Forest habitat parameters influence abundance and diversity of cadaver-visiting dung beetles in Central Europe.

ABSTRACT: Dung beetles provide crucial ecosystem services and serve as model organisms for various behavioural, ecological and evolutionary studies. However, dung beetles have received little attention as consumers of large cadavers. In this study, we trapped copronecrophagous dung beetles on above-ground exposed piglet cadavers in 61 forest plots distributed over three geographically distinct regions in Germany, Central Europe. We examined the effects of land use intensity, forest stand, soil characteristics, vascular plant diversity and climatic conditions on dung beetle abundance, species richness and diversity. In all three regions, dung beetles, represented mainly by the geotrupid species Anoplotrupes stercorosus and Trypocopris vernalis, were attracted to the cadavers. High beetl

SUBMITTER: von Hoermann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7137943 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature