Population status of the bush fly, Musca vetustissima (Diptera: Muscidae), and native dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in south-eastern Australia in relation to establishment of exotic dung beetles

1996 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Tyndale-Biscoe ◽  
W.G. Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Dry Weight ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Population Status ◽  
Replacement Level ◽  
Onthophagus Taurus ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Discomfort Threshold ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Total Dry Weight

AbstractWe compare the pest status and age structure of bush fly,Musca vetustissima Walker, populations, and the abundance of native dung beetles at Uriarra, ACT, for five fly seasons before (1976–81) and three seasons after (1990–93) the exotic dung beetles Euoniticellus fulvus (Goeze) and Onthophagus taurus (Schreber) became established in the area during the late 1980s. Fly populations in all post-introduction seasons of 1990–93 were much older than in the pre-introduction seasons, indicating reduced levels of local fly breeding and higher proportions of immigrants. During the pre-introduction period, the fly annoyance index exceeded the ‘minimum discomfort’ threshold of 10.0 in parts of all seasons. The mean index was 11.3, and this did not differ significantly between seasons. The total dry weight of dung beetles at the time of the first influx of bush flies each year was consistently below 3 g/dung pad which was apparently too low to depress bush fly breeding below their replacement level of 3%. The mean annoyance index of 3.1 for the 1990–91 season was significantly lower than for the pre-introduction period and the total dry weight of beetles during November-December exceeded 3 g/dung pad on all sampling occasions. In the 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons fly annoyance indices reverted to pre-introduction levels (seasonal means of 13.7 and 7.8 respectively) and total dry weight of beetles was again below 3 g/dung pad when the bush flies first appeared. Survival of immature bush flies in local dung pads remained below the replacement level of 3% during 1990–91, but exceeded 3% on two occasions during 1991–92. Apart from 1976–77, when mean catches of native dung beetles (O. australis and O. granulatus) were exceptionally high, mean catches of native dung beetles during pre- and post-introduction years were very similar, but the mean dung beetle biomass increased following the establishment of exotic species.

Dung burial by native and introduced dung beetles (Scarabaeidae)

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1799 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Tyndale-Biscoe
Keyword(s):  
Introduced Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

The quantity of dung buried and shredded by dung beetles at four sites in south-eastern Australia was found to be positively correlated with the dry weight (biomass) of beetles in the pads. Each of the four sites has two abundant native species of dung beetles, and one to five well-established introduced species present. At Uriarra, where only one introduced species is common, a mean of 7 . 2 l � 1.94% (1990-91) and 6.01�1.31% (1991-92) of the dung was buried per week. At Fyshwick, with two common introduced species of dung beetles, 22.27� 4.03% (1990-91) and 12 04�2 72% (1991-92) of the dung was buried per week. Braidwood, with four introduced species, had a mean of 15.81� 2.82% (1991-92) weekly dung buried, and Araluen, with five introduced species, had 30.18�8- 73% (1992-93) dung buried per week. Dung beetle numbers were low at all sites during the first half of 1991-92 season due to a drought throughout the region. Dung shredding averaged less than 12% over the seasons at all sites, but fluctuated from 0 to 70%, depending mainly on beetle numbers in the dung pads on individual occasions. Increasing numbers of exotic dung beetles throughout the pastoral areas of Australia should result in increased amounts of dung buried and shredded, with correspondingly increased benefits to Australian agriculture.

Cycle de développement, croissance et production de Pisidium amnicum (Mollusca: Bivalvia) dans le Saint-Laurent (Québec)

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 2350-2359 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Vincent ◽  
G. Vaillancourt ◽  
N. Lafontaine
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
The Other ◽  
Annual Production ◽  
Bithynia Tentaculata ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Total Dry Weight ◽  
St Lawrence River

The population dynamics of Pisidium amnicum have been studied in one population of the St. Lawrence River over a 2-year period during which 19 samples were taken. The species can live up to 3 years and it is iteroparous; individuals generally attain sexual maturity after 1 year and they reproduce twice, once at 2 and once at 3 years of age. In adults, mortality is lower in winter than during the rest of the year and mortality rates are twice as high during the 1st year than during the 2nd year. Total dry weight (PT, in milligrams) is related to maximum length (L, in millimetres) according to the equation PT = 0.0283∙L3,80 and flesh dry weight (PC, in milligrams) is related to length as follows: PC = 0.007∙L3,18. The annual production to mean biomass (P/B) ratio is 1.4, the mean annual production being 1.298 mg/m2 of total dry weight and 107 mg/m2 of flesh weight. Comparing these results with those obtained for the gastropod Bithynia tentaculata in the same environment and at the same period of the year has shown that the growth of Pisidium amnicum is far less influenced by the temperature regime than that of the other species and that its production is at least 10 times lower.

scholarly journals Carbon Neutral: The Failure of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) to Affect Dung-Generated Greenhouse Gases in the Pasture

