荒漠草原马粪中粪金龟子组成及分解作用

2007年4-10月,采用野外和室内实验相结合的方法,研究了荒漠草原马粪中的粪金龟子群落组成和对马粪分解的影响.共捕获粪金龟子13528头,隶属于3科4属26种,优势种为符号蜉金龟(Aphodius comma),占总捕获量的88.5%,不同季节粪金龟子群落组成明显不同;在鲜马粪中活动的粪金龟子以粪居型蜉金龟为主,在鲜马粪堆置3d时种数和个体数达到最高,6d后全部离开;马粪经过136 d分解,残留率为52.5%,残留粪样中氮和磷释放较慢,钾释放较快;结合室内分解实验的结果,认为粪金龟子主要通过在马粪中活动对其分解产生影响,并与风蚀作用成为荒漠草原马粪块破碎的重要动因,主要发生在春季和秋季.     

Asymmetric competition in cattle dung between two species of Onthophagus dung beetle and the bush fly, Musca vetustissima

Abstract.

• 1 Competition in cattle dung pads between two dung beetles, Onthophagus ferox Harold and Onthophagus binodis Thunberg, and the bush fly, Musca vetustissima Walker, was investigated in laboratory experiments, to determine why spring fly abundance in the field did not fall following the introduction of O. binodis.
• 2 At low beetle densities, the number of eggs laid by each species was reduced by the second species. A similar amount of dung was buried by each species alone or by both together.
• 3 At high beetle densities O. binodis egg production was substantially affected by each additional O.ferox, but O.ferox egg production was not affected by each additional O.binodis. Asymmetric competition occurred because O.ferox buried more dung than O.binodis, and a greater proportion in day 1 (pre-emptive dung burial).
• 4 O.ferox caused greater M. vetustissima egg-puparia mortality than O. binodis. Mortality mostly occurred in young M. vetustissima larvae less than 1 day old. Total egg-puparia fly mortality was correlated better with the dung buried on day 1 than dung buried on day 8 (pre-emptive dung burial). O.binodis did not add to fly mortality by O.ferox at high densities because of asymmetric competition between the beetles.

     

Preliminary investigations of Aphodius species activity in cattle faeces treated with ivermectin

Abstract. A.sphacelatus at densities of 0.5 and 1.0 beetle/g faeces caused significantly greater median percentage reductions (65.2% and 87.4% respectively) of Pilobolus sporangia than 0.1 beetle/g faeces (31 %) in untreated cattle faeces. The median percentage reduction in sporangia due to beetle activity (48.4%) was significantly lower (P < 0.02) in faeces mixed with ivermectin at l.Oppm (wet weight) than in untreated faeces (88.4%). After treating a bullock with ivermectin (Ivomec^R Pour-On), the median percentage reduction in sporangia caused by beetles was significantly less (P < 0.05) on days 9 (78.9%) and 10 (76.9%) than in pre-dose faeces (86.5% and 93.8% respectively). In microcosms without beetles, sporulation of Pilobolus in cattle faeces from a heifer treated with ivermectin was significantly less on days 5,10 and 15 after dosing. However, this difference was not apparent for days 5 and 10 after storage of faeces at 4^oC for 55 and 50 days respectively.     

A review of competition in north temperate dung beetle communities

Abstract. 1. Studies of north temperate dung beetle communities frequently invoke competition as an influential ecological process. In this review, the evidence for competition in north temperate dung beetle communities is evaluated and the role of competition as a factor affecting community structure is assessed.
2. Resource limitation and the evidence for interspecific competition are assessed by collating the available experimental and observational evidence for both the adult and larval stages of the dung beetle life cycle. The role of competition as a structuring force in dung beetle communities is discussed under the following headings: niche dynamics, migration to and from individual pats, the aggregation model of co-existence, and metapopulations.
3. Some of the main conclusions are that competition for space is much more likely to occur than competition for food; the effects of competition on community structure are poorly understood; several of the influential studies of competition in north temperate dung beetle communities need to be evaluated carefully. The differences in ecology between tropical and temperate dung beetle communities are clarified.
4. As priorities for future research, resource utilisation and competition should be researched experimentally: density-dependent relationships should be investigated, particularly for the larval stages, as should competitive interactions with other dung fauna. If such experimental approaches establish convincingly the occurrence of competition, then the extent of competition in the field and under real world conditions needs to be established. A functional group classification of dung beetles and other dung fauna is described, which may improve the generality of interpretation from individual, site-specific results.     

