scholarly journals Dung beetle community assemblages in a southern African landscape: niche overlap between domestic and wild herbivore dung

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
B. Sands ◽  
N. Mgidiswa ◽  
S. Curson ◽  
C. Nyamukondiwa ◽  
R. Wall
Keyword(s):  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Cattle Dung ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Domestic Livestock ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Diurnal Species

Abstract Dung beetles provide important ecosystem functions in semiarid environments, improving the physiochemical characteristics of the soil through tunnelling and burying nutrient-rich dung. In sub-Saharan Africa, diverse indigenous mammal communities support highly abundant dung beetle populations in savannah ecosystems. However, the conversion of landscapes to livestock agriculture may result in changes in the abundance and diversity of wild mammal species. This is likely to have significant impacts on dung beetle communities, particularly because domestic livestock dung may be contaminated with toxic residues of veterinary parasiticides. The environmental impact is likely to be affected by the degree of niche overlap between the beetle communities that colonize cattle dung and those that colonize the dung of wild mammals. We compared dung beetle communities between a pristine national park habitat dominated by large wild herbivores, and a pastoral farming community dominated by domestic livestock. Diurnal dung beetles were attracted to cattle dung in greater abundance and diversity compared to elephant, zebra or giraffe dung. Nocturnal/crepuscular dung beetles were attracted to non-ruminant dung (elephant and zebra) in higher abundance compared to ruminant dung (cattle and giraffe). Although there were no clear trophic specializations, three diurnal species showed an association with cattle dung, whereas eight nocturnal/crepuscular species showed an association with non-ruminant (elephant and zebra) dung. Diurnal species may be at greater risk from the toxic effects of residues of veterinary parasiticides in domestic livestock dung. Although many species showed trophic associations with wild herbivore dung, these beetles can utilize a wide range of dung and will readily colonize cattle dung in the absence of other options. As more land is converted to livestock agriculture, the contamination of dung with toxic residues from veterinary parasiticides could therefore negatively impact the majority of dung beetle species.

scholarly journals Dung beetle–mammal associations: methods, research trends and future directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1897) ◽  
pp. 20182002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth H. Raine ◽  
Eleanor M. Slade
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance

Dung beetles are increasingly used as a study taxon—both as bioindicators of environmental change, and as a model system for exploring ecosystem functioning. The advantages of this focal taxon approach are many; dung beetles are abundant in a wide range of terrestrial ecosystems, speciose, straightforward to sample, respond to environmental gradients and can be easily manipulated to explore species-functioning relationships. However, there remain large gaps in our understanding of the relationship between dung beetles and the mammals they rely on for dung. Here we review the literature, showing that despite an increase in the study of dung beetles linked to ecosystem functioning and to habitat and land use change, there has been little research into their associations with mammals. We summarize the methods and findings from dung beetle–mammal association studies to date, revealing that although empirical field studies of dung beetles rarely include mammal data, those that do, indicate mammal species presence and composition has a large impact on dung beetle species richness and abundance. We then review the methods used to carry out diet preference and ecosystem functioning studies, finding that despite the assumption that dung beetles are generalist feeders, there are few quantitative studies that directly address this. Together this suggests that conclusions about the effects of habitat change on dung beetles are based on incomplete knowledge. We provide recommendations for future work to identify the importance of considering mammal data for dung beetle distributions, composition and their contributions to ecosystem functioning; a critical step if dung beetles are to be used as a reliable bioindicator taxon.

Avermectin residues in sheep and cattle dung and their effects on dung-beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) colonization and dung burial

1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. G. Wardhaugh ◽  
R. J. Mahon
Keyword(s):  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Toxic Effects ◽  
Cattle Dung ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Fly Larvae ◽  
Newly Hatched Larvae

AbstractData from dung-baited pitfall traps show that dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) do not discriminate against dung from sheep or cattle treated with avermectin. On the contrary, for a period post-treatment, dung from animals treated with avermectin attracted more beetles than dung from untreated animals. This effect was more marked with cattle dung than with sheep dung. The period of enhanced attractiveness of sheep dung was restricted to dung produced during the first day after treatment, whereas with cattle dung, the effect was still evident in faeces produced 25 days after treatment. Cattle dung produced from 3–25 days post-treatment caused 100% mortality in newly hatched larvae of the bushfly, Musca vetustissima Walker (Diptera:Muscidae). In dung of day 35, mortality was 93.6%. Dung collected from sheep from 1–6 days after treatment also caused 100% mortality of fly larvae, but by day 28, no toxic effects were detectable. Field observations on the colonization of cattle pats confirmed the enhanced attractiveness of dung from treated animals and suggested that departure rates from treated dung were lower than those from untreated dung. Treated pats supported higher beetle populations than untreated pats and burial was more rapid. The potentially serious implications of the enhanced attractiveness of avermectincontaminated dung are discussed in relation to the survival of dung beetle communities.

