Investigating the extent of local scale heterogeneity in assemblages is necessary to achieve a sound understanding of the processes giving rise to local assemblage patterns and the variation between them. Moreover, a clear understanding of local scale heterogeneity of assemblages is imperative in the development of effective regional conservation strategies. Previous studies examined the local scale heterogeneity in dung beetle assemblages between mixed woodland and sand forest habitats in Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal. Sand forest is an endangered habitat type in southern Africa which, when disturbed, opens up and changes towards mixed woodland. Reversion to the original sand forest structure after disturbance has never been recorded. Dung beetle assemblages were found to be homogenous within, but significantly heterogenous between, habitat types. It was therefore suggested that disturbance of sand forest (elephant foraging inside, and human occupation outside the Park) was likely to affect the assemblage structure of dung beetles in sand forest. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of human- and elephant-induced disturbance on dung beetle assemblages in sand forest. Furthermore, disturbed sand forest dung beetle assemblages were predicted to be more similar to mixed woodland than to undisturbed sand forest assemblages. Disturbance by elephants causes sand forest vegetation structure to change to that of mixed woodland and this resulted in elephant-disturbed sand forest dung beetle assemblages becoming more similar to mixed woodland assemblages. Assemblages in human disturbed sand forest were unique and associated with human-related activities. The reliability and predictability of dung beetle indicator (species specific to a particular habitat type) and detector species (species indicative of the direction of habitat change) identified for Tembe in a previous study were tested. The results of this study largely supported the suite of bioindicator species first identified. Detector species were found to provide information complimentary to the indicator species and vegetation data available for sand forest. In addition, an identification key for the dung beetle species collected in Tembe Elephant Park to date was compiled. This key facilitates the use of dung beetle assemblages in indicator and monitoring systems in this reserve by providing a rapid and effective means of identifying the dung beetle species. The abundance-body size relationships of the dung beetle assemblages in mixed woodland, undisturbed and disturbed sand forests were also determined. Four hypotheses that account for the relationship between body size and abundance or its variants, were tested here, namely the energy equivalence rule, interspecific competition, differential extinction, and the biomass frequency distribution hypothesis. The disturbed sand forest assemblages were used to test whether disturbance alters the relationships between the macroecological variables (i.e. body size, abundance and biomass) and their interrelationships. This study provided some support for the biomass hypothesis. The major relationship between body size and abundance held despite human- and elephant-induced disturbance. Nonetheless, this study indicates that human- and elephant-induced disturbance alter sand forest dung beetle assemblages and may have significant implications for other taxa that occupy this endangered habitat type. Monitoring of the impacts of large herbivores on sand forest in reserves should thus be continued, and dung beetles provide one effective means by which this can be achieved. / Dissertation (MSc (Entomology))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