Species turnover, community boundaries and biogeographical composition of dung beetle assemblages across an altitudinal gradient in South Africa

Aim To identify biogeographical boundaries which are obscured by faunal overlap and habitat modification. Location KwaZulu-Natal in south-east, South Africa beyond the southern tip of the Moçambique Coastal Plain. Methods Species abundance data for dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) were collected at six levels from the coastal escarpment (30°16′S – 500 m) to the top of the nearby Drakensberg (29°35′S – 2850 m). Cross-altitudinal boundaries were identified using clustering techniques, beta-diversity indices, and range edge analysis. Biogeographical data for the species were drawn from an extensive reference collection and used to classify the biogeographical affinities of the assemblages. Results Three discrete communities are defined (<10% similarity) from species abundance distributions. These communities occur in coastal forest (500 m), coastal to highveld grassland (500–1500 m), and montane grassland (1900–2850 m). Two of these communities are biogeographically homogeneous comprising >89% east coast endemics (coastal forest) or >84% South African montane endemics (montane grassland) in terms of abundance. The third community in coastal to highveld grassland is biogeographically more heterogeneous. Predominant biota of this community comprise both South African highveld endemics and elements with distributions extending into the tropics. At highveld levels (1500 m), there are proportionately more highveld endemics whereas at lowland levels (500 m), there are proportionately more tropical elements. At 1000 m, there was a change in the balance between these two groups across an anthropogenic gradient due to a decline in the proportion of endemics in favour of temperate/tropical generalists. This gradient from a natural grassland fragment to improved pastures of Kikuyu grass also parallels a decline in species richness and abundance. Species turnover analyses showed three different cross-altitudinal patterns. Range-edge analysis showed a trimodal pattern of species turnover (peaks in forest and the Drakensberg foothills as in the community analysis but also at 1000 m). Five beta-diversity indices showed either a bimodal pattern of turnover (forest/grassland and foothills/middle Drakensberg slopes) or a trimodal turnover pattern (forest/grassland, highveld/Drakensberg foothills, Drakensberg peaks). Main conclusions Clear altitudinal zonation is revealed by community and biogeographical analysis but one natural biogeographical boundary may be obscured by the process of habitat modification. This boundary at 1000 m is revealed by range-edge analysis and is supported by findings for plant communities. Beta-diversity, species turnover patterns diverged slightly from those suggested by the community and range-edge analyses.     

Dung pad residence time covaries with male morphology in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus

1. The immigration and emigration behaviours of Onthophagus taurus were investigated in a combination of field and laboratory experiments to examine patterns of dispersal in this species. 2. On average, the mean proportion of major males immigrating to baited pitfall traps decreased significantly with time. In contrast, the mean proportion of minor males and females did not change with time. 3. The time taken to emigrate from a dung pad differed significantly among major males, minor males, and females. This difference arose because major males spent a significantly shorter period of time residing within the dung pad. On average, more than 50% of major males had emigrated from the dung pads after 30 h, some 4 h earlier than minor males and females. 4. When the effects of body size were controlled, major males with longer horns were shown to have longer wings. Because major males spend more time in flight, longer wings may be an adaptation to more frequent dispersal. Alternatively, longer wings in major males may compensate for the production of aerodynamically costly horns.     

