitat and land use change, there has been little research into their associations with mammals. We summarize the methods and findings from dung beetle–mammal association studies to date, revealing that although empirical field studies of dung beetles rarely include mammal data, those that do, indicate mammal species presence and composition has a large impact on dung beetle species richness and abundance. We then review the methods used to carry out diet preference and ecosystem functioning studies, finding that despite the assumption that dung beetles are generalist feeders, there are few quantitative studies that directly address this. Together this suggests that conclusions about the effects of habitat change on dung beetles are based on incomplete knowledge. We provide recommendations for future work to identify the importance of considering mammal data for dung beetle distributions, composition and their contributions to ecosystem functioning; a critical step if dung beetles are to be used as a reliable bioindicator taxon.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dung beetle–mammal associations: methods, research trends and future directions

Raine

Slade

2019

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…, Moczek and Nijhout , Arellano et al. ). This is relevant for the construction of interaction networks: by burying dung, rather than just feeding on the liquid component, the breeding networks represent the ecosystem function contributions of dung beetles to a greater extent than feeding networks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the effects of feeding on less suitable dung sources could manifest through reduced body size in future generations or reduced fecundity (Gittings and Giller , Moczek , Arellano et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extinctions of interactions: quantifying a dung beetle–mammal network

et al. 2018

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Loss of large‐bodied mammals across the globe through hunting, habitat degradation, and fragmentation is one of the most significant anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Cascading effects of these extinctions through ecosystems have been little studied, although correlative studies have revealed co‐extinctions in closely linked groups, with implications for ecosystem structure and function. Despite playing important roles in seed dispersal and hence seedling recruitment, mammals have been largely neglected in network studies. Similarly, the role of secondary seed dispersers, such as ants and dung beetles, has been largely unexplored. Most dung beetles rely on mammal feces for feeding and breeding and provide a suite of important ecosystem functions and services. While dung beetle community responses to environmental change have been widely investigated, studies quantifying the network of associations between dung beetle and mammal species are lacking. By developing the first quantitative mammal–dung beetle networks, we address several important knowledge gaps contributing to the understanding of how interactions in networks involving mammals and secondary insect seed dispersers are structured. We use the resulting quantitative interaction networks to model mammal species extinction scenarios to further explore the consequences for dung beetle populations, and the extent to which networks change the strength of interactions through resource switching. Dung beetle feeding and breeding networks did not differ significantly in structure and showed high nestedness and low levels of trophic specialization. Simulations suggested that mammal extinction scenarios based on mammal body mass and mammal dung volume will impact dung beetle populations to a greater extent than random scenarios of mammal loss. Thus, despite their generalist feeding preferences, realistic mammal extinction scenarios have the potential to negatively impact the dung beetle community, which may have consequences for ecosystem functioning.

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“…Dung beetles also vary in their method of feeding on dung between the larval and adult stage and may show life-stage specific preferences (Holter & Scholtz, 2007). Dung quality can also influence the size of brood balls and the resulting adult body size (Gittings & Giller, 1998;Arellano, Castillo-Guevara, Huerta, Germán-García, & Lara, 2015; but see Frank, Brückner, et al 2017); it may also influence whether an individual chooses to feed on or breed in the dung.…”

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confidence: 99%