Comparison of the Arboreal Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) of the Wet and Dry Forests of the Western Ghats, India

Sabu, Thomas K.; Sathiandran, Nithya

doi:10.1649/072.070.0121

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Arboreal species have smaller pronotum width (body size) compared to ground species. This is similar to findings in other studies which found that arboreal dung beetle species had smaller size range (Davis et al, 1997; Sabu & Nithya, 2016). Arboreal species also had larger wing loading than ground species (Figure 5c‐ii).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Although most ecological studies of dung beetles focus on those that forage on the ground, there is a growing body of research that investigates arboreal dung beetles (Davis et al, 1997, 2001; Davis & Sutton, 1998; Rangel‐Acosta et al, 2018; Sabu & Nithya, 2016; Tregidgo et al, 2010; Vulinec et al, 2007). Evidence of dung beetles foraging in the canopy has been recorded in tropical rain forests of Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Southwestern India, South America, North Sulawesi, Madagascar, and West Africa (Davis et al, 1997; Vulinec et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this has not been studied quantitatively for dung beetles in the arboreal stratum. Rather, descriptions of morphological adaptations for arboreality have been qualitative (Davis et al, 1997; Sabu & Nithya, 2016). Arboreal dung beetles have been described to have smaller body size, an important adaptation for living in the arboreal environment (Davis et al, 1997; Sabu & Nithya, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather, descriptions of morphological adaptations for arboreality have been qualitative (Davis et al, 1997; Sabu & Nithya, 2016). Arboreal dung beetles have been described to have smaller body size, an important adaptation for living in the arboreal environment (Davis et al, 1997; Sabu & Nithya, 2016). Additionally, arboreal dung beetles collected in Borneo have been reported to have longer legs (Davis et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vertical stratification of dung beetles in young secondary forests of Singapore

et al. 2021

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vertical stratification of dung beetles in young secondary forests of Singapore

et al. 2021

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“…This spatial resource structure generates a vertical stratification of the dung in tropical forests closely connected with the perching behaviour and an arboreal lifestyle displayed by some dung beetle species (Davis et al, 1997). Moreover, this behaviour has been studied using elevated pitfall traps in many regions around the world (e.g., Vaz de Mello & Louzada, 1997;Vulinec et al, 2007;Tregidgo et al, 2010;Noriega, 2011;Sabu & Nithya, 2016). It is highly probable that this behaviour is connected with ecological, morphological, or physiological traits of the species that perch but there is no strong evidence to support this hypothesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial partitioning of perching on plants by tropical dung beetles depends on body size and leaf characteristics: a sit‐and‐wait strategy for food location

Noriega

March‐Salas

Pertierra

et al. 2020

Ecological Entomology

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1. Many animals invest a great amount of time and energy foraging. However, the sit‐and‐wait strategy is a common behaviour, which reduces the cost of moving by using perches. In the case of dung beetles, individuals of many species use leaves as perches. The factors for the selection of these perches are still unknown, but one hypothesis proposes that plant features may be key, creating an ecological animal–plant network. 2. We identified dung beetles and plant species in a tropical rain forest and measured the height and area of the leaves, and the body length for each species. We fitted linear regression models to test the relationship between the height and area of the leaf and a beetle's body size. We also analysed the number of perching interactions through a bipartite analysis to quantify the network modularity. 3. We collected 369 dung beetles of 21 species that were perching on 32 plant species. There were significant differences in the selection of perches related to dung beetle body size and functional group. Larger beetle species selected higher and larger leaves, whereas telecoprids perched on higher leaves than paracoprids. 4. Our findings show a distinct network of beetle‐plant relationships with clear preferences by some dung beetles for particular plant species. The findings also suggest that the processes driving network structure lead to spatial segregation of dung beetle species. In conclusion, sit‐and‐wait behaviour is a common and apparently effective strategy for foraging, and reduces competition in dung beetles in tropical rain forests.

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Dung beetles prefer used land over natural greenspace in urban landscape

Asha

Manoj

Rajesh

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Urbanization drives land-use and patterns of biodiversity. Yet, very little is known about how biodiversity of structurally different habitats is responded to urbanization. We surveyed coprophagous dung beetles and their ecological functional groups—tunnellers, dwellers, and rollers—in shaded natural semi-evergreen forests of sacred groves and the neighbouring relatively open home gardens of sites that represent three levels of urbanization to address the following questions: (1) Do sacred groves have higher abundance, richness, and diversity of dung beetles than home gardens? (2) Is urbanization a key driver of dung beetle abundance, richness, diversity, and community? (3) Is dung beetle assemblage of sacred groves immune to urbanization? and (4) Which ecological functional groups of dung beetles are affected by urbanization? We hypothesized that the sacred groves have a distinct community, resulting in higher abundance, richness, and diversity of dung beetles than home gardens, and the dung beetle assemblage of sacred groves may be immune to urbanization. We sampled the beetles during wet and dry periods using cow dung as a bait. Against our predictions, dung beetle abundance, richness, and diversity were higher in used lands than sacred groves, particularly in urban landscapes. The two habitats had distinct compositions of dung beetles. Tunnellers and rollers were affected by urbanization, but not dwellers. Heliophilic and synanthropic species characterized by smaller species dominated overall catches in the used lands of urban areas. Results downplay sacred grove as a potential refuge for dung beetles and suggest that the biodiversity of native forests may be affected more by urbanization than the manipulated anthropogenic habitats.

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Comparison of the Arboreal Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) of the Wet and Dry Forests of the Western Ghats, India

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Vertical stratification of dung beetles in young secondary forests of Singapore

Vertical stratification of dung beetles in young secondary forests of Singapore

Spatial partitioning of perching on plants by tropical dung beetles depends on body size and leaf characteristics: a sit‐and‐wait strategy for food location

Dung beetles prefer used land over natural greenspace in urban landscape

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