Ecology and Evolution of Dung Beetles

by Simmons, Leigh W.; Ridsdill-Smith, T. James

• ISBN13: 9781444333152
• ISBN10: 1444333151
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-05-06
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This book describes the evolutionary and ecological consequences of reproductive competition for scarabaeine dung beetles. As well as giving us insight into the private lives of these fascinating creatures, this book shows how dung beetles can be used as model systems for improving our general understanding of broad evolutionary and ecological processes, and how they generate biological diversity. Over the last few decades we have begun to see further than ever before, with our research efforts yielding new information at all levels of analysis, from whole organism biology to genomics. This book brings together leading researchers who contribute chapters that integrate our current knowledge of phylogenetics and evolution, developmental biology, comparative morphology, physiology, behaviour, and population and community ecology. Dung beetle research is shedding light on the ultimate question of how best to document and conserve the world's biodiversity. The book will be of interest to established researchers, university teachers, research students, conservation biologists, and those wanting to know more about the dung beetle taxon.

Author Biography

Leigh Simmons was born and educated in the UK, and is currantly Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Western Australia. His research interests lie in all aspects of reproductive biology, from the evolution of sperm form and function, to mate searching and courtship behaviour.

James Ridsdill-Smith was born and educated in the UK but carried out all his research in Australia working for CSIRO Entomology. He has been developing biological and ecological solutions to various pest problems and 15 years involved in the biological control of dung with scarabaeine dung beetles.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors

Preface

Reproductive competition and its impact on the evolution and ecology of dung beetles

Introduction

Competition for mates and the evolution of morphological diversity

Competition for resources and the evolution of breeding strategies

Ecological consequences of intraspecific and interspecific competition

Conservation

Concluding remarks

The evolutionary history and diversification of dung beetles

Introduction

Scarabaeinae diversity and tribal classification issues

Scarabaeine dung beetle phylogenies

The sister clade to the Scarabaeinae

The origin of the dung beetles

The oldest lineages and their geographic origin

Evolution of activity period

The evolution of feeding habits

Evolution of derived alternative lifestyles

Evolution of nidification: dung manipulation strategies

Evolution of nidification: nesting behaviour and subsocial care

Conclusions

Future work / gaps in knowledge

Male contest competition and the evolution of weapons

Introduction

Dung beetle horns as weapons

Functional morphology of horns

Horns as predictors of victory

Are beetle horns simply tools?

The evolution of horns: rollers vs. tunnellers

The evolution of horns: population density

The evolution of horns: sex ratio

Future work

Sexual selection after mating: the evolutionary consequences of sperm competition and cryptic female choice in onthophagines

Introduction

Sperm competition theorey

Evolution of ejaculate expenditure in the genus Onthophagus

Evolutionary consequences of variation in ejaculate expenditure

Theoretical models of female choice

Quantitative genetics of ejaculate traits

Empirical evidence for adaptive cryptic female choice in Onthophagus Taurus

Conclusions and future directions

Olfactory ecology

Introduction

Orientation to dung and other resources

Olfactory cues used in mate attraction and mate recognition

Chemical composition of Kheper pheromones

Kairomones

Defensive secretions

Conclusions and future directions

Explaining phenotypic diversity: The conditional strategy and threshold trait expression

Introduction

The environmental threshold model

Applying the threshold model

Future directions

Evolution and development: Onthophagus beetles and the evolutionary development genetics of innovation, allometry, and plasticity

Introduction

Evo-devo and eco-devo - A brief introduction

Onthophagus beetles as an emerging model system in evo-devo and eco-devo

The origin and diversification of novel traits

The regulation and evolution of scaling

The development, evolution, and consequences of phenotypic plasticity

Conclusion

The evolution of parental care in the onthophagine dung beetles

Introduction

Parental care theorey

Testing parental care theorey using onthophagine dung beetles

Conclusions and future directions

The visual ecology of dung beetles

Introduction

Insect eye structure

Eye limitations

Dung beetle vision

Visual ecology of flight activity

Sexual selection and eyes

Ball rolling

Conclusions

The ecological implications of physiological diversity in dung beetles

Introduction

Thermoregulation

Thermal