Spatial analyses of intertidal assemblages on sheltered rocky shores

Abstract Understanding processes in complex assemblages depends on good understanding of spatial and temporal patterns of structure at various spatial scales. There has been little quantitative information about spatial patterns and natural temporal changes in intertidal assemblages on sheltered rocky shores in temperate Australia. Natural changes and responses to anthropogenic disturbances in these habitats cannot be accurately measured and assessed without quantitative data on patterns of natural variability in space and through time. This paper describes some suitable quantitative methods for examining spatial and temporal patterns of diversity and abundances of highshore, midshore and lowshore intertidal assemblages and the important component species for a number of shores in a bay that has not been severely altered by human disturbance. Despite a diverse flora and fauna on these shores, the midshore and lowshore assemblages on sheltered shores were characterized by a few species which were also the most important in discriminating among assemblages on a shore and, for each assemblage, among different shores. The same set of species was also important for measuring small-scale patchiness within each assemblage (i.e. between replicate sites on a shore). Therefore, these data provide a rationale for selecting species that are useful for measuring differences and changes in abundance among places and times at different scales and, hence, can be used in the more complex sampling designs necessary to detect environmental impacts. There was considerable spatial variability in all assemblages and all species (or taxa) examined at scales of metres, tens of metres and kilometres. There were no clear seasonal trends for most measures, with as much or more variability at intervals of 3 months as from year to year. Most interactions between spatial and temporal measures were at the smallest scale, with different sites on the same shore generally showing different changes from time to time. The cause(s) of this apparently idiosyncratic variability1 were not examined, but some potential causes are discussed. These data are appropriate for testing hypotheses about the applicability of these findings to other relatively undisturbed sheltered shores, about effects of different anthropogenic disturbances on sheltered intertidal assemblages and to test hypotheses about differences in intertidal assemblages on sheltered versus wave-exposed shores.     

Spatial and temporal variation of community composition and species cover following dune restoration in the Devesa de Albufera (Valencia,Spain).

Plant populations were reintroduced to the coastal dune bar of the Devesa de Albufera from 1988 to 2004; different coastline sections received different species composition and cover. With the aim to detect spatial and temporal variation of floristic diversity, we compared current species composition and cover across the length of the Devesa and across the dune bar with those imposed at the time of restoration. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) detected significant differences both across the dune faces and across the coast sections. Differences across the dune faces reflect the sea-inland ecological gradient and resulted from a spatial rearrangement of plant populations: Calystegia soldanella, Achillea maritima and Polygonum maritimum prefer the windward face; Malcolmia littorea and Lagurus ovatus the leeward. Differences across coast sections are related to those at restoration time, with a slow trend towards the homogenization of plant communities. At the current level of anthropic pressure, the plant cover is likely to evolve following the trends pointed out in this research.     

夜郎湖水库水体不同形态汞的时空分布

于2006年7月(夏季)、2007年1月(冬季)和3月(春季)采集了贵州省夜郎湖水库水样,研究了不同形态汞(总汞、溶解态汞、颗粒态汞)的时空分布特征及其影响因素.结果表明,夏季水体总汞、溶解态汞、颗粒态汞平均含量分别为4.48±2.59、2.37±1.40、2.11±1.86 ng·L-1,均显著高于冬季和春季(P＜0.001),而冬春2季不同形态汞含量无明显差异.水质参数悬浮颗粒物(SPM)和硝酸盐(NO-3)与不同形态汞之间均存在显著的正相关关系,表明这些参数对于不同形态汞的季节分布起着重要作用.夏季农业耕作活动相对活跃,表层土壤的扰动增加,雨水冲刷农田土壤,带进大量的外源颗粒物,致使夜郎湖水体夏季总汞水平较高.空间分布表明,夜郎湖水库夏季总汞平均浓度从水库入库河流至大坝方向、出库河流呈现总体下降的分布趋势,但水体各采样剖面没有明显的分布规律.     

The daily onset of flight in the crepuscular dung beetle Onitis alexis

The role of light intensity and temperature in determining the onset of flight in the crepuscular dung beetle Onitis alexis Klug (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) was examined. Flight under natural light was highly synchronized, with two-thirds of the beetles that flew flying over a period of 10–12 min. In six flights on different days, the mean time of onset varied by up to 13 min, but mean onset occurred at fixed light intensity. Absolute light intensity therefore appears to be a vital cue in determining flight onset. Mean onset remained at this intensity when dusk was advanced artificially by up to about 8 min. However, when dusk was brought further forward, mean flight occurred at lower intensities and onset of flight took place over a longer period. This is interpreted as an overlapping of the period of light intensities suitable for flight with the circadian rhythm that brings the beetles to the surface. No beetles flew when kept under constant bright light or in the dark during the dusk period. Under conditions of constant dusk, the beetles appeared uncoordinated and, although the median time of onset of flight was only 3 min later than in the control flight, onset of flight was spread out over a much longer period. At soil temperatures of 20–22 °C, over 90% of the beetles flew. This percentage decreased with decreasing temperature, and less than 10% flew at temperatures of 16–17 °C.

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L'incitation quotidienne au vol chez e bousier crépusculaire Onitis alexis Klug (Col. Scarabaeidae)

Résumé L'examen a porté sur le rôle de l'intensité lumineuse et de la température sur l'incitation au vol chez Onitis alexis. Le vol en lumière naturelle est fortement synchronisé, avec les deux tiers des adultes qui s'envolent en 10–12 min. Sur six vols pour différents jours, le moment moyen d'envol variait de 13 min, mais l'envol moyen avait lieu à une intensité lumineuse déterminée. La valeur absolue de l'intensité lumineuse paraît ainsi un signal crucial dans la détermination et l'incitation au vol. Le moment d'envol se maintient à cette intensité quand le crépuscule est artificiellement avancé jusqu'à 8 min environ. Cependant, quand le crépuscule est rendu encore plus précoce, l'envol moyen se produit à des intensités plus basses et est étalé. Ceci peut être interprété comme un chevauchement de la période des intensités lumineuses favorables à l'envol avec le rythme circadien qui conduit les bousiers à la surface. Aucun adulte ne vole quand il y a maintien de lumière constante ou d'obscurité à l'heure du crépuscule. En présence de crépuscule constant, les réponses sont hétérogènes, et, bien que le moment médian d'envol ne soit retardé que de 3 min, par rapport aux témoins, l'incitation à l'envol est étalée sur une période plus longue. Avec des températures au sol de 20–22 °C, plus de 90% des adultes s'envolent. Le pourcentage diminue avec la température, et moins de 10% s'envolent à 16–17 °C.

     

Factors impacting nanoindentation testing results of the cuticle of dung beetle Copris ochus Motschulsky

1 Introduction Insects have been adapted to their living surround-ings. Two different adaptations they have were the pas-sive adaptation and the active adaptation. For examples,the passive adaptation of soil insects to the soil habitatresulted in shorter or vestigial additional legs, the bodybecoming smaller, thinner or flatter, and wings and eyesdiminishing; the stronger digging legs of some soil in-sects were a result of active adaptation for burrowing [1]. The biological character…     

Experimental evidence for the effects of dung beetle functional group richness and composition on ecosystem function in a tropical forest

Much of the literature on the relationship between species richness or functional group richness and measures of ecosystem function focuses on a restricted set of ecosystem function measures and taxonomic groups. Few such studies have been carried out under realistic levels of diversity in the field, particularly in high diversity ecosystems such as tropical forests. We used exclusion experiments to study the effects of dung beetle functional group richness and composition on two interlinked and functionally important ecological processes, dung removal and secondary seed dispersal, in evergreen tropical forest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Overall, both dung and seed removal increased with dung beetle functional group richness. However, levels of ecosystem functioning were idiosyncratic depending on the identity of the functional groups present, indicating an important role for functional group composition. There was no evidence for interference or competition among functional groups. We found strong evidence for overyielding and transgressive overyielding, suggesting complementarity or facilitation among functional groups. Not all mixtures showed transgressive overyielding, so that complementarity was restricted to particular functional group combinations. Beetles in a single functional group (large nocturnal tunnellers) had a disproportionate influence on measures of ecosystem function: in their absence dung removal is reduced by approximately 75%. However, a full complement of functional groups is required to maximize ecosystem functioning. This study highlights the importance of both functional group identity and species composition in determining the ecosystem consequences of extinctions or altered patterns in the relative abundance of species.     

