DGICYT (PB91-0889); Generalitat Valenciana (GV-C-RN-069-96)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aims to contribute to the scarce data on the Scarabaeinae fauna of the Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Twenty-four samplings were made with pitfall traps baited with human excrement, rotting meat and fermented banana in three forest fragments with different degrees of disturbance in Santa Maria, RS, between May 2009 and April 2010, in order to investigate the diversity of Scarabaeinae in these habitats and learn about the feeding preference in relation to the baits used and the temporal distribution of species. A total of 19,699 individuals of 33 species were collected. The greatest richness of Scarabaeinae was found in a forest fragment with larger size and highest conservation level, whereas the greatest abundance occurred in a forest fragment with intermediate level of perturbation. The spring, then summer, was the greatest period of richness and abundance of Scarabaeinae. The richness and abundance were positively correlated with temperature during the study period. Human excrement was the most attractive bait in number of species and individuals. Aiming to help the future identification of studied species is presented a local identification guide containing an illustrated dichotomous key, ecological information and illustrations of species of Scarabaeinae cited to Santa Maria. Through an extensive literature review was possible to provide a preliminary list, even nonexistent, of genera and species of Scarabaeinae cited for Rio Grande do Sul. Widen the distribution of Sulcophanaeus rhadamanthus (Harold, 1875) to Rio Grande do Sul, being a recent record of the same, where it was not captured nearly 80 years. / Este estudo visa contribuir com os escassos dados sobre a fauna de Scarabaeinae do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Foram realizadas 24 coletas com armadilhas de queda iscadas com excremento humano, carne apodrecida e banana fermentada em três fragmentos florestais com diferentes níveis de perturbação em Santa Maria, RS, entre maio de 2009 e abril de 2010, a fim de investigar a diversidade de Scarabaeinae nestes habitats, além de conhecer a preferência alimentar em relação às iscas utilizadas e a distribuição temporal das espécies. Foi coletado um total de 19.699 indivíduos de 33 espécies. A maior riqueza de Scarabaeinae foi encontrada no fragmento florestal com maior tamanho e nível de preservação, enquanto a maior abundância ocorreu no fragmento florestal com nível intermediário de perturbação. A primavera, seguida do verão, foi o período de maior riqueza e abundância de Scarabaeinae. A riqueza e a abundância estiveram positivamente correlacionadas com a temperatura no período de estudo. Excremento humano foi a isca mais atrativa em número de espécies e de indivíduos. Com o objetivo de subsidiar futura identificação das espécies estudadas, é apresentado um guia local de identificação contendo uma chave dicotômica ilustrada, informações ecológicas e ilustrações das espécies de Scarabaeinae citadas para Santa Maria. Através de uma ampla pesquisa de literatura foi possível fornecer a lista preliminar, ainda inexistente, de gêneros e espécies de Scarabaeinae citadas para o Rio Grande do Sul. Relata-se a ampliação da distribuição de Sulcophanaeus rhadamanthus (Harold, 1875) para o Rio Grande do Sul, constituindo um registro recente da mesma, que há cerca de 80 anos não tinha registros de captura.

La faune des bousiers des hautes montagnes du Mexique a été encore très peu étudiée. Des travaux ponctuels avaient été réalisés pour certaines montagnes, mais une analyse approfondie et simultanée de plusieurs massifs montagneux n'avait jamais été faite auparavant, en particulier avec une double approche, écologique et historique. Les chaînes montagneuses sont des systèmes extrêmement favorables pour analyser les influences biogéographiques et les interactions écologiques dans les assemblages d'espèces. L'objectif de cette thèse est de décrire et d'analyser la distribution et la richesse des Scarabaeinae, Geotrupinae et Aphodiinae de quatre massifs volcaniques dans la partie Est du Système Volcanique Transversal (SVT), qui se trouve dans la Zone de Transition Mexicaine (ZTM). Les zones de transition sont des régions remarquables où différentes lignées évolutives coexistent. Les montagnes échantillonnées sont La Malinche, le Cofre de Perote, le Pico de Orizaba et la Sierra Negra. Il s'agit de volcans situés dans la partie Est du SVT. La Malinche est séparée des trois autres volcans, lesquels présentent une certaine connectivité entre eux. L'importance de notre travail est basée sur le fait qu'il s'agit aussi du premier échantillonnage systématique effectué simultanément au Pico de Orizaba, à la Sierra Negra et à La Malinche, assorti d'une approche écologique et biogéographique. Pour chaque massif, nous avons utilisé trois techniques complémentaires d'échantillonnage : pièges appâtés avec des excréments, une collecte directe dans les stations et l'excavation des terriers des gauphres (rongeurs) pour y trouver les coléoptères associés à leurs déjections. Pour chaque volcan l'échantillonnage a été conduit à deux niveaux d'altitude, aux environ de 2800 m et à environ 3400 m, en prenant en compte les deux versants de chaque montagne, au vent (humide) et sous le vent (sec). L'échantillonnage a été réalisé durant trois années consécutives (2011 à 2013), pendant la saison des pluies (juin, juillet, août). Après la collecte et l'identification des coléoptères, nous avons comparé les affinités biogéographiques des communautés de bousiers de chaque