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No. of bitstreams: 1 caroline_conrado_ferreira.pdf: 1078476 bytes, checksum: 6ffb3507340a6d5dff970372385e3ea7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) / Foram utilizadas esp?cies de Coleoptera Scarabaeidae como bioindicadores para avaliar a efetividade de faixas de vegeta??o em recomposi??o como corredores ecol?gicos entremeados a plantios comerciais de eucalipto. O estudo foi desenvolvido em cinco munic?pios do Alto Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais. Comparou-se a estimativa da diversidade de esp?cies, relacionando os diferentes tipos de isca utilizados e os ecossistemas. A amostragem foi realizada em seis tipologias: regenera??o inicial e avan?ada, com presen?a e aus?ncia de remanescentes de Eucalyptus spp, o Cerrado e o plantio comercial. Utilizou-se armadilhas pitfall, iscadas com fezes humanas, fezes bovinas, ba?o bovino apodrecido e banana apodrecida. Estimadores de diversidade, de compartilhamento de esp?cies e de similaridade foram utilizados para aferir a diversidade alfa e beta das ?reas estudadas. Foram realizadas an?lises de correspond?ncia e An?lise de Esp?cies Indicadoras. A presen?a de remanescentes de Eucalyptus spp. parece interferir nos resultados de riqueza, diversidade local e regional dos besouros. O atrativo composto por fezes humanas apresentou maior efici?ncia, atraindo maior quantidade de indiv?duos, al?m da maior riqueza de esp?cies na maioria das fitofisionomias estudadas. Do total de esp?cies analisadas como indicadoras menos de 25% apresentaram prefer?ncia por alguma das quatro iscas e/ou por alguma das seis fitofisionomias. A heterogeneidade dos habitat afetou a riqueza e influenciou a estrutura e composi??o de esp?cies da assembleia de besouros escarabe?deos nas faixas ecol?gicas entremeadas a eucaliptocultura. / Disserta??o (Mestrado) ? Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Ci?ncia Florestal, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, 2015. / To evaluate the effectiveness of native vegetation ranges on recovery as ecological corridors intermingled between eucalypt plantation, species of Scarabaeidae were used as bio-indicators. The study was conducted in five districts of Alto Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais. A comparisson of the estimated diversity of species of the Scarabaeidae was made, relating different types of bait used and phytophysiognomies found in the area. Sampling was carried out in six sampling sites, including sites in early and advanced regeneration, with and without remnants of Eucalyptus ssp., the Cerrado and the commercial planting. We used pitfall traps, baited with human feces, bovine feces, the attraction consists of human feces proved to be the most efficient, attracting greater number of individuals and species and rotten banana. Diversity, species sharing and similarity estimators were obtained to measure alpha and beta diversity of the studied areas. The presence of remnants of Eucalyptus spp. wealth appears to interfere in results, diversity and local regional beetles. Increased number of individuals, beyond the higher species richness in most of the studied vegetation types. Among the total sampled species and analyzed as indicator species, less than 25% had presented preference for any of the four baits and any of the six phytophysiognomies. The heterogeneity of habitat had affected the richness and had influenced the estructure and composition of species of the assembly of escarabaeideos beetles at the ecological zones intermingled eucalyptus plantations.

The mechanisms of dung inhabiting insects' heterotrophic succession were studied by preventing the colonisation of early successional insect. The early successional insect, predominantly the large larvae of Calyptratae Diptera, both facilitated and inhibited the later establishing insect. Whereas the removal of early successional species affected negatively the late successional Coleoptera (facilitation), the small late successional larvae of Acalyptratae Diptera were affected positively (inhibition). The patterns retrieved from the heterotrophic succession strongly resemble the patterns retrieved from the autotrophic, mostly plant, succession Therefore it is possible to suggest, that similar mechanisms are behind both the autotrophic and the heterotrophic succession.

<ul><li>As the human population expands, agricultural expansion and intensification will exert an increasing pressure on remaining habitats, especially in the tropics. Oil palm is one of the most rapidly expanding crops in these regions, and identifying management strategies that conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services in these landscapes is therefore a priority. I assess whether riparian forest fragments (riparian reserves) conserve species and the functions they support within oil palm landscapes. Riparian forests are legally required for their beneficial impact on hydrological dynamics and their potential to contribute to the conservation of terrestrial species is poorly documented. I focussed on two ecologically important indicator groups (ants and dung beetles) and the ecosystem processes that they support. Whilst protecting primary forest will remain the most important strategy for biodiversity conservation, I found that riparian reserves do support species of ants and dung beetles that would not otherwise persist in oil palm landscapes. However, the extent to which riparian reserves maintained key ecological functions differed between these two taxa. The amount of nutrient distribution carried out by ants in riparian reserves was similar to logged forest areas, and higher than in oil palm. In contrast, dung removal functions did not vary between these land uses. I also investigated how the vegetation structure and landscape context of riparian reserves affects the dung beetle communities they support. Increasing reserve width and proximity to other forest fragments had a positive impact on the species richness and diversity of dung beetles in riparian reserves. There was little evidence that riparian reserves enhance the provision of dung removal or pest control services in adjacent areas of oil palm. >The results provide evidence to support the introduction and/or enforcement of legislation to protect riparian forest reserves in order to conserve biodiversity and ecological processes in oil palm landscapes.