scholarly journals Dung beetles as vertebrate samplers – a test of high throughput analysis of dung beetle iDNA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosie Drinkwater ◽  
Elizabeth L. Clare ◽  
Arthur Y. C. Chung ◽  
Stephen J. Rossiter ◽  
Eleanor M. Slade
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
High Throughput Analysis ◽  
Humid Forest ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractThe application of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling in biodiversity surveys has gained widespread acceptance, especially in aquatic systems where free eDNA can be readily collected by filtering water. In terrestrial systems, eDNA-based approaches for assaying vertebrate biodiversity have tended to rely on blood-feeding invertebrates, including leeches and mosquitoes (termed invertebrate-derived DNA or iDNA). However, a key limitation of using blood-feeding taxa as samplers is that they are difficult to trap, and, in the case of leeches, are highly restricted to humid forest ecosystems. Dung beetles (superfamily Scarabaeoidea) feed on the faecal matter of terrestrial vertebrates and offer several potential benefits over blood-feeding invertebrates as samplers of vertebrate DNA. Importantly, these beetles can be easily captured in large numbers using simple, inexpensive baited traps; are globally distributed; and also occur in a wide range of biomes, allowing mammal diversity to be compared across habitats. In this exploratory study, we test the potential utility of dung beetles as vertebrate samplers by sequencing the mammal DNA contained within their guts. First, using a controlled feeding experiment, we show that mammalian DNA can be retrieved from the guts of large dung beetles (Catharsius renaudpauliani) for up to 10 hours after feeding. Second, by combining high-throughput sequencing of a multi-species assemblage of dung beetles with PCR replicates, we show that multiple mammal taxa can be identified with high confidence. By providing preliminary evidence that dung beetles can be used as a source of mammal DNA, our study highlights the potential for this widespread group to be used in future biodiversity monitoring surveys.

scholarly journals A review on the effect of macrocyclic lactones on dung-dwelling insects: Toxicity of macrocyclic lactones to dung beetles

2015 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen T. Jacobs ◽  
Clarke H. Scholtz
Keyword(s):  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Relative Toxicity ◽  
Macrocyclic Lactones ◽  
Pesticide Application ◽  
Bioindicator Species ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Domestic Livestock ◽  
Natural Assemblage

Avermectins and milbemycins are commonly used in agro-ecosystems for the control of parasites in domestic livestock. As integral members of agro-ecosystems with importance in maintaining pasture health through dung burial behaviour, dung beetles are an excellent nontarget bio-indicator taxon for examining potential detrimental effects of pesticide application. The current review focuses on the relative toxicity of four different anthelmintics (ivermectin, eprinomectin, doramectin and moxidectin) in dung residues using dung beetles as a bioindicator species. One of the implications of this review is that there could be an effect that extends to the entire natural assemblage of insects inhabiting and feeding on the dung of cattle treated with avermectin or milbemycin products. Over time, reduced reproductive rate would result in decreased dung beetle populations and ultimately, a decrease in the rate of dung degradation and dung burial.

Field assessments of the impact of night-flying dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) on the bush fly, Musca Vetustissima Walker (Diptera: Muscidae), in south-western Australia

1984 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Ridsdill Smith ◽  
J. N. Matthiessen
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Cattle Dung ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe effect of excluding the night-flying dung fauna, which included one abundant species of dung beetle (Scarabaeidae) in each of two areas, on the numbers of Musca vetustissima Wlk. emerging from cattle dung pads was studied in south-western Australia. Fresh dung pads were exposed to natural, daytime oviposition by M. vetustissima and half were covered at night. A test at one site before dung beetles emerged showed no effect of other nocturnal fauna on fly survival. In three experiments where Onthophagus ferox Har. was excluded, the numbers of flies emerging increased from 679 to 1019 per dung pad. In five experiments where Onitis alexis Klug was excluded, the number of flies emerging increased from 14 to 33 per dung pad. The mortality contributed by Onthophagus ferox was estimated to be around 27% and that by Onitis alexis around 15%.

scholarly journals Dung beetles as samplers of mammals in Malaysian Borneo—a test of high throughput metabarcoding of iDNA

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11897
Author(s):  
Rosie Drinkwater ◽  
Joseph Williamson ◽  
Elizabeth L. Clare ◽  
Arthur Y.C. Chung ◽  
Stephen J. Rossiter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Short Time

Invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) sampling in biodiversity surveys is becoming increasingly widespread, with most terrestrial studies relying on DNA derived from the gut contents of blood-feeding invertebrates, such as leeches and mosquitoes. Dung beetles (superfamily Scarabaeoidea) primarily feed on the faecal matter of terrestrial vertebrates and offer several potential benefits over blood-feeding invertebrates as samplers of vertebrate DNA. Importantly, these beetles can be easily captured in large numbers using simple, inexpensive baited traps, are globally distributed, and occur in a wide range of habitats. To build on the few existing studies demonstrating the potential of dung beetles as sources of mammalian DNA, we subjected the large-bodied, Bornean dung beetle (Catharsius renaudpauliani) to a controlled feeding experiment. We analysed DNA from gut contents at different times after feeding using qPCR techniques. Here, we first describe the window of DNA persistence within a dung beetle digestive tract. We found that the ability to successfully amplify cattle DNA decayed over relatively short time periods, with DNA copy number decreasing by two orders of magnitude in just 6 h. In addition, we sampled communities of dung beetles from a lowland tropical rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia, in order to test whether it is possible to identify vertebrate sequences from dung beetle iDNA. We sequenced both the gut contents from large dung beetle species, as well as whole communities of smaller beetles. We successfully identified six mammalian species from our samples, including the bearded pig (Sus barbatus) and the sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)—both vulnerable species on the IUCN red list. Our results represent the first use of dung beetle iDNA to sample Southeast Asian vertebrate fauna, and highlight the potential for dung beetle iDNA to be used in future biodiversity monitoring surveys.

scholarly journals Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) Attracted toLagothrix lagotricha(Humboldt) andAlouatta seniculus(Linnaeus) (Primates: Atelidae) Dung in a Colombian Amazon Forest

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Ari Noriega
Keyword(s):  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Lagothrix Lagotricha ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Colombian Amazon ◽  
Degree Of Differentiation ◽  
High Degree

Dung beetles are among the most important insects in the Neotropics. Some species use a wide range of food sources, whereas other species are highly specialized. This study compares the use of two-primate excrement by an assemblage of dung beetles in a tropical forest in Colombia. Dung ofLagothrix lagotrichaandAlouatta seniculuswas used to attract beetles. A total of 32 species (47.7% of the species recorded for the area) were found on the two types of excrement studied, demonstrating that primate excrement is an important resource. The niche overlap between both feces is 27.03%, which indicates a high degree of resource specialization. Although these two primate species are found in the same areas, their diets vary greatly to permit a high degree of differentiation in beetle species. A study that includes dung of others primates would create a more complete panorama of resource overlap in the assemblage.

Effects of introduced dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) on the breeding and abundance of the Australian bushfly, Musca vetustissimaWalker (Diptera: Muscidae)

1978 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Hughes ◽  
Marina Tyndale-Biscoe ◽  
Josephine Walker
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Cattle Dung ◽  
High Level ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractIn laboratory experiments in Australia under standard conditions, densities of the dung beetle Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche) exceeding 150/1-litre pad of cattle dung were shown to suppress breeding of Musca vetustissima Wlk. The experiments also suggested that it was the effect of dung disturbance on the survival of eggs of the fly that led to suppression. Natural vaiation in the quality of cattle dung obscured but did not alter the effects of high beetle densities. The mobility of M. vetustissima in particular, obscured the relationship of its abundance to dung beetle numbers in the field in 1974–75 and 1975–77 an intial high level of flies was apparently reduced and suppressed by a seasonally late but otherwise similar level of beetle attack on dung pads.

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.

scholarly journals Treating cattle with antibiotics affects greenhouse gas emissions, and microbiota in dung and dung beetles

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1831) ◽  
pp. 20160150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobin J. Hammer ◽  
Noah Fierer ◽  
Bess Hardwick ◽  
Asko Simojoki ◽  
Eleanor Slade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Antibiotic Treatment ◽  
Methanogenic Archaea ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Antibiotic Effect ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Survival And Reproduction

Antibiotics are routinely used to improve livestock health and growth. However, this practice may have unintended environmental impacts mediated by interactions among the wide range of micro- and macroorganisms found in agroecosystems. For example, antibiotics may alter microbial emissions of greenhouse gases by affecting livestock gut microbiota. Furthermore, antibiotics may affect the microbiota of non-target animals that rely on dung, such as dung beetles, and the ecosystem services they provide. To examine these interactions, we treated cattle with a commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic and assessed downstream effects on microbiota in dung and dung beetles, greenhouse gas fluxes from dung, and beetle size, survival and reproduction. We found that antibiotic treatment restructured microbiota in dung beetles, which harboured a microbial community distinct from those in the dung they were consuming. The antibiotic effect on beetle microbiota was not associated with smaller size or lower numbers. Unexpectedly, antibiotic treatment raised methane fluxes from dung, possibly by altering the interactions between methanogenic archaea and bacteria in rumen and dung environments. Our findings that antibiotics restructure dung beetle microbiota and modify greenhouse gas emissions from dung indicate that antibiotic treatment may have unintended, cascading ecological effects that extend beyond the target animal.

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