Food availability controls the onset of metamorphosis in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

In nature, larvae of the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Schreber 1759) are confronted with significant variation in the availability of food without the option of locating new resources. Here we explore how variation in feeding conditions during the final larval instar affects larval growth and the timing of pupation. We found that larvae respond to food deprivation with a reduction in the length of the instar and premature pupation, leading to the early eclosion of a small adult. To achieve pupation, larvae required access to food for at least the first 5 days of the final instar (= 30% of mean third‐instar duration in control individuals), and had to exceed a weight of 0.08 g (= 58% of mean peak weight in control individuals). Larvae that were allowed to feed longer exhibited higher pupation success, but increased larval weight at the time of food deprivation did not result in increased pupation success except for larvae weighing > 0.14 g. Larvae responded to food deprivation by initiating and undergoing the same sequence of developmental events, requiring the same amount of time, as ad libitum‐fed larvae once those had reached their natural peak weight. Our results reveal a striking degree of flexibility in the dynamics and timing of larval development in O. taurus. They also suggest that premature exhaustion of a larva's food supply can serve as a cue for the initiation of metamorphosis. Premature metamorphosis in response to food deprivation has been documented in amphibians, but this is, to the best of our knowledge, the first time such a behaviour has been documented for a holometabolous insect. We discuss our findings in the context of the natural history and behavioural ecology of onthophagine beetles.     

Establishment of exotic dung beetles in Queensland: the role of habitat specificity

Between 1968 and 1983, 22 species of dung beetles from southern Africa were released into pastoral regions of Queensland in northern Australia. Seven species have become widespread and abundant and the others either occur in isolated patches, are rare or have failed to establish self perpetuating populations. These species all occur in the Hluhluwe district in southern Africa which has a climate similar to that of coastal central and southern Queensland. The numberical abundance and habitat associations of the 22 speices were examined at Hluhluwe to seek an explanation for their performance in Australia. It was concluded that habitat specificity and the adequacy with which habitat was matched in Australia were critical factors. Species which established in Australia were relatively common in cattle dung in Africa where they showed a preference for grassland on clay-loam soils.      

Spatial and temporal distributions of salmonids in two ponds in Newfoundland, Canada

Spatial and temporal distributions of salmonids were examined in Junction Pond, Northeast River, Placentia and Conne Pond, Conne River, Newfoundland using Lundgren multiple-mesh experimental gillnets. Both ponds contain populations of Atlantic salmon and brook trout with Junction Pond also possessing brown trout and resident Arctic charr. For salmon parr there was a significant month effect in distribution of catch rates in both ponds, and in Junction Pond, there was a significant diel effect. There was also significant variation in catch rates by lentic zone. For brook trout, there was a significant lentic zone × month interaction in Junction Pond; in Conne Pond, the main effects lentic zone and month were significant. Highest benthic catch rates of Atlantic salmon parr occurred in the littoral zone of both ponds. Most captures of brook trout also occurred benthically in both ponds; similar to salmon parr, littoral zone catch rates were higher than those of the deeper benthic area in Conne Pond but the reverse was true for Junction Pond. For both salmon parr and brook trout, the deeper benthic area and the pelagic area were relatively important rearing habitats in each pond. The distribution of catches for brown trout (few in number relative to the other species) in Junction Pond was similar to that of brook trout while Arctic charr were found mainly pelagically. Within the benthic area, most Arctic charr were caught at depths beyond the littoral zone. There was a tendency for Altantic salmon parr and brook trout found in the deeper benthic area and the pelagic area to be significantly larger and older than those in littoral zone in each pond. Sizes of Arctic charr did not differ significantly among lentic zones.     

Microsatellite loci for the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) and cross‐species amplification in Dendroctonus

We developed microsatellite loci for the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis). Twelve microsatellite loci were identified. Eight loci were polymorphic and sufficiently variable in 62 individuals (expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.707 to 0.880) to investigate population structure. All loci conformed to HWE except Dfr‐14, which showed heterozygote excess, and no two loci deviated from linkage equilibrium. The loci were tested for cross‐species amplification in four species of Dendroctonus (D. valens, D. terebrans, D. brevicomis, and D. ponderosae). Seven loci were polymorphic in at least one of the species tested.