Behavioral Ecology and Secondary Seed Dispersal by Two Roller Dung Beetles, Sisyphus rubrus (Paschalidis, 1974) and Sisyphus spinipes (Thunberg, 1818) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Manns, Sandie; Holley, Jean M.; Hemmings, Zac; Andrew, Nigel R.

doi:10.1649/0010-065x-74.4.849

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…that we are aware of. Previous work in Australia has focused on secondary seed dispersal and behaviour (Manns et al 2020). In general, there is little evidence on the effect of MLs on telecoprid dung beetles, while there are abundant references to the effects of these agricultural chemicals on paracoprid and endocoprid dung beetles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of macrocyclic lactones on larval survival, growth and development of three dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

2021

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Macrocyclic lactones (MLs) are some of the most pervasive chemicals used in cattle management to control internal parasites. However, the drenches can have a range of lethal and sublethal impacts, potentially impacting the efficiency of adult dung beetles at burying dung and negatively impacting their larval growth, development and survival. Here, we assess the impacts of adult dung beetles provisioning their larvae with cattle faecal residues containing three commonly used cattle drenches in Australiamoxidectin, abamectin and doramectin. We used the larvae of two introduced tunnelling (paracoprid) species: Onthophagus binodis and Onitis viridulus, and one introduced rolling (telecoprid) species: Sisyphus rubrus. We anticipated that dung beetle larvae feeding on dung containing an ML would have altered growth patterns to those larvae feeding on untreated dung. Further, beetle larvae exposed to an ML in the dung would have different growth patterns, depending on the time the chemical took to be excreted from the treated cattle, with the anticipation that the chemical may have a peak excretion time. We also expected that dung beetle larvae feeding on dung containing an ML would have a decreased survival rate compared to dung beetle larvae feeding on untreated dung. We found that abamectin and doramectin were more toxic to beetle larvae than moxidectin and control dung, across all three species, and these chemicals also had the greatest negative impact on larval growth and development. Abamectin excreted 7 days after treatment resulted in few live larvae. Overall, moxidectin was the least toxic ML to the larvae assessed, and generally, the drench impacts were reduced as time since exposure increased.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of macrocyclic lactones on larval survival, growth and development of three dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

2021

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“…Also, many species of tunnellers push fragments of dung, showing a behavior that, in terms of secondary seed dispersal, has some characteristics of tunnellers (they are less selective, excluding fewer seeds) and some of rollers (they move smaller portions of dung but to larger horizontal distances; . Finally, while several studies have assessed the secondary seed dispersal capacities of particular beetle species (Estrada and Coates-Estrada, 1991;Andresen, 2002a;Vulinec et al, 2003;Koike et al, 2012;Feer et al, 2013;deCastro-Arrazola et al, 2020;Manns et al, 2020;Niero et al, 2022), the number of species compared is usually low (1-10) and experimental manipulations probably alter beetle behavior (i.e., beetles are placed in relatively narrow cylinders manually filled with soil). Thus, this is an area of many research opportunities.…”

Section: Topic Neotropical Paleotropical Extratropical (A) Ssd: Predi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of dung beetle activity on tropical forest plants

Urrea‐Galeano¹

2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Dung beetles are recognized as providers of important ecosystem functions, most of which are derived from the removal of vertebrate dung from the soil surface. These insects occur in nearly all terrestrial biomes but are most diverse in the humid tropics. Several of the ecological functions attributed to dung beetles are related to their direct and indirect interactions with plants. Among these functions, the secondary dispersal of seeds defecated by mammals has received the most attention in tropical forests. Nonetheless, while several aspects of secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles are relatively well understood, others remain understudied or have not been addressed at all. Thus, a broad generalization about the effects of secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles on plant fitness remains somewhat elusive. Furthermore, other effects of dung beetle activity on tropical plants have received very little attention. A few studies have shown that through their behaviors of dung burial and soil-excavation, dung beetles can shape seed bank structure and dynamics. Also, though numerous greenhouse studies and field experiments in agricultural lands and temperate grasslands have shown that dung beetle activity increases plant nutrient uptake and yield, it is uncertain whether such effects are common in tropical forests. Here, we review and synthesize our current knowledge on how dung beetles affect tropical forest plants by dispersing defecated seeds, shaping the structure and dynamics of seed banks, and influencing the performance of understory seedlings. We focus on the Neotropics, where most studies on the effects of dung beetles on tropical forest plants have been carried out, but we also show results from other regions and biomes, to present a more general picture of these beetle-plant interactions. Throughout the review we emphasize aspects that need more research to allow generalizations and point out those questions that remain unanswered. We hope that this review will stimulate more research about the fascinating interactions between dung beetles and plants in tropical ecosystems.

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“…Tracking resources or individuals using indigestible markers has previously been used to understand a wide range of ecological processes in animals, including movement rates, territory use and species interactions within spatial and social networks (Delahay et al, 2000; Jackson et al, 1999; Rösner & Selva, 2005; Ruiz‐Aizpurua et al, 2013). There has been frequent work on secondary seed dispersal using plastic beads, but less work on broader aspects of dung beetle ecology (Andresen, 2002; Andresen & Levey, 2004; Enari & Sakamaki‐Enari, 2014; Feer et al, 2013; Koike et al, 2012; Manns et al, 2020; Santos‐Heredia et al, 2011). Moczek and Cochrane (2006) used dung containing vermiculite to investigate the rate of intraspecific brood ball parasitism in Onthophagus taurus .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simple technique to assess resource use in dung beetle breeding studies

Lewis,

Berson,

Didham

et al. 2023

Ecological Entomology

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Current methods for identifying resource preferences in dung beetles are based on above‐ground trials. Although useful, these methods do not directly investigate resource provisioning of offspring below ground, missing an important part of dung beetle ecology. We tested the potential for UV‐fluorescent and non‐fluorescent coloured glitters to be used as markers for tracing the origin of dung incorporated into brood balls (dung shaped by parental beetles enclosing an egg), and so aid in a more complete understanding of resource use in dung beetles. We tested the effect of glitter addition on brood ball production in two species of tunnelling dung beetles, Onthophagus taurus and Euoniticellus fulvus. There was no effect of glitter addition on brood ball production during no‐choice tests for each species: both species made a similar number of brood balls, regardless of glitter presence or glitter colour. In a separate choice trial, O. taurus showed no preference for dung when presented with four dung pats containing four unique glitter colours. Here we show that glitter can be used as an effective marker of individual brood ball origin in tunnelling dung beetles. This method provides a useful tool for tracking below ground resource use and larval provisioning experiments in dung beetles.

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Behavioral Ecology and Secondary Seed Dispersal by Two Roller Dung Beetles, Sisyphus rubrus (Paschalidis, 1974) and Sisyphus spinipes (Thunberg, 1818) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Cited by 4 publications

References 43 publications

Impacts of macrocyclic lactones on larval survival, growth and development of three dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Impacts of macrocyclic lactones on larval survival, growth and development of three dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Effects of dung beetle activity on tropical forest plants

A simple technique to assess resource use in dung beetle breeding studies

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