Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem
During their feeding process, dung beetles perform a series of ecosystem functions that provide valuable ecosystem services, such as soil fertilization, improvement of soil properties, plant growth enhancement, and biological pest control. However, in the grasslands of the Central Asian dry steppe,...
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| author | Purevdorj Jargalsaikhan Gombo Altangerel Tsedev Enkhchimeg Ulykpan Aibek Badamdorj Bayartogtokh |
| author_facet | Purevdorj Jargalsaikhan Gombo Altangerel Tsedev Enkhchimeg Ulykpan Aibek Badamdorj Bayartogtokh |
| author_sort | Purevdorj Jargalsaikhan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During their feeding process, dung beetles perform a series of ecosystem functions that provide valuable ecosystem services, such as soil fertilization, improvement of soil properties, plant growth enhancement, and biological pest control. However, in the grasslands of the Central Asian dry steppe, the effects of dung beetles on dung removal remain almost unstudied. Here, we examined dung removal by different dung beetle species (<i>Colobterus erraticus</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<i>, Onthophagus bivertex</i> Heyden, 1887, <i>Onthophagus gibbulus</i> (Pallas, 1781)<i>, Gymnopleurus mopsus</i> (Pallas, 1781), <i>Cheironitis eumenes</i> Motschulsky, 1859, and <i>Geotrupes koltzei</i> Reitter, 1892), and compared the impacts with control treatments (without beetles) under natural pasture conditions and in the laboratory. We examined the influence of different variables on dung removal rates, such as dung type and dung beetle traits (nesting strategies, abundance, body size, and biomass). We found higher dung removal rates during the initial 48 h in field and laboratory conditions. Among nesting strategies, tunnellers demonstrated significantly higher dung removal rates than dweller and roller species. The highest amount of dung removal was estimated for <i>C. eumenes</i> (6.5 g/day by seven individuals). We found no significant relationship between dung removal rates and dung beetle body size or biomass, but we observed a strong negative correlation between dung beetle abundance and dung removal rates. Our findings highlight the importance of dung type and age, nesting strategies and abundances of dung beetles, and experimental conditions, which are the main factors driving the process of dung removal. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:01:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
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| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-c757aea9206f40b68f88a909421fe6182023-11-30T21:54:28ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-01-011519110.3390/d15010091Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe EcosystemPurevdorj Jargalsaikhan0Gombo Altangerel1Tsedev Enkhchimeg2Ulykpan Aibek3Badamdorj Bayartogtokh4Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 14201, MongoliaDepartment of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 14201, MongoliaDepartment of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 14201, MongoliaDepartment of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 14201, MongoliaDepartment of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 14201, MongoliaDuring their feeding process, dung beetles perform a series of ecosystem functions that provide valuable ecosystem services, such as soil fertilization, improvement of soil properties, plant growth enhancement, and biological pest control. However, in the grasslands of the Central Asian dry steppe, the effects of dung beetles on dung removal remain almost unstudied. Here, we examined dung removal by different dung beetle species (<i>Colobterus erraticus</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)<i>, Onthophagus bivertex</i> Heyden, 1887, <i>Onthophagus gibbulus</i> (Pallas, 1781)<i>, Gymnopleurus mopsus</i> (Pallas, 1781), <i>Cheironitis eumenes</i> Motschulsky, 1859, and <i>Geotrupes koltzei</i> Reitter, 1892), and compared the impacts with control treatments (without beetles) under natural pasture conditions and in the laboratory. We examined the influence of different variables on dung removal rates, such as dung type and dung beetle traits (nesting strategies, abundance, body size, and biomass). We found higher dung removal rates during the initial 48 h in field and laboratory conditions. Among nesting strategies, tunnellers demonstrated significantly higher dung removal rates than dweller and roller species. The highest amount of dung removal was estimated for <i>C. eumenes</i> (6.5 g/day by seven individuals). We found no significant relationship between dung removal rates and dung beetle body size or biomass, but we observed a strong negative correlation between dung beetle abundance and dung removal rates. Our findings highlight the importance of dung type and age, nesting strategies and abundances of dung beetles, and experimental conditions, which are the main factors driving the process of dung removal.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/1/91dung decompositionfunctional groupsbody sizebiomassabundancedung types |
| spellingShingle | Purevdorj Jargalsaikhan Gombo Altangerel Tsedev Enkhchimeg Ulykpan Aibek Badamdorj Bayartogtokh Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem Diversity dung decomposition functional groups body size biomass abundance dung types |
| title | Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem |
| title_full | Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem |
| title_fullStr | Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem |
| title_full_unstemmed | Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem |
| title_short | Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem |
| title_sort | variation in dung removal rates by dung beetles coleoptera scarabaeoidea in a temperate dry steppe ecosystem |
| topic | dung decomposition functional groups body size biomass abundance dung types |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/1/91 |
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