Les assemblages d'espèces colonisatrices des déjections constituent des systèmes d'étude intéressants de par la nature de la ressource exploitée et de par le rôle qu'ils exercent dans les écosystèmes pâturés. Une grande diversité d'espèces d'insectes, principalement des diptères et des coléoptères, colonisent les bouses et contribuent à leur disparition, permettant un apport en nutriments au pâturage. Comprendre le lien entre ces différentes espèces et les fonctions écologiques réalisées représente donc un enjeu afin de préserver ce système et d'en assurer son bon fonctionnement. Certaines molécules administrées comme endectocides au bétail, comme l'ivermectine, impactent la structure de la communauté coprophile par leurs effets toxiques sur certains groupes comme les Sepsidae. Bien que leurs effets se soient montrés significatifs sur l'émergence des insectes coprophiles, la disparition des bouses ne s'en est pas trouvée affectée. Il convient alors de rester prudent sur les effets à long terme de ce type de molécules, même si à court terme les effets ne paraissent pas pertinents. La première semaine est essentielle à la bonne dégradation des bouses par l'action d'une première vague de colonisation par les insectes coprophages, tandis qu'en seconde semaine la colonisation par les prédateurs en réduit la vitesse. L'ensemble de la communauté coprophile ne permet donc pas d'accélérer le processus de recyclage des bouses. Une augmentation des effectifs de bousiers accélère la disparition des bouses et indirectement favorise la minéralisation de la litière dans le sol. Toutes les espèces ne contribuent pas équitablement au fonctionnement du système. Les plus gros fouisseurs enterrent des quantités plus importantes de matière fécale, facilitant ainsi les échanges de nutriments entre le sol et la déjection. D'importantes pistes restent à développer concernant les facteurs influençant la colonisation et les interactions entre les organismes afin de pouvoir utiliser les bousiers comme bioindicateurs pour en mesurer les services rendus. / Assemblages of species colonizing droppings constitute interesting systems for study due to the nature of the resource they exploit and the role they exert in the grazed ecosystems. A wide diversity of insects, mainly flies and beetles, colonize dung pats and contribute to their disappearance allowing a contribution in nutrients to the pasture. Understanding the relationship between these species and the ecological functions they perform represents therefore a stake to maintain this system and ensure its proper functioning. Some molecules administered as endectocides to livestock, such as ivermectin, impact the coprophile community structure by their toxic effects on certain taxonomic groups such as Sepsidae. Although their effects are significant on the emergence of coprophilous insects, dung disappearance was not affected. It is then advisable to remain careful on the long-term effects of this type of chemicals, even if the short-term effects are not relevant. The first week of colonization by the wave of coprophagous insects appear essential for complete dung degradation while the second week of colonization by predators reduced the speed of degradation. Therefore the whole coprophilous community does not accelerate the process of recycling dung. An increase of the numbers of dung beetles accelerates the disappearance of dung pats and the loss of litter in the soil. However, all species do not contribute in the same manner to the functioning of the system. The largest tunnelers bury larger amounts of fecal matter and thus they facilitate exchange of nutrients between soil and dung. Important trails remain to be developed concerning the factors influencing colonization and the interactions between organisms before to be able to use dung beetles as bioindicators and to measure their services.

