Summary of the morphological and ecological traits of Central European dung beetles

0495186 - ÚVGZ 2019 RIV JP eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Buse, J. - Šlachta, Martin - Sládeček, František Xaver Jiří - Carpaneto, Gi. M.
Summary of the morphological and ecological traits of Central European dung beetles.
Entomological Science. Roč. 21, č. 3 (2018), s. 315-323. ISSN 1343-8786. E-ISSN 1479-8298
Institucionální podpora: RVO:86652079 ; RVO:60077344
Klíčová slova: north-rhine-westphalia * coleoptera scarabaeoidea * flight-morphology * dispersal ability * herbivore dung * temperate dung * aspect ratio * conservation * succession * insects * Coleoptera * database * dung-type specialization * functional diversity * seasonal activity * wing loading * wing morphometry
Obor OECD: Entomology; Entomology (BC-A)
Impakt faktor: 1.073, rok: 2018

Ecological, morphological and life-history traits have been increasingly used in community ecology during the last decade. Dung beetles represent a model group of insects frequently used in studies of landscape ecology and grassland management. Their body sizes and nesting behavioral traits are regularly used to help understand ecological processes at the community level. However, information on their seasonal activity, wing morphometry and dung specialization is sparse in published reports, or is simply not available yet. We thus compiled a comprehensive list of the morphological and ecological traits of Central European dung beetles (Geotrupidae, Scarabaeidae and Aphodiidae). We gathered information from published works and, for the first time, took morphometric measurements of wings. We provide a database of 12 traits for all 100 dung beetle species occurring in Central Europe. Most species are not restricted to one specific dung type, and the most frequently used dung types are sheep/goat, cattle and horse dung, which are almost equally exploited by 90, 89 and 87 species, respectively. More than one-third of all species are active in winter, and the number of active species is the highest in June. The wing morphometry shows a high variation and is largely determined by the family identity, the ratio of elytron length to wing area is the largest in Aphodiidae but the smallest in Geotrupidae. Our database is the first standardized set of information for Central European dung beetles and can be used in future trait-based studies focusing on the ecology and conservation of these beetles.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0288203