Effects of abiotic environmental factors and land use on the diversity of carrion-visiting silphid beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae): A large scale carrion study

Hoermann, Christian von; Jauch, Dennis; Kubotsch, Carolin; Reichel-Jung, Kirsten; Steiger, Sandra; Ayasse, Manfred

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0196839

Cited by 25 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…This variation was also reflected in species richness, rising from a minimum of zero species on two specific plots in Hainich-Dün up to a maximum of five species on a single plot in the Schorfheide-Chorin. We reported similar variations in our previous study on silphid beetles visiting cadavers within the Biodiversity Exploratories [31]. Silphid species numbers rose from a minimum of one on a single forest plot in Hainich-Dün to a maximum of seven on a single forest plot in Schorfheide-Chorin [31].…”

Section: Dung Beetle Abundance and Richness Across Regionssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…We reported similar variations in our previous study on silphid beetles visiting cadavers within the Biodiversity Exploratories [31]. Silphid species numbers rose from a minimum of one on a single forest plot in Hainich-Dün to a maximum of seven on a single forest plot in Schorfheide-Chorin [31]. However, this regional effect was not only limited to necrophagous and copronecrophagous beetles.…”

Section: Dung Beetle Abundance and Richness Across Regionssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…The three regions are Biosphere Reserve Schwäbische Alb (German state of Baden-Württemberg) in the southwest (48°20 0 60.0 00 N to 48°32 0 3.7 00 N; 9°12 0 13.0 00 E to 9°34 0 48.9 00 E), Hainich-Dün (German state of Thuringia) in the middle (50°56 0 14.5 00 N to 51°22 0 43.4 00 N; 10°10 0 24.0 00 E to 10°46 0 45.0 00 E) and Schorfheide-Chorin (German State of Brandenburg) in the northeast (52°47 0 24.8 00 N to 53°13 0 26.0 00 N; 13°23 0 27 00 E to 14°8 0 52.7 00 E). A more precise description of the study areas can be found in von Hoermann et al [31].…”

Section: Methods and Materials 21 Study Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wire cages containing carcasses and controls ( pitfall traps without cadavers and wire cages) were installed at a distance of 100 m from each other. A more detailed description of the exposure of the piglet cadavers is given in von Hoermann et al [31].…”

Section: Study Sites and Piglet Cadaver Expositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Free-ranging red deer exists only in the region of Schorfheide-Chorin with high numbers of 40-70 specimens per 1000 ha [69]. The higher disposability of large vertebrate cadavers and deer dung in forest areas of the Schorfheide-Chorin zone might have set the stage for the establishment of higher densities of copronecrophagous dung beetle (in particular Geotrupidae) and necrophagous silphid [31] beetle populations compared with beetle communities in Hainich-Dün and the Schwäbische Alb, living in areas that are free of red deer. This assumption is substantiated by the findings of a Japanese study examining the effects of sika deer overabundance on dung and carrion beetle communities [70].…”

Section: Dung Beetle Abundance and Richness Across Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forest habitat parameters influence abundance and diversity of cadaver-visiting dung beetles in Central Europe

et al. 2020

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Dung beetles provide crucial ecosystem services and serve as model organisms for various behavioural, ecological and evolutionary studies. However, dung beetles have received little attention as consumers of large cadavers. In this study, we trapped copronecrophagous dung beetles on above-ground exposed piglet cadavers in 61 forest plots distributed over three geographically distinct regions in Germany, Central Europe. We examined the effects of land use intensity, forest stand, soil characteristics, vascular plant diversity and climatic conditions on dung beetle abundance, species richness and diversity. In all three regions, dung beetles, represented mainly by the geotrupid species Anoplotrupes stercorosus and Trypocopris vernalis , were attracted to the cadavers. High beetle abundance was associated with higher mean ambient temperature. Furthermore, A. stercorosus and T. vernalis were more abundant in areas where soil contained higher proportions of fine sand. Additionally, an increased proportion of forest understorey vegetation and vascular plant diversity positively affected the species richness and diversity of dung beetles. Thus, even in warm dry monocultured forest stands exploited for timber, we found thriving dung beetle populations when a diverse understorey was present. Therefore, forestry practices that preserve the understorey can sustain stable dung beetle populations and ensure their important contribution to nutrient cycles.

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Section: Dung Beetle Abundance and Richness Across Regionssupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Dung Beetle Abundance and Richness Across Regionssupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Methods and Materials 21 Study Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Sites and Piglet Cadaver Expositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dung Beetle Abundance and Richness Across Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forest habitat parameters influence abundance and diversity of cadaver-visiting dung beetles in Central Europe

et al. 2020

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Season, decay stage, habitat, temperature and carrion beetles allow estimating the post‐mortem interval of wild boar carcasses

Müller,

Rietz,

von Hoermann

et al. 2024

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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The decay process of animal carcasses is a highly complex succession driven by abiotic and biotic variables and their interactions. As an underexplored ecological recycling process, understanding carrion decomposition associated with pandemics such as African swine fever is important for predicting the rate and post‐mortem interval (PMI) variation of wild animal carcasses to improve disease management. To model PMIs of wild boar, we deployed 73 wild boar carcasses in four different forest habitat types throughout a year and monitored the decomposition process, carrion beetles and blow fly larval populations. The 601 single observations were split randomly into 501 training data and 100 validation data. A linear additive mixed model for log‐transformed PMI values using the training data identified the decay stage, day of year, ambient temperature during sampling, habitat and prevalence of Oiceoptoma thoracicum (Silphidae) as predictive variables for time since death, but neither the initial body mass nor if a fresh or previous frozen carcass was used. Using the validation data, this model showed a high predictive power for log‐transformed PMI values (R2 = 0.80). This study aimed at improving the methodology of estimating the PMI of wild boar carcasses based on important abiotic and biotic environmental factors that can be easily assessed in the field. Using only a small set of predictors, including a conspicuous beetle species, allowed prediction of the mean, minimum and maximum PMI of wild boar carcasses. The strong effects of a few surrogates on PMI in our model suggest that this model can easily be transferred to wider regions of Central Europe by retraining the model with data from a broader environmental space and can thus be instrumental in assessing timing of disease introduction in areas newly affected by emerging diseases such as African swine fever.

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Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae)

Potticary,

Belk,

Creighton

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Investigating fundamental processes in biology requires the ability to ground broad questions in species‐specific natural history. This is particularly true in the study of behavior because an organism's experience of the environment will influence the expression of behavior and the opportunity for selection. Here, we provide a review of the natural history and behavior of burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus to provide the groundwork for comparative work that showcases their remarkable behavioral and ecological diversity. Burying beetles have long fascinated scientists because of their well‐developed parenting behavior, exhibiting extended post‐hatching care of offspring that varies extensively within and across taxa. Despite the burgeoning success of burying beetles as a model system for the study of behavioral evolution, there has not been a review of their behavior, ecology, and evolution in over 25 years. To address this gap, we leverage a developing community of researchers who have contributed to a detailed knowledge of burying beetles to highlight the utility of Nicrophorus for investigating the causes and consequences of social and behavioral evolution.

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Effects of abiotic environmental factors and land use on the diversity of carrion-visiting silphid beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae): A large scale carrion study

Cited by 25 publications

References 73 publications

Forest habitat parameters influence abundance and diversity of cadaver-visiting dung beetles in Central Europe

Forest habitat parameters influence abundance and diversity of cadaver-visiting dung beetles in Central Europe

Season, decay stage, habitat, temperature and carrion beetles allow estimating the post‐mortem interval of wild boar carcasses

Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae)

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