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1105-1116
Author(s):  
Fallon Fowler ◽  
Steve Denning ◽  
Shuijin Hu ◽  
Wes Watson
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Time Effects ◽  
Onthophagus Taurus ◽  
Ch4 And N2o ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
Dung Decomposition ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Equivalent

Abstract Research suggests dung beetles can churn, aerate, and desiccate dung in ways that influence the dung and soil microbes producing greenhouse gases (GHGs). We examined the impacts of the tunneling beetle, Onthophagus taurus (Schreber), and the dwelling beetle, Labarrus pseudolividus (Balthasar), on the carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emitted from pasture-laid bovine dung as well as their sum-total (CO2 + CH4 + N2O) effect on global warming, or their carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Despite dung beetles potential effects on CH4 and N2O, the existing literature shows no ultimate CO2e reductions. We hypothesized that more dung beetles would degrade pats faster and reduce CO2e, and so we increased the average dung beetle biomass per dung volume 6.22× above previously published records, and visually documented any dung damage. However, the time effects were 2–5× greater for any GHG and CO2e (E = 0.27–0.77) than dung beetle effects alone (E = 0.09–0.24). This suggests that dung beetle communities cannot adequately reduce GHGs unless they can accelerate dung decomposition faster than time alone.

Attempts to measure the influence of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) on the field mortality of the bush fly Musca vetustissima Walker (Diptera: Muscidae) in south-eastern Australia

1983 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. H. Wallace ◽  
M Tyndale-Biscoe
Keyword(s):  
Total Mortality ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Predatory Mites ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
The Other ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
South Eastern Australia

AbstractThe immature stages of Musca vetustissima Wlk. in dung pads in south-eastern Australia suffered a high mortality through the actions of a complex array of dung organisms, including dung beetles (scarabaeids), predatory beetles (hydrophilids and histerids) and predatory mites (Macrocheles glaber (Müll.)). At times of high dung beetle numbers, it was possible to demonstrate a relationship between fly mortality and dung beetle numbers. Single-species dung beetle populations appeared to be as effective as multiple-species populations in reducing fly numbers, except that some benefit was derived from a combination of day- and night-flying species. When dung beetle numbers were low, their influence could not be measured because of the high mortalities already caused by the other dung fauna. It is suggested that in those circumstances any mortality caused by the dung beetles may simply have become substituted for an existing mortality caused by other fauna without adding to the total mortality.

Experimental Evidence of a Plant Meridian System IV.

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (02) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Z. Hou ◽  
M. D. Li
Keyword(s):  
Sound Production ◽  
Net Photosynthesis ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Phaseolus Vulgaris L ◽  
Net Photosynthesis Rate ◽  
Bush Bean ◽  
Agricultural Plants ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Total Dry Weight ◽  
Growing Conditions

We have shown previously that plants exhibit functional characteristics similar to the meridian system in humans and animals, such as high potential and low electrical resistance, high temperature, and spontaneous sound production. Here we will show the effect of acupuncture on plants. When plants of Phaseolus vulgaris L. pole bean (cv. Kentucky wonder) and bush bean (cv. Slenderette) were subjected to acupuncture by inserting two needles into opposite sides of the stem of the unifoliolate buds, it was found that acupuncture strengthened the growth and development of the plants. Two repeated experiments showed that the mean net photosynthesis rate of plants subjected to acupuncture increased about 20.5%, the mean transpiration 27.2%, the growth and total length of internodes 22.5%, and the total dry weight of shoots from the cotyledon to the apex 22.9%, in comparisons with control plants under the same growing conditions. In addition, treated plants flowered three days earlier and had 14.4% more fruit than the untreated control plants. Thus, acupuncture may serve as a viable technique for increasing yield in agricultural plants.

Dispersal of dung containing ivermectin in the field by Onthophagus taurus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

1999 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.R. Dadour ◽  
D.F. Cook ◽  
C. Neesam
Keyword(s):  
Introduced Species ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Anthelmintic Treatment ◽  
Post Injection ◽  
Lethal Effects ◽  
Onthophagus Taurus

AbstractFifty-five species of exotic dung beetles have been introduced into Australia and in many areas, several species are now established and often abundant. Controversy exists in the dung beetle literature concerning the use of ivermectin as an anthelmintic treatment for livestock and its subsequent lethal and sub-lethal effects on adult dung beetles. A study was conducted in the field exposing replicate dung pats containing residues of ivermectin excreted 0–15 days post-injection. At the time of the study, the introduced species of dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Schreber) was present in high numbers (>1000 beetles per pat). After 24 h exposure, dung pats collected from cattle treated 7 and 10 days earlier with ivermectin were dispersed significantly less than untreated dung. A similar pattern was evident in the numbers of dung beetles present in each pat. This study is discussed in the context of anthelmintic usage in cattle and their potential ecotoxic effects against dung beetles.

Size selection of common mussels, Mytilus edulis, by common eiders, Somateria mollissima: energy maximization or shell weight minimization?