massif. Les différences de composition et d'abondance ont montré que les affinités néarctiques, paléoaméricaines et mésoaméricaines de montagne prédominent dans ces massifs. L'abondance et la richesse étaient maximales aux altitudes moyennes et sur les versants au vent. La colonisation horizontale par les espèces est prédominantepour ces volcans. Plusieurs espèces nouvelles pour la science ont été découvertes grâce à ce travail : trois coléoptères coprophages (un Onthophagus et deux Aphodius), ainsi que six espèces nouvelles d'acariens phorétiques. D'une manière générale, les espèces montagnardes ont une dispersion ensuivant les chaines de montagnes ou l'Altiplano (Haut Plateau). Les espèces d'origine néotropicale présentent une distribution plus large et se trouvent plutôt à plus basse altitude. Quelques espèces avec des affinités pour le Haut Plateau se retrouvent à La Malinche sur le versant sous le vent et à une altitude moyenne. Les résultats ont permis de mieux définir la répartition des genres néarctiques, paléoaméricains et mésoaméricains de montagne dans le SVT, principalement pour les Aphodiinae. Ce travail constitue une base solide pour la connaissance de la distribution de cette faune dans ces massifs montagneux qui n'avaient jamais été étudiés en profondeur au Mexique. / High mountains' dung beetles fauna was still little studied. Punctual works have been done for some mountains, but a deep and simultaneous analysis that includes several mountains has never been done before, especially with a dual approach, ecological and historical. Mountain ranges are extremely favorable systems to analyze biogeographic influences and ecological interactions in species assemblages. This thesis objective is to describe and analyze the richness and distribution of Scarabaeinae, Geotrupinae and Aphodiinae of four volcanoes in the eastern part of the Trans- Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), located in the Mexican Transition Zone (MTZ). Transition zones are remarkable regions where different evolutionary lineages coexist. Sampled mountains are La Malinche, Cofre de PEROTE, Pico de Orizaba and Sierra Negra. These volcanoes are located in the Eastern part of the TMVB. Malinche is separated from the other three mountains which have certain connectivity between them. The importance of our work is based on the fact that it is the first systematic and simultaneous sampling performed at Pico de Orizaba, Sierra Negra and La Malinche, with both an ecological and biogeographic approach. For each mountain, we used three complementary sampling techniques, baited traps with feces, direct collection at each of the stations, and excavation of pocket gopher's burrows, to find the dung beetles associated with their droppings. For each mountain, the sampling was conducted at two altitude levels, one about 2800 meters and another one of about 3400 meters, taking into account both sides of each mountain, windward (wet) and leeward (dry). Sampling was conducted during rainy season (June to August) for three consecutive years (2011-2013). After the collection and identification of beetles, the biogeographic affinities of the dung beetles' communities of each mountain were compared. The differences in composition and abundance showed that the predominant pattern affinities are the Nearctic, Mountain Paleomaerican and Mountain Mesoamerican patterns. Abundance and richness was higher in the middle elevations and in the windward side. Horizontal colonization is predominant in these four volcanoes. Tree new dung beetles' species for science were discovered thanks to this work (one Onthophagus and two Aphodiinae) as well as six phoretic mite new species. In general, montane species have a dispersion following the mountain ranges or the high lands of the High Plateau. Species with a Neotropical affinity were found to have a wider distribution and found instead at the low altitude range. The High Plateau affinity species were found mainly at the leeward side and at the lower altitude range in La Malinche. These results have helped to define the distribution of Nearctic, Montane Paleoamerican and Montane Mesoamerican genera in the SVT, mainly for Aphodiinae. This work provides a solid basis of knowledge of the distribution of this fauna in these four mountains, which had never been studied extensively in Mexico.

Flower chafers are well-known beetles with apparent sexual dimorphism. Yet, in contrast to other groups of scarab beetles, only little attention has been paid to various aspects of this phenomenon. It concerns also sexual dimorphism in size, which is very common in animals. Although ultimate causes of sexual size dimorphism have been extensively studied, the developmental mechanisms are still only poorly understood. We investigated proximate causes of sexual size dimorphism in several differentially dimorphic flower chafer species. We found that in highly dimorphic species the dimorphism started to develop already in the first instar and tended to accumulate through successive larval development. In contrast, the sexes in species with a relatively low dimorphism diverged in size during only one instar. Moreover, we found variability not only in when the dimorphism arises during development, but also how: sex-related differences in both the instar duration and average growth rate were the proximate causes of sexual size dimorphism. In addition, we showed that the sexes may differ also in growth trajectory - males had relatively longer period of rapid growth than females, even in cases where the absolute development times were similar in both sexes. Further, we focused on systematic survey of sexual...