Article
Evolutionary Biology
Anna L. M. Macagno, Trevor J. Edgerton, Armin P. Moczek
Summary: The study investigated divergences between populations of the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus from Eastern US and Western Australia, finding that dams invest more in offspring provisioning when paired with a sire from the same population, and that hybrids between Western Australian dams and Eastern US sires were smaller and lighter with a male-biased sex ratio. Fewer hybrids with vertically inherited Western Australian cytoplasm and microbiome emerged compared to backcrosses with the same cytoplasm/microbiome, indicating the importance of nuclear genome, cytoplasm and microbiome in hybrid viability.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Ivana Jezkova, Raquel Ortells, Javier Montero-Pau, Manuel Serra
Summary: This study reveals the presence of ongoing behavioral reproductive isolation in populations of Brachionus plicatilis rotifer, with a more pronounced isolation in populations with higher levels of adaptive divergence.
Article
Forestry
Laszlo Somay, Viktor Szigeti, Gergely Boros, Reka Adam, Andras Baldi
Summary: Dung beetles play a crucial role in nutrient cycling and supporting human and animal health through decomposition. However, their populations are declining, requiring urgent recommendations to reverse this trend. Wood pastures are identified as key areas for dung beetle conservation, with their assemblage composition proving to be a sensitive measure of differences among habitats. Conservation efforts for dung beetles should focus on ensuring continuous livestock grazing for fresh dung and maintaining wood pastures where assemblages characteristic of forests and pastures can survive.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joern Buse, Guenter Hoenselaar, Fiona Langenbach, Pascal Schleicher, Sonke Twietmeyer, Flavius Popa, Marco Heurich
Summary: This study analyzed the impact of different dung availabilities resulting from varying red deer densities on dung beetle assemblages in Central Europe. Results showed that higher dung availability in forest sites led to greater species richness of dung beetles, independently of season, due to different colonization patterns of beetle species.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Beatrice Nervo, Alex Laini, Angela Roggero, Fabrizio Fabbriciani, Claudia Palestrini, Antonio Rolando
Summary: Dung removal at an intraspecific level in dung beetle species is influenced more by sex and behavioral interactions than by morphological traits.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Zhongyi Zhan, Linfeng Yu, Lili Ren, Yujie Liu, Zhiheng Lu, Youqing Luo
Summary: This study investigated the infestation pattern of the red turpentine beetle in three different disturbed forests and found that wildfire-disturbed and logged stands generally had higher infestation levels, with disturbance intensity being the most important predicting variable. Furthermore, the role of host connectivity varied with different levels of disturbance. These findings are valuable for identifying vulnerable stands and prioritizing management interventions for beetle control.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Beatrice Nervo, Angela Roggero, Dan Chamberlain, Antonio Rolando, Claudia Palestrini
Summary: The study found variations in desiccation resistance and other physiological traits within dung beetle populations, with differences in responses based on elevation, sex or male morphology. The importance of considering within-species variability in predictions of species responses to environmental change was emphasized.
PHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Melissa H. Pespeni, Armin P. Moczek
Summary: Colonization of new environments can lead to population bottlenecks and rapid phenotypic evolution due to neutral and selective processes. Study on exotic populations of bull-headed dung beetles showed genetic and transcriptional differences related to observed phenotypic differences in male horn development and female fecundity. Genes correlated with allometry and fecundity trait divergences were found to be differentially expressed between exotic populations, suggesting recent introductions have led to genetic and transcriptional differences.
EVOLUTION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Entomology
B. Sands, N. Mgidiswa, S. Curson, C. Nyamukondiwa, R. Wall
Summary: Dung beetles play important roles in semiarid environments by improving soil quality through processing dung, but the conversion to livestock agriculture and potential contamination from veterinary parasiticides may negatively impact dung beetle communities, especially with changes in wild mammal populations.
BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Huiquan Sun, Feiran Jia, Wenxia Zhao, Zhongfu Zhou, Chengjin Li, Jianjun Wang, Yanxia Yao
Summary: This study investigated the genetic diversity and genetic structure of 17 Agrilus mali populations from five Chinese provinces, revealing high genetic diversity in nine populations from the western Tianshan Mountains and significant genetic differentiation among overall populations. The Mantel test showed that population genetic differentiation may be caused by geographical isolation.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Cesar M. A. Correa, Marco A. Lara, Anderson Puker, Jorge Ari Noriega, Vanesca Korasaki
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of cattle grazing removal on dung beetle assemblages in introduced Brazilian pastures. Results showed that pastures with one month of cattle removal maintain the same coprophagous diet and higher biomass in comparison to control, while important traits associated with dung removal are negatively affected after three months of cattle removal.
ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Yoshifumi Araki, Teiji Sota
Summary: Understanding the population divergence history of Phelotrupes auratus is important for understanding diversification mechanisms. Our study reveals that climate change and increasing human activity may have influenced the divergence of geographic populations in this species, leading to different color forms and geographic segregation.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Matthew J. Lollar, Timothy J. Biewer-Heisler, Clarice E. Danen, John E. Pool
Summary: Secondary contact between formerly isolated populations may result in hybrid breakdown, affecting male reproduction first. The frequency of non-reproducing F2 males varied among different crosses, implying a genetically variable basis of hybrid breakdown. Our findings underscore the potential of this system for studying the genetic and organismal basis of early-stage reproductive isolation.
Article
Ecology
Kai Xin Toh, Sean Yap, Thary Gazi Goh, Nalini Puniamoorthy
Summary: This study investigates intraspecific variation in sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and relative investment in precopulatory and postcopulatory traits in different populations of the tropical rainforest dung beetle Onthophagus babirussa across Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. The findings suggest that male-biased SSD is more pronounced in populations with smaller overall body size, and this may be due to stronger sexual selection on male body size. The study also found significant investment in horns as a weapon likely used in male-male competition, indicating a higher priority on precopulatory sexual traits in the mating system of this species.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Walter Mesquita Filho, Elisangela N. L. Ferreira, Ivan Henrique Chagas, Wesley. A. C. Godoy
Summary: The dung beetle species Digitonthophagus gazella, introduced as a biological control agent for cattle dung removal, is adapted to open pastures but considered invasive in some countries due to its high fecundity and dispersal capability. Its potential invasion into forest landscapes, where it can impact native dung beetle communities, is a concern.