The effects of different pasture and rangeland ecosystems on the annual dynamics of insects in cattle droppings

Abstract

A 2-yr study (1971-73) in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California consisted of: 1) a quantitative analysis of the differences in diversity and abundance of the insect fauna colonizing and inhabiting diurnally and nocturnally excreted cattle droppings in four different pasture and rangeland ecosystems (natural woodland range, partially cleared woodland range, totally cleared woodland range, cultivated irrigated pasture); and 2) a study of the relationship between the diversity and abundance of insect inhabitants per cowpat and the rate of pat degradation. The fauna consisted of three orders of insects containing 26 families and 102 species. There were 35 to 40 different kinds of Coleoptera, 50 of Diptera, and 12 of Hymenoptera, recorded from samples. Differences per pat in the mean number of species, number of individuals, and insect biomass among pastures, months, and years for the major taxa were analyzed and discussed. The pasture ecosystem and the season were most important in determining the diversity and abundance of insects colonizing droppings. Major differences among pastures in the number of individuals and species per pat were mainly due to a combination of interacting locoand microclimatological factors associated with the environment of the different pastures. Most species of dung insects did not colonize pats dropped during the night. The most important insect species influencing biomass per pat was the scarab, Aphodius fimetarius (L.). The importance of considering species, individuals, and biomass in attempting to understand changes in community structure and function was demonstrated.

Dung beetle assemblages organization in two contrasted areas of the Mediterranean region: affinities and divergences

“…(1) & Jean-Pierre Lumaret (2) ( T he interactions between livestock, vegetation and organisms involved in the recycling of manure and litter are very complex (Merritt & Anderson 1977;Roslin & Koivunen 2001;Jochmann et al 2010). In grazed areas, dung beetles play an important role in the nutrient cycles and are also implicated as secondary seed dispersers (Martín-Piera & Lobo 1995;Andresen 2002;Slade et al 2007).…”

Cattle Dung Breeding Diptera in Pastures in Southeastern Brazil: Diversity, Abundance and Seasonallity

“…Cattle dung pats naturally dropped in pastures are the microhabitat for an abundant and diversified arthropod fauna (Merrit & Anderson 1977, Anderson et al 1984, Blume 1985, Cervenka & Moon 1991. The coprophagous community is represented mainly by Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera) and Diptera that are the most important decaying agents of the dung pats (Laurence 1955, Nibaruta 1982, Anderson et al 1984, Cervenka & Moon 1991.…”

“…Such community plays an important role in the dung pat decay process and in the natural control of dung breeding pests (MacQueen & Beirne 1975, Merrit & Anderson 1977, Roth et al 1983, Anderson et al 1984, Harris & Blume 1986, Hanski 1987, Fay et al 1990). Information on arthropod dung community is important not only to biological and integrated control programs, but also to the implementation of control programs of pests that breed in cattle droppings.…”

Emergência de Haematobia irritans em fezes bovinas no município de Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro

“…As ações físicas devem-se à diminuição da umidade pela evaporação; à fragmentação, devido às variações de temperatura e umidade; ao crescimento de uma nova vegetação entre os fragmentos fecais e aos efeitos pluviométricos e eólicos. As ações biológicas são promovidas por artrópodes, pássaros, mamíferos e microorganismos (Merrit & Anderson 1977, Anderson et al 1984, Hanski 1987, Barth et al 1994. Os insetos cumprem papel importante no processo de incorporação de nutrientes ao solo, uma vez que as interações entre eles e deles com o bolo fecal agilizam a incorporação das fezes no solo (Fincher 1986, Miranda et al 2000.…”