Faecal mimicry by seeds ensures dispersal by dung beetles

Midgley, Jeremy J.; White, Joseph D.; Johnson, Steven D.; Bronner, Gary N.

doi:10.1038/nplants.2015.141

Cited by 46 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…All cases of S. spretus burial involved limited movement of seeds (<0.25 m) from seed piles, whereas E. flagellatus moved seeds up to 2 m. S. spretus beetles were observed to frantically bury up to three seeds (n=2) and often five or more seeds (n=4) per excavated hole (see the video in the supplementary material online). E. flagellatus was observed to only bury seeds individually, similarly to observations by Midgley et al 1 Flies of the Sarcophagidae were frequently observed to settle on C. argenteum seeds (Figure 1d), indicating that they too are deceived by the scent of the seeds. These 'flesh flies' are typically attracted to dung, carrion or rotting vegetation.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 61%

“…Chemically the seeds have characteristics of the dung of both of the most common large herbivores in the reserve: the eland (Taurotragus oryx) and the bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygargus). 1 However, the seeds are more similar in shape and size to the smaller faeces of the bontebok, which is then the possible visual model that C. argenteum mimics. At the same Potberg site, during February 2016, we observed similar seed dispersal of C. argenteum seeds by another dung beetle, Scarabaeus spretus zur Strassen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 This primary dispersal of seeds involves chemical and visual mimicry because neither the dung beetle nor its larvae can eat these hard seeds. Chemically the seeds have characteristics of the dung of both of the most common large herbivores in the reserve: the eland (Taurotragus oryx) and the bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygargus).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two dung beetle species that disperse mimetic seeds both feed on eland dung

Midgley¹,

White²

2016

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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HOW TO CITE:Midgley JJ, White JDM. Two dung beetle species that disperse mimetic seeds both feed on eland dung. S Afr J Sci. 2016;112(7/8), Art. #2016-0114, 3 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10. 17159/ sajs.2016/20160114 Scarabaeus spretus zur Strassen was observed to roll and bury Ceratocaryum argenteum (Restionaceae) seeds in the sandplain fynbos of the Potberg area of the De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa. This species is the second dung beetle species found to be deceived by the faecal mimicry of C. argenteum seeds -the first species being Epirinus flagellatus. An isotopic analysis suggests that both these dung beetle species most likely feed on eland (Taurotragus oryx), not bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygargus), dung. Thus the model in this mimicry is eland dung; this interaction suggests large herbivores are an integral part of this fynbos.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two dung beetle species that disperse mimetic seeds both feed on eland dung

Midgley¹,

White²

2016

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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“…The ALs are large in both species, suggesting that, in general, dung beetles strongly rely on olfactory cues for many behaviors, such as finding a specific type of dung, animal, or plant (Mansourian et al, 2016;Midgley, White, Johnson, & Bronner, 2015) or for being attracted to pheromones of the male specimen (Burger, 2014;Tride & Burger, 2011). In the two species investigated here, the difference in activity period does not substantially affect the number of AL glomeruli (about 83 in the diurnal species; about 86 in the nocturnal species).…”

Section: Comparison Between Diurnal and Nocturnal Dung Beetlesmentioning

confidence: 77%

Anatomical organization of the brain of a diurnal and a nocturnal dung beetle

Immonen

Dacke

Heinze

et al. 2017

J of Comparative Neurology

153

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To avoid the fierce competition for food, South African ball-rolling dung beetles carve a piece 4 of dung off a dung-pile, shape it into a ball and roll it away along a straight line path. For this 5 unidirectional exit from the busy dung pile, at night and day, the beetles use a wide repertoire 6 of celestial compass cues. This robust and relatively easily measurable orientation behavior has 7 made ball-rolling dung beetles an attractive model organism for the study of the neuroethology 8 behind insect orientation and sensory ecology. Although there is already some knowledge 9 emerging concerning how celestial cues are processed in the dung beetle brain, little is known 10 about its general neural layout. Mapping the neuropils of the dung beetle brain is thus a 11 prerequisite to understand the neuronal network that underlies celestial compass orientation. 12Here, we describe and compare the brains of a day-active and a night-active dung beetle species 13 based on immunostainings against synapsin and serotonin. We also provide 3D reconstructions 14 for all brain areas and many of the fiber bundles in the brain of the day-active dung beetle. 15Comparison of neuropil structures between the two dung beetle species revealed differences 16 that reflect adaptations to different light conditions. Altogether, our results provide a reference 17 framework for future studies on the neuroethology of insects in general and dung beetles in

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“…Losey & Vaughan, ; Nichols et al , ; Beynon et al , ); germination and/or secondary dispersal of seeds owing to dung relocation by beetles (e.g. D'hondt et al , ; Santos‐Heredia et al , ; Midgley et al , ); dung beetle behaviour associated with provisioning/relocation of food for the larvae (e.g. Halffter & Edmonds, ; Klemperer, ; Dacke, ; Dacke et al , ); dung preferences (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbivore dung as food for dung beetles: elementary coprology for entomologists

Holter

2016

Ecological Entomology

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Abstract. 1. How do dung beetles and their larvae manage to subsist on herbivore dung consisting of plant remains that are at least partly indigestible, mixed with various metabolic waste products? To clarify what is known and not known about this basic aspect of dung beetle biology, the present review summarises information on dung composition and discusses the feeding of beetles (food: fresh dung) and larvae (food: older dung) in relation to this information.2. There is 70-85% water in typical fresh dung, and undigested lignocellulose or 'fibre' constitutes about 70% of the organic matter which also contains 1.5-3% N. About 75% of this is 'metabolic faecal nitrogen', mostly associated with dead and alive microbial biomass. As all essential amino acids and cholesterol are probably present, additional synthesis by microbial symbionts may not be needed by the beetles.3. Beetles minimise the intake of lignocellulose by filtering fibre particles out of their food which is probably microbial biomass/debris with much smaller particle size. Excess fluid may be squeezed out of this material by the mandibles before ingestion.4. All larvae are bulk feeders and unable to filtrate, but little is known about the composition of their food, i.e. older dung in pats or underground brood masses. Larvae in dung pats may depend on easily digestible dung components, probably microbial biomass, whereas the nutritional ecology of larvae in brood masses is still not understood. Unravelling the composition of their food might answer some of the so far unanswered questions.

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Faecal mimicry by seeds ensures dispersal by dung beetles

Cited by 46 publications

References 15 publications

Two dung beetle species that disperse mimetic seeds both feed on eland dung

Two dung beetle species that disperse mimetic seeds both feed on eland dung

Anatomical organization of the brain of a diurnal and a nocturnal dung beetle

Herbivore dung as food for dung beetles: elementary coprology for entomologists

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