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Attractiveness of Different Food Resources to Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of a Dry Tropical Area

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
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Abstract

Excrement scarcity is one of the main historical factors leading dung beetles to adapt to other food resources. In the Caatinga, a seasonally tropical dry forest, harsh environmental conditions seem to restrict the availability of food resources. In this scenario, the aim of our study was to experimentally investigate the attractiveness of different potential food resources to these insects in the Caatinga. Field samplings were performed, and we tested five resources in pitfall baited traps: excrement, carrion, fruits of two species of columnar cacti, and seeds of one species of Euphorbiaceae (Jatropha mollissima (Pohl)). In a controlled setting, we tested dietary preferences of Deltochilum verruciferum Felsche by offering one or two resources simultaneously. In the field experiments, 297 dung beetles (9 species) were recovered from the traps, and D. verruciferum was the most abundant species. Carrion and excrement were the most attractive resources. Controlled dietary preference tests with D. verruciferum evidenced that these beetles used all tested food resources, excrement and carrion most pronouncedly. Our findings support copro-necrophagy as the main feeding habit of D. verruciferum, but also suggest that alternative resources might be utilized if preferred resources are scarce.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Parnamirim base of “Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco” and the local families from “Boqueirão da Onça” for logistical support. We also thank Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for a scholarship to R. P. Salomão over the course of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Red de Ecoetología, 91070, Xalapa, VER, Mexico

    R P Salomão

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Univ Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

    A C D Maia

  3. Depto de Zoologia, Univ Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

    B M Bezerra

  4. Depto de Zoologia, Lab de Taxonomia e Ecologia de Insetos, Univ Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

    L Iannuzzi

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  1. R P Salomão
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  2. A C D Maia
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  3. B M Bezerra
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  4. L Iannuzzi
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Correspondence to R P Salomão.

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Edited by Raul A Laumann – Cernagen/Embrapa

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Salomão, R.P., Maia, A.C.D., Bezerra, B.M. et al. Attractiveness of Different Food Resources to Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of a Dry Tropical Area. Neotrop Entomol 47, 69–78 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-017-0515-1

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