Sexual selection is ubiquitous in all sexually reproducing species and a powerful evolutionary force. The effect of sexual selection on population fitness has caused wide debate and has been proposed to both enhance adaptation rates, but also possibly increase extinction risk. Using experimental evolution, the strength of sexual selection was altered by biasing adult sex ratios in replicated populations of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella. Under increasing temperatures strong sexual selection and polyandry was associated with increased population fitness. Suggesting sexual selection could provide a buffer against climate change by increasing adaptation rates. However, no effect on male mating success was observed. In contrast, under stable temperatures male mating success was increased by strong sexual selection, however, this did not translate to increased population fitness. These results indicate that female choice is a potentially strong selective pressure in P. interpunctella. Moreover, under stabilising and directional selection the costs and benefits of sexual selection change. In a field study, dung beetle species richness and abundance were compared across a gradient of habitat disturbance, ranging from old-growth rainforest to oil palm plantation. Species persistence within altered habitats was positively associated with expressing horns and relative horn lengths, suggesting male-male competition increases a species ability to persist within modified landscapes. There was not a strong effect of relative testes mass or sexual size dimorphism on the abundance of species. Additionally, by examining the expression of sexually selected traits within species, horn length and testes mass appear to be condition dependent, but only the expression of horns was effected by habitat change. Overall, from both laboratory and field studies it was found that sexual selection can increase adaptation rates and the persistence of species within altered and changing environments. Moreover, both sets of studies suggest pre-copulatory sexual selection to be an important aspect of sexual selection in driving this adaptation.

Recently documented ice patch sites in the southwest Yukon are ideal for evaluating precontact hunter-gatherer land-use patterns in the western subarctic. Located in the alpine of the mountainous regions of the boreal forest, ice patches are associated with well preserved hunting equipment, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) dung and an abundance of faunal remains dating to over 8000 years ago. However, current models are inadequate for explaining caribou hunting at ice patches as they tend to emphasize large-scale communal hunts associated with latitudinal movements of caribou. Much less is known about the alititudinal movment of caribou and the associated hunting forays to ice patches in the alpine. Based on literature from caribou biology an altitudinal hunting model is proposed. During summer months caribou are predictable in their use of ice patches for relief from insect harassment. Pollen dated from caribou dung frozen in organic layers from the Granger (JdUt-1) and Friday Creek (JcUu-1) ice patches was analysed and compared to pollen assemblages from modern caribou dung to test whether ancient caribou were using these locations during summer months. The multivariate statistical technique, Nonmetric Mutlidimensional Scaling shows that ancient pollen assemblages are unlike any modern dung. Results indicate that pollen derived from dung is complex and various temporal transformations and taphonomic factors such as: (i) the use of modern analogue samples; (ii) changes in phenology; (iii) mode of pollination and; (iv) caribou feeding strategies must be understood before making interpretations on seasonality from dung pollen. I propose that a qualitative model of seasonal pollen signatures also be used to evaluate ancient pollen spectra, especially when there is no modern analogue. Regardless of these factors, the identification of a diversity of forbs and the presence of insect-pollinated taxa such as Polemonium and Epilobium suggest that some of the dung was deposited by caribou in the summer. Ancient hunters, knowing that caribou aggregate in mixed herds on ice patches in summer months, took advantage of this behaviour. Hunting equipment found on ice patches indicates that atlatls (8360± 60 to 1250± 40 yrs BP) and bow and arrows (1300 ± 70 to 90 ± 40 yrs BP) and hunting blinds were part of the ice hunting strategy. Faunal analysis suggests caribou was the primary game animal hunted at ice patches, although sheep (Ovis dalli) may have been important at some locations. Developing an altitudinal migration model provides a fuller picture of caribou hunting at alpine locations in the southwest Yukon and assists in understanding Holocene precontact hunting and land-use patterns in the western subarctic.

No description available.

