Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Review of Hypotheses of Decline of the Endangered American Burying Beetle (Silphidae: Nicrophorus americanus Olivier)

  • Published:
Journal of Insect Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The largest species of North American Nicrophorus (Coleoptera: Silphidae), N. americanus, was placed on the US federal list of endangered species in 1989. This paper reviews literature bearing on eight hypotheses that attempt to explain the dramatic decline of this species over 90% of its former range. What is known regarding each hypothesis is separated from what remains to be investigated. We find that although progress has been made during the past 12 years, even the most well supported hypothesis requires a number of important studies to be completed or extended before we can confidently explain the decline of this species and predict the success of conservation efforts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amaral M., Kozol A. and French T. 1997. Conservation status and reintroduction of the endangered American burying beetle. Northeastern Naturalist 4: 121–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson R.S. 1982. On the decreasing abundance of Nicrophorus americanus Olivier (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in eastern North America. The Coleopterists Bulletin 36: 362–365. 111

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson R.S. and Peck S.B. 1985. The insects and arachnids of Canada, Part 13. The carrion beetles of Canada and Alaska (Coleoptera: Silphidae and Agyrtidae). Publication 1778. Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Askins R.A. 1997. History of grasslands in the northeastern United States: Implications for bird conservation. In: Vickery P.D. and Dunwiddie P.W. (eds), Grasslands of Northeastern North America: Ecology and Conservation of Native and Agricultural Landscapes. Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 119–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Backlund D.C. and Marrone G.M. 1997. New records of the endangered American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus Olivier, (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in South Dakota. The Coleopterists Bulletin 51: 53–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett J. and Ashworth C.M. 1988. Brood size and fitness in Necrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 22: 429–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bedick J.C., Ratclife B.C., Hoback W.W. and Higley L.G. 1999. Distribution, ecology, and population dynamics of the American burying beetle [Nicrophorus americanus Olivier (Coleoptera, Silphidae)] in south-central Nebraska, USA. J. Insect Conservation 3: 171–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bright A.A. Jr 1949. The Electric-Lamp Industry: Technological Change and Economic Development from 1800 to 1947. The Macmillan Company, New York, xxviii + 526 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlton C.E. and Rothwein F. 1998. The endangered American burying beetle Nicrophorus americanus Olivier, at the edge of its range in Arkansas (Coleoptera; Silphidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin 52: 179–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Channel R. and Lomolino M. 2000. Dynamic biogeography and conservation of endangered species. Nature 403: 84–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creighton J.C., Vaughn C.C. and Chapman B.R. 1993. Habitat preference of the endangered American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) in Oklahoma. The Southwestern Naturalist 38: 275–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis L.R. Jr 1980. Notes on beetle distributions, with a discussion of Nicrophorus americanus Olivier and its abundance in collections (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Lampyridae, and Silphidae). Coleopterists Bulletin 34: 245–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrott R.A., White P.J. and Vanderbilt White C.A. 1993. Overabundance: An Issue for Conservation Biologists? Conservation Biology 7: 946–949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gipson P.S. and Brillhart D.E. 1995. The coyote: an indicator species of environmental change on the Great Plaines. In: LaRoe E.T., Farris G.S., Puckett C.E., Doran P.D. and Mac M.J. (eds), Our Living Resources: A Report to the Nation of the Distribution, Abundance, and Health of US Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems. US Department of the Interior, National Biological Service, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 305–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guthery F.S., Peterson M.J. and George R.R. 2000. Viability of northern bobwhite populations. J. Wildl. Manage. 64: 646–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann C.H., Townes H.K., Swift H.H. and Sailer R.I. 1949. Field studies on the effects of airplane applications of DDT on forest invertebrates. Ecological Monographs 19: 1–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holloway A.K. and Schnell's G.D. 1997. Relationship between numbers of the endangered American burying beetle Nicrophorus americanus Olivier (Coleoptera: Silphidae) and available food resources. Biological Conservation 81: 145–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jurek R.M. 1994. A bibliography of feral, stray, and free-ranging domestic cats in relation to wildlife conservation. Calif. Dep. of Fish and Game, Nongame Bird and Mammal Program Rep. 94-5., 24 pp [see also: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/catbiblio.html].

  • Klein B.C. 1989. Effects of forest fragmentation on dung and carrion beetle communities in central Amazonia. Ecology 70: 1715–1725.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozol A.J. 1995. Ecology and population genetics of the endangered American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus. PhD Dissertation, Boston University, Boston, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozol A.J., Scott M.P. and Traniello J.F.A. 1988. The American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus: Studies on the natural history of a declining species. Psyche. 95: 167–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litvaitis J.A., Wagner D.L., Confer J.L., Tarr M.D. and Snyder E.J. 1999. Early-successional forests and shrub-dominated habitats: Land-use artifacts or critical community in the northeastern United States? Northeast Wildlife 54: 101–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lomolino M.V. and Creighton's J.C. 1996. Habitat selection, breeding success and conservation of the endangered American burying beetle Nicrophorus americanus. Biological Conservation 77: 235–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lomolino M.V., Creighton J.C., Schnell G.D. and Certain D.L. 1995. Ecology and conservation of the endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus). Conservation Biology 9: 605–614.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews C.Y. 1995. Interspecific competition between the burying beetles Nicrophorus americanus and N. orbicollis. MS thesis, University of Oklahoma.

  • Miller B., Biggins D. and Reading R. 1990. A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem. Environmental Management 14: 763–769.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller J.K., Eggert A.-K. and Dressel J. 1990. Intraspecific brood parasitism in the burying beetle, Necrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Animal Behaviour 40: 491–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers N. 1987. The Extinction Spasm Impending: Synergisms at Work. Conservation Biology 1: 14–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker G. 1995. Eastern Coyote: the Story of Its Success. Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paton P.W.C. 1994. The effect of edge on avian nest success: How strong is the evidence? Conservation Biology 8: 17–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peck S.B. and Anderson R.S. 1985. Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of the carrion beetles of Latin America (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Quaestiones Entomologicae 21: 247–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peck S.B. and Kaulbars M.M. 1987. A synopsis of the distribution and bionomics of the carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) of the conterminous United States. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario 118: 47–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price J., Droege S. and Price A. 1995. The summer atlas of North American birds. Academic Press Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pukowski E. 1933. Ökologische Untersuchungen an Necrophorus F. Zeitschrift für Ökologie and Morphologie der Tiere 27: 518–586.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raithel C.J. Small island, big birds; avian biomass and the persistence of the American burying beetle on Block Island. In: Ecology of Block Island. Rhode Island Natural History Survey (in press).

  • Ratcliffe B. 1995. Nebraska's threatened and endangered species: American Burying Beetle. Nebraska Games and Parks Commission.

  • Ratcliffe B.C. 1996. The carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) of Nebraska. Bulletin of the Nebraska State Museum Vol. 13. 112

  • Schwarz H.H. and Koulianos S. 1998. When to leave the brood chamber? Routes of dispersal in mites associated with burying beetles. Experimental and Applied Acarology 22: 621–631.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott M.P. 1998. The ecology and behavior of burying beetles. Annual Review of Entomology 43: 595–618.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott M.P., Traniello J.F.A. and Fetherston I.A. 1987. Competition for prey between ants and burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.): Differences between northern and southern temperate sites. Psyche 94: 325–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sikes D.S. 1996. The natural history of Nicrophorus nigrita, a western Nearctic species (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 72: 70–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sikes D.S. and Peck S.B. 2000. Description of Nicrophorus hispaniola, new species, from Hispaniola (Coleoptera: Silphidae and a key to the species of Nicrophorus of the New World. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 93: 391–397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicrophorus Central: A website devoted to research of all things nicrophorine. Sikes D.S., Trumbo S.T. and Peck S.B. 1999., Apr 1999 http://www.eeb.uconn.edu:591/nicroweb/nicrophorus.htm.

  • Smith R.J., Bonilla M., Calahan C. and Mann J. 2000. Comparison of Reproductive success of in-situ burial versus the use of abandoned burrows for carcass interment by Nicrophorus investigator (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 73: 148–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suarez A.V., Pfennig K.S. and Robinson S.K. 1997. Nesting success of a disturbance-dependent songbird on different kinds of edges. Conservation Biology 11: 928–935.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szalanski A.L., Sikes D.S., Bischof R. and Fritz M. 2000. Population genetics of the Endangered American Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus americanus (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 93: 589–594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trumbo S.T. 1990. Regulation of brood size in a burying beetle, Nicrophorus tomentosus. Journal of Insect Behavior 3: 491–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trumbo S.T. 1992. Monogamy to communal breeding: Exploitation of a broad resource base by burying beetles (Nicrophorus). Ecological Entomology 17: 289–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trumbo S.T. 1994. Interspecific competition, brood parasitism, and the evolution of biparental cooperation in burying beetles. Oikos 69: 241–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trumbo S.T. and Bloch P.L. 2000. Habitat fragmentation and burying beetle abundance and success. J. Insect Conservation 4: 245–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trumbo S.T. and Thomas S. 1998. Burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) of the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin: Species diversity, population density and body size. The Great Lakes Entomologist 31: 85–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991. American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) recovery plan. Newton Corner, Massachusetts, USA, 80 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker J.T. Jr 1952. Ecological studies of the arthropods associated with certain decaying materials in four habitats. Ecology 38: 262–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells S.M., Pyle R.M. and Collins N.M. 1983. The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 650 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenninger F.J. 1910. The Passenger Pigeon. American Midland Naturalist 1: 227–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilhelm S.I., Larson D.J. and Storey A.E. 2001. Habitat preference of two burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorus) living among seabirds.Northeastern Naturalist 8: 435–442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitaker J.O. and Hamilton W.J. 1998. Mammals of the Eastern United States. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitcomb R.F. 1987. North American forests and grassland: biotic conservation. In: Saunders D.A., Arnold G.W., Burbidge A.A. and Hopkins A.J.M. (eds), Nature Conservation: the role of remnants of native vegetation. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, New South Wales, Australia, pp. 163–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson D.S. and Fudge J. 1984. Burying beetles: Intraspecific interactions and reproductive success in the field. Ecological Entomology 9: 195–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yahner R.H. and Mahan C.G. 1996. Depredation of Artificial Ground Nests in a Managed, Forested Landscape. Conservation Biology 10: 285–288. 113

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, U-43, Storrs, CT, 06278, USA

    Derek S. Sikes

  2. Division of Fish and Wildlife, RI Department of Environmental Management, PO Box 218, West Kingston, RI, 02892, USA

    Christopher J. Raithel

Authors
  1. Derek S. Sikes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher J. Raithel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher J. Raithel.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sikes, D.S., Raithel, C.J. A Review of Hypotheses of Decline of the Endangered American Burying Beetle (Silphidae: Nicrophorus americanus Olivier). Journal of Insect Conservation 6, 103–113 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020947610028

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020947610028

Search

Navigation