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 2280-2283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Ove Bustnes ◽  
Kjell Einar Erikstad
Keyword(s):  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Shell Weight ◽  
Size Selection ◽  
Common Eiders ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Energy Maximization ◽  
Total Dry Weight ◽  
Selection Of

Prey size selection by common eiders, Somateria mollissima, preying on common mussels, Mytilus edulis, in northern Norway is described. The mean length (± 1 SD) of mussels preyed upon was 13.9 ± 5.7 mm (range 3.5–38.1 mm). The dry flesh weight as a percentage of the total dry weight ranged from 4.2 to 8.6% in different body-length categories and was greatest in the mussels most frequently fed upon. There was a close negative correlation between the size of mussels fed upon and the estimated total shell weight that birds had to ingest to obtain their daily requirement of food (rs = −0.86). A hypothesis is proposed that common eiders select mussels of certain size classes to minimize the daily shell weight intake.

Seasonality, dung specificity and competition in dung beetle assemblages in the Australian Wet Tropics, north-eastern Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Vernes ◽  
Lisa C. Pope ◽  
Christopher J. Hill ◽  
Felix Bärlocher
Keyword(s):  
Null Model ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Species Effect ◽  
Wet Tropics

A trapping study of five mammal species in wet sclerophyll forest adjacent to rain forest in the Australian Wet Tropics was used to examine the seasonal diversity, abundance and dung-specificity of dung beetles associated with mammal dung. A total of 542 dung beetles from 11 species within three genera was recovered from beneath the traps of 1104 mammal captures. The diversity of beetles associated with the dung of the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica), a mycophagous marsupial, differed significantly from the diversity predicted by a null model. Numbers of beetles varied significantly with type of dung, indicating preference by beetles. Beetle numbers were related positively to a 1-mo lag in monthly mean minimum temperature and less strongly to maximum temperature and rainfall. Significantly more beetles per mammal capture were detected in the wet season than in the dry season. Dung beetles showed a strong preference for either the Eucalyptus woodland (six species) or the adjacent Allocasuarina forest (four species), with only one species occurring in both habitat types. Beetle species from the Eucalyptus woodland were typically only detected in the late wet and early dry seasons, while species in the wetter Allocasuarina forest were generally collected during the late dry and early wet seasons. A significant ‘checkerboard’ species effect was detected in both time and space in both habitat types, suggesting that competition for dung was strong.

Trait responses of Peninsular Malaysian dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) to the loss of megafauna dung

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-41
Author(s):  
Thary Gazi Goh ◽  
Rosli Hashim
Keyword(s):  
Resource Availability ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Phenotypic Change ◽  
Phenotypic Changes ◽  
Proxy Measure ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Intraspecific Difference

AbstractThe extinction of megafauna may lead to the trophic collapse of ecosystems that depend on the dung that they produce. Some dung beetle species may undergo phenotypic changes in response to altered resource availability. The pronotal width of dung beetles is a trait that can be used as a proxy measure for the amount of dung provisioned during the larval stage. In this study conducted in Peninsular Malaysia, we compare the intraspecific difference in pronotal widths of dung beetles in forests with and without megafauna. Beetles were collected using burrowing interception traps baited with elephant dung. Six species with a minimum sample size of 55 beetles per species were used. Pronotum widths were compared using Bayesian estimation (BEST). There was no credible difference between intraspecific pronotal widths of four species, but credible differences between the mean parameters of two species, Liatongus femoratus and Oniticellus tessellatus. Both these species belong to genera that have a close association with megafauna, while the other are believed to be generalists. This may indicate that species that depend on megafauna dung as a breeding resource undergo a phenotypic change following the loss of their preferred dung type. Phenotypic changes appear to be a pathway which allows species to survive the initial trophic collapse of an ecosystem.

Bush fly, Musca vetustissima Walker (Diptera: Muscidae), control in relation to seasonal abundance of scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in south-western Australia

1988 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Ridsdill-Smith ◽  
J. N. Matthiessen
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Cattle Dung ◽  
Beetle Species ◽  
Additional Species

AbstractSeasonal patterns of abundance of Musca vetustissima Walker and scarabaeine dung beetles were measured at Busselton in south-western Australia for two years before and three years after, the introduction and establishment of two species of summer-active dung beetles, Oniticellus pallipes (F.) and Onthophagus binodis (Thunberg). Previously, only a single winter-active native dung beetle species, O. ferox Harold, occurred in this area. The mean dry weight of dung beetles trapped in December (early summer) was unaffected by the establishment of the additional species, and fly populations remained high. In January, however, dung beetle dry weight increased more than 60-fold and M. vetustissima abundance fell to 12% of its previous value, essentially halving the duration of major fly problems in the area. Virtually no flies emerged from cattle dung after December, when dung beetle activity reduced egg-adult survival of M. vetustissima to only 0·5%. It is proposed that better M. vetustissima control could be achieved in much of south-western Australia by introducing additional dung beetle species that are abundant in November and December.

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