A study was conducted in 2004 and 2005 to determine the effect of liquid hog manure fertilization on greenhouse gas emissions from the surface of a grassland pasture in south-eastern Manitoba. The objectives of this research were to determine the effects of manure application, itstiming and soil moisture on greenhouse gas emissions from pasture soil, cattle dung and urine patches. Nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were determined from grassland soil surface, and from cattle dung and artificial urine patches. Liquid hog manure treatments were no manure (Control); 153 kg ha-1 of available-nitrogen (N) (two year average) in spring (Spring); and 149 kg ha-1 as half-rate applications in fall and spring (Split). Four field experiments were conducted on grassland plots. The static-vented chamber technique was used to estimate gas emission rates. Two of the experiments focused on the effects of manure application timing and soil moisture on greenhouse gas emissions from the grassland soil surface. The other two experiments focused on the effects of manure application and soil moisture on greenhouse gas emissions from cattle dung and artificial urine patches. Fresh cattle dung was collected from steers grazing adjacent pastures receiving the same three manure treatments. Artificial cattle urine treatments were generated by converting blood urea concentrations of the steers into urine-N concentrations. Manure application increased (P≤0.01) cumulative N2O emissions from the grassland soil surface with Control, Split and Spring treatments averaging 7, 43 and 120 mg N2O-N m-2, respectively. Of the two manure treatments, the Spring treatment emitted higher (P≤0.10) N2O emissions than the Split treatment. Soil moisture was a major factor influencing the quantity and type of greenhouse gas emissions, with saturated areas emitting CH4 during warm periods, whereas drier areas emitted N2O. Nitrous oxide emissions from these dry areas were higher in manure-treated plots. Spring application increased root density by 45% in the top 5 cm of soil compared to the Control. An increase in soil organic carbon with root density may offset any increase in greenhouse gas emissions caused by manure treatment. Cattle dung from Split and Spring treatments had higher cumulative N2O emissions (30 and 82 mg N2O-N m-2, respectively) compared to dung from Control pastures (6 mg N2O-N m-2) over two study years. Dung from the Spring treatment emitted more N2O (P≤0.01) than the other two treatments. All cattle dung patches emitted CH4 after deposition though unaffected by manure treatment. Artificial urine having highest N concentration had greater (P≤0.05) cumulative N2O emissions (690 mg N2O-N m-2) than urine with the lowest N concentration (170 mg N2O-N m-2). Drier soil locations emitted more N2O from cattle dung and artificial urine patches than wetter areas. This study demonstrated that Split application of liquid hog manure to grassland emitted less N2O than a complete application in spring. Moisture greatly affected the location of N2O and CH4 emissions. Drier areas emitted more N2O than wetter ones. Particularly, the findings indicate a need to assess grassland on periodically saturated soils as sources rather than sinks for CH4. Application of manure increased greenhouse gas emissions from cattle dung and urine patches with urine potentially having the greatest impact because of their higher emissions of N2O. An increase in root growth seems to offset greenhouse gas emissions from manure application.

Land-use change has become a force of global importance and has gained status as the most important driver of ecosystem degradation. The resulting creation of habitat edges has pervasive impacts on the distribution and persistence of species in forest ecosystems. Responses of species to edge effects can be highly dependent on ‘response’ traits, which may in turn co-vary with ‘effect’ traits that determine rates of ecosystem functioning. Therefore, non-random loss of species due to traits conferring higher susceptibility to extinction may also result in the loss of functionally-important species across a habitat edge gradient. Likewise, response and effect traits may be important in determining reassembly of communities in regenerating habitats, which may provide insight into potential scenarios of functional responses to restoration efforts. To test for potential off-site effects of adjacent matrix habitat restoration on dung beetle communities, I compared dung beetle community structure and species trait composition across Afromontane forest edges adjacent to degraded and regenerating matrix habitat at Ngel Nyaki forest reserve in Nigeria. I also measured dung removal rates across habitat edge gradients to investigate the relative off-site impacts of matrix restoration on dung beetle-mediated ecosystem processes. I found significant effects of adjacent matrix condition on edge response functions in dung beetle abundance, species distributions, and trait composition. Beetle abundances were markedly higher in forests adjacent to regenerating matrix, whereas the largest differences in trait composition were found between degraded and regenerating matrix habitat, indicating the presence of ecological filtering processes in these areas. Furthermore, I found that species traits determined community structural responses to environmental change and this had strong flow-on effects to rates of dung removal. Shifts in trait distributions explained dung removal rates above and beyond total beetle mass, suggesting that neutral processes alone could not explain functional efficiency. In particular, habitat regeneration resulted in the assembly of communities with high total beetle mass and on-average smaller beetles, which was optimal for functional efficiency. In conclusion, the restoration of adjacent matrix habitat was shown to effectively mitigate edge effects on dung beetle community structure resulting in the re-establishment of important associated ecosystem processes.