The Dung- and Carrion-Feeding Scarabs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) of an Amazonian Blackwater Rainforest: Results of a Continuous, 56-Week, Baited-PitfallTrap Study

Ratcliffe, Brett C.

doi:10.1649/0010-065x-67.4.481

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Regarding the trophic niche, dung beetles show different preferences, from species requiring specific resources (specialists or species with low trophic niche breadth) (Halffter & Matthews, ; Hanski & Cambefort, ; Bogoni & Hernandez, ) to species exploiting a large variety of resources (generalists or species with great trophic niche breadth) (Hanski & Cambefort, ; da Silva et al ., ). The food resources used by dung beetles include mammal dung (Ratcliffe, ), carrion of vertebrates and invertebrates (Silveira et al ., ; Larsen et al ., ; Ratcliffe, ), and other decomposed products such as fungi, fruit and eggs (Halffter & Matthews, ; Navarrete‐Heredia & Galindo‐Miranda, ; da Silva & Bogoni, ). In general, all trophic resources exploited by dung beetles are ephemeral and heterogeneously distributed (Inward et al ., ), promoting interspecific competition and the differentiation of the ecological niche among species (Hanski & Cambefort, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of land use on the trophic niche overlap of dung beetles in the semideciduous Atlantic forest of Argentina

Gómez

Verdú

Gómez-Cifuentes

et al. 2018

Insect Conserv Diversity

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1. The degradation and replacement of natural ecosystems affect species abundance, diversity and interspecific interaction through the modification of resource availability and environmental conditions. Land uses preserving the forest canopy show higher species richness and similarity to the native forest.2. In this study, we explored changes in the trophic niche overlap of dung beetles between the native forest and different land uses in the semideciduous Atlantic forest, under the hypothesis that trophic niche overlap increases with species richness.3. We sampled dung beetles in protected native forests and four land uses (pine plantations, agroforestry parklands, silvo-pastoral systems and open pastures), using seven potential food sources (monkey, feline, tapir and deer dung, decomposing fruit, decomposing fungi and carrion). The species richness of each habitat, the trophic niche overlap and the relation between both measures were analysed. Also, we explored species trophic preferences in each habitat to explain and discuss the results obtained in trophic niche overlap measures.4. As expected, our results showed a positive relation between species richness and trophic niche overlap. Moreover, the addition of different resources in open habitats did not increase species richness, suggesting that resource availability may not be the main mechanism explaining the empoverished dung beetle community observed in open habitats. Other mechanisms, such as physiological restrictions, may play a role in limiting the use of these habitats. Studies on the mechanisms leading to the patterns of species abundance and diversity observed in land uses are necessary to propose management recommendations that increase the sustainability of open habitats.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of land use on the trophic niche overlap of dung beetles in the semideciduous Atlantic forest of Argentina

Gómez

Verdú

Gómez-Cifuentes

et al. 2018

Insect Conserv Diversity

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“…In Brazil, few studies have evaluated dung beetle bait‐type associations. Some exceptions are studies in the Amazon (Ratcliffe ), Atlantic Forest (e.g. Filgueiras et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) provide important environmental functions and services in natural and introduced ecosystems because they help nutrient cycling (Slade et al 2007;Yamada et al 2007), improve soil aeration (Mittal 1993;Bang et al 2005), reduce the population of parasitic flies (Braga et al 2012), help secondary seed dispersion (Pérez-Ramos et al 2007, 2013Braga et al 2013) and help establish seedlings (Lawson et al 2012). This large quantity of ecological functions arises because many dung beetle species have the habit of burying countless sources of food resources such as feces, carcasses, fungi, fruits and other sources of decomposing plant material (Halffter & Matthews 1966;Halffter & Halffter 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attractiveness of baits to dung beetles in Brazilian savanna and exotic pasturelands

Correa

Puker

Korasaki

et al. 2016

Entomological Science

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The Brazilian savanna is the second largest ecosystem in Brazil. It is also one of the most endangered, with only 20% of its habitat remaining unchanged. Agriculture and livestock have been indicated as the main agents of destruction of the Brazilian savanna. Brazilian livestock, for example, is the main reason for cultivation of exotic grasses such as Urochloa spp. (from Africa). Dung beetles are widely used in ecological assessment, mainly because they are recognized as bioindicators of environmental changes. Therefore, efficient sampling is required for any research involving the biodiversity of this group. In order to mitigate the lack of information on efficiency of the attractiveness of baits in the endangered Brazilian savanna and in exotic pasturelands, we sampled dung beetles in four native patches of the Brazilian savanna and in four areas of pastures with Urochloa spp. Dung beetles were captured with pitfall traps baited with carcass, cattle dung, human feces and pig dung, with a total sampling effort of 384 traps. We sampled 7544 individuals belonging to 43 species and 18 genera of dung beetles. Thirty‐eight species were collected in the Brazilian savanna and 24 species in exotic pastureland. In both ecosystems traps baited with human feces sampled greater abundance and species richness of dung beetles when compared with the other three baits used. Our results showed that human feces is a reliable, easy and inexpensive bait to sample greater abundance and species richness of generalist dung beetles in both native and exotic habitats, with clear structural differences.

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“…( D .) mamillatus ); Krajcik : 91; Larsen : 98; Noriega‐Alvarado & Navarrete‐Heredia : 191; Ratcliffe : 493, 504, 510, 511 (fig. 48); Martínez et al .…”

Section: Taxonomyunclassified

Taxonomic review of theDichotomius mamillatusgroup (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with a description of a new species,Dichotomius(Dichotomius)gandiniisp. nov., from western Amazonia

Rossini¹,

Vaz‐de‐Mello

2020

Austral Entomology

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We conducted a morphologically based taxonomic revision of the Dichotomius mamillatus species group (Scarabaeinae). A new species, Dichotomius (Dichotomius) gandinii sp. nov., from western Amazonia is described, illustrated and included in this group, along with Dichotomius (Dichotomius) mamillatus (Felsche, 1901), Dichotomius (Dichotomius) robustus (Luederwaldt, 1935) and Dichotomius (Dichotomius) worontzowi (Pereira, 1942). The external and genital morphology of the mamillatus group and its species are defined through an in‐depth examination of the surviving type material, as well as hundreds of reference specimens deposited in several natural history collections. An illustrated identification key to the Dichotomius species of the group is provided. Pinotus calcaratus Arrow, 1913 (currently Dichotomius calcaratus) is considered to be a junior subjective synonym of Dichotomius (Dichotomius) mamillatus. This research further resolves the many taxonomic questions that are still hampering the correct identification of Dichotomius species in the Neotropics, providing key diagnostic tools for researchers interested in these scarab beetles. The comprehensive morphological study of the D. mamillatus group highlights the important taxonomic value of the often‐overlooked endophallic structures, as well as their central role in informing hypotheses of systematic relationships.

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The Dung- and Carrion-Feeding Scarabs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) of an Amazonian Blackwater Rainforest: Results of a Continuous, 56-Week, Baited-PitfallTrap Study

Cited by 21 publications

References 75 publications

Influence of land use on the trophic niche overlap of dung beetles in the semideciduous Atlantic forest of Argentina

Influence of land use on the trophic niche overlap of dung beetles in the semideciduous Atlantic forest of Argentina

Attractiveness of baits to dung beetles in Brazilian savanna and exotic pasturelands

Taxonomic review of theDichotomius mamillatusgroup (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with a description of a new species,Dichotomius(Dichotomius)gandiniisp. nov., from western Amazonia

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