The Thermal Games Dung Beetles Play

• Main Authors: Hemmings, Zac, School of Environmental and Rural Science, Andrew, Nigel, orcid:0000-0002-2850-2307, Hall, Graham
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of New England 2019
• Subjects: Animal Behaviour; Animal Physiological Ecology; Global Change Biology; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30065; https://rune.une.edu.au/web/retrieve/dbcfbd26-22e3-43df-8964-c2a591a19a8c

Dung beetles are a group of coprophagous scarabs most well known for their reliance on dung as both a source of food and as a vital component of their reproductive cycle. Intense competition between sympatric dung beetles species has spurred the evolution of a variety of complex nesting behaviours; telecoprids move dung along the soil surface; endocoprids reproduce within the dung itself; paracoprids bury dung in tunnels beneath the soil surface. The act of breaking down and relocating dung facilitates numerous biotic and abiotic processes that shape the environment and aid in maintaining ecosystem function. As a result of their ubiquity, the unique niche they inhabit, diverse range of species and life history strategies that have evolved, and strong ties to the biotic and abiotic processes in their surrounding habitat dung beetles have been the subject of research across the globe. We conducted a review of 1463 peer reviewed papers concerning dung beetles with the aim of elucidating geographical, temporal, and methodological patterns of research in order to identify gaps in the literature to better inform future research. All continents, with the exception of Antarctica, have a strong body of literature that has been shaped by the composition and structure of the local dung beetle assemblage, the ecosystems they inhabit, and the cultural and societal influences of its human inhabitants. Paracoprids were the most studied functional group overall with Onthophagus being the genus most frequently used in manipulative experiments, present in 10.3% (151) of the publications assessed. The species Onthophagus taurus is the most studied dung beetle, being one of the few species that has been the subject of genetic research, featuring in 4.5% (66) of studies. The most studied aspects of dung beetles are their ecology and behaviour, with relatively little work conducted on their genetics and physiology, although interest in these fields is increasing. Field surveys are the most frequently utilised method across the ...