Morphological traits reflect dung beetle response to land use changes in tropical karst ecosystems of Vietnam

Bui, Van Bac; Ziegler, Thomas; Bonkowski, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105697

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Regarding the observed traits, for the most humid regions (Atlantic Forest and Humid Chaco), species with large femurs were typical forests (with and without cattle), which is probably associated with the ability of certain species to bury organic matter and the paracoprid's ability to tunnel. On the other hand, and contrary to what we expected and to previous studies 72 , the presence of large species with bodies, pronotum, heads and femurs larger in open pastures of the Dry Chaco can be associated to the thermoregulatory capacity of certain species, or the nocturnal or crepuscular activity which would enable them to make use of open habitats 73 , 74 . These morphological characteristics allow them a greater burial capacity in arid soils exposed to extreme temperatures and with little vegetation, which generates a decrease in water content in soils and consequently greater hardness 75 .…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Livestock grazing impact differently on the functional diversity of dung beetles depending on the regional context in subtropical forests

Alonso

Zurita

Bellocq

2022

Sci Rep

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The replacement of native forest by cattle pastures reduces functional diversity; however, little is known about whether the changes depend on regional variation. Dung beetles are one of the most diverse and functionally important taxa; through organic matter burial, dung beetles improve soil quality. We collected dung beetles in native forests and cattle ranching areas in subtropical forests with contrasting climatic conditions: the Atlantic Forest, the Humid Chaco, and the Dry Chaco. We measured 11 traits related to the ecology and the physiology of species. Irrespectively of the region, functional richness was higher in forests (native and with cattle) when compared to open pastures. Humid forests (Atlantic Forest and Humid Chaco) showed higher functional richness than Dry Chaco. Functional dispersion in humid forests was similar between native forest and livestock systems, however, functional dispersion in the Dry Chaco was higher in open pastures compared to native forest. According to our results, native forests and forests with cattle maintain functional diversity in all regions. However, in the case of open pastures, the response depends on the regional context; the replacement of native forest by open pastures strongly affected functional diversity in humid forests and showed less impact on dry forest.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Livestock grazing impact differently on the functional diversity of dung beetles depending on the regional context in subtropical forests

Alonso

Zurita

Bellocq

2022

Sci Rep

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“…We chose nine morphological traits based their documented sensitivity to elevational change ( Mani, 1968 ; Brühl, 1997 ; Bui, Ziegler & Bonkowski, 2020 ) or relevance to sexual selection Cook 1987 ( Emlen, 1996 ; Liang, Shieh & Huang, 2008 ; Köhler, Samietz & Schielzeth, 2017 )). These traits are described and illustrated in ( Table S1 , Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of phenotypic plasticity along an altitudinal gradient in the dung beetle Onthophagus proteus

Stanbrook

Harris

Wheater

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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Background High altitude insects are an ecologically specialized group and possess a suite of adaptions which allow persistence in the inhospitable conditions often associated with mountain tops. Changes in body coloration and reductions or increases in body size are thought to be examples of such adaptions. Melanic individuals, or individuals containing high levels of eumelanin, possess several traits which increase resistance to ultraviolet radiation and desiccation, while aiding thermoregulation. Trait variation is often observed in dung beetles and is associated with dimorphism and sexual selection. In this study, we identified trait changes which occur across an altitudinal gradient by measuring morphological color and body size traits in a montane insect. Methods Using standard digital photography and Image J, we examined individuals of Afromontane dung beetle Onthophagus proteus. Individuals were classified according to sex and color morph to identify intrasexual variance. Nine morphometric traits were measured per beetle to identify patterns of morphology across discrete 500 m altitude segments. Results The results of this study provide one of the first descriptions of trait changes associated with elevation in an African dung beetle. We suggest that color polymorphism in Onthophagus proteus might be at least partly driven by environmental factors as there is significantly increased melanism with increasing elevation and significant differences in color hues between altitude bands. We also suggest changes in horn length are density dependent, as we observed an increase in cephalic horn length at high elevations where O. proteus is the most abundant species.

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“…Dung beetles have been classified into functional guilds based on traits such as body size, reproductive strategy, flight activity patterns, and dung removal behavior [13,14]. There is some evidence that large paracoprid dung beetles remove greater quantities of dung from soil surfaces [15][16][17], however, the functional relationship between dung beetle trait diversity (e.g., body size or nesting behavior) and the maintenance of soil nutrient quality due to nutrient recycling remains unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Dung Beetle Size on Soil Nutrient Mobilization in an Afrotropical Forest

Stanbrook

Harris

Jones

et al. 2021

Insects

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Despite recognition of its importance, little is known about functional aspects of soil macrofauna. Here, we investigated the effect of dung beetle body size on macronutrient movement (N, P, K, and C) from elephant dung into soil over 112 days in an Afrotropical forest. We report a large overall effect where more macronutrients are moved into soil over time when beetles are present compared to a control treatment. We also report a large effect of beetle body size on the amount of macronutrient movement, with larger dung beetles moving more nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and carbon from baseline measurements when compared to smaller sized dung beetles. The presence of smaller sized dung beetles showed a significant positive effect on potassium and phosphorus transfer only. We provide the first experimental evidence that the body size of African dungs directly influences the type of macronutrients recycled and discuss the importance of dung beetle body size for maintaining soil fertility.

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Morphological traits reflect dung beetle response to land use changes in tropical karst ecosystems of Vietnam

Cited by 17 publications

References 63 publications

Livestock grazing impact differently on the functional diversity of dung beetles depending on the regional context in subtropical forests

Livestock grazing impact differently on the functional diversity of dung beetles depending on the regional context in subtropical forests

Evidence of phenotypic plasticity along an altitudinal gradient in the dung beetle Onthophagus proteus

The Effect of Dung Beetle Size on Soil Nutrient Mobilization in an Afrotropical Forest

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