Composition, structure, and competitive behaviour in a guild of Ecuadorian rain forest dung beetles (Coleoptera; Scarabaeidae)

Peck, Stewart B.; Forsyth, Adrian

doi:10.1139/z82-213

Cited by 168 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…However, with 80 or more species often occurring sympatrically, competition for dung can be intense (Peck & Forsyth 1982). Consequently, species partition resources through different feeding strategies; many dung beetle species have derived necrophagous habits, and others feed on rotting fruit and fungus (Larsen et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From coprophagy to predation: a dung beetle that kills millipedes

Larsen

Lopera

Forsyth³

et al. 2009

Biol. Lett.

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The dung beetle subfamily Scarabaeinae is a cosmopolitan group of insects that feed primarily on dung. We describe the first case of an obligate predatory dung beetle and contrast its behaviour and morphology with those of its coprophagous sympatric congeners. Deltochilum valgum Burmeister killed and consumed millipedes in lowland rainforest in Peru. Ancestral ball-rolling behaviour shared by other canthonine species is abandoned, and the head, hind tibiae and pygidium of D. valgum are modified for novel functions during millipede predation. Millipedes were killed by disarticulation, often through decapitation, using the clypeus as a lever. Beetles killed millipedes much larger than themselves. In pitfall traps, D. valgum was attracted exclusively to millipedes, and preferred injured over uninjured millipedes. Morphological similarities placing D. valgum in the same subgenus with nonpredatory dung-feeding species suggest a major and potentially rapid behavioural shift from coprophagy to predation. Ecological transitions enabling the exploitation of dramatically atypical niches, which may be more likely to occur when competition is intense, may help explain the evolution of novel ecological guilds and the diversification of exceptionally species-rich groups such as insects.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From coprophagy to predation: a dung beetle that kills millipedes

Larsen

Lopera

Forsyth³

et al. 2009

Biol. Lett.

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“…Such curves are common in tropical diversity studies, where even in extremely large, homogenous tracts, complete community sampling is often impossible. Other studies of dung beetles in terra firme tropical wet forests have yielded comparable species richness, from 31 to 54 species per trap day (Peck & Forsyth 1982, Klein 1989, Andresen 2003, Spector & Ayzama 2003, Quintero & Roslin 2005. These studies varied in trap design, season of collection and bait.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dung beetles specialize on food particle size, location within or under the dung pat, age of dung pat, size of dung pat, dung quality, diel activity, seasonal activity, beetle size, and soil type (Finn & Gittings 2003). Temperate dung beetles compete highly for space below the dung pat whereas tropical beetles appear to be more limited by the food itself (Peck & Forsyth 1982, Gill 1991, Finn & Gittings 2003. Across all latitudes it is advantageous to arrive at the dung pat first to obtain enough resource, be it food or space, for consumption and reproduction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dung beetle communities: a neotropical-north temperate comparison

Radtke¹,

Fonseca²,

Williamson³

2010

Neotrop. entomol.

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-Dung beetle communities have been compared across north temperate latitudes. Tropical dung beetle communities appear to be more diverse based on studies using different methodologies. Here, we present results from a standardized sampling protocol used to compare dung beetle communities across five neotropical forests in Brazil and Ecuador and two warm, north temperate forests in Mississippi and Louisiana. Species richness in the tropical forests was three to seven times higher than the temperate forests, as would be expected by studies of other taxa across tropical and temperate latitudes. Average body size in the temperate forests was larger than the tropical forests, as predicted by Bergmann's rule. Dung beetle abundance and volume per trap-day were generally higher in Ecuador than Brazil, and higher in Mississippi than Louisiana, but there were no tropical-temperate differences. Species rank-abundance curves were similar within countries and between countries. Rank-volume distributions indicated a smaller range of beetle body sizes in Ecuador versus Brazil or the USA. Community similarity was high within countries and low between countries. Community differences between Brazil and Ecuador sites may be explained by differences in productivity based on geological age of the soils.

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“…Howden and Nealis, 1975;Peck and Forsyth, 1982;Doube, 1983;Nummelin and Hanski, 1989;Estrada et al, 1998;Halffter and …”

Section: Capreolus Capreolusmentioning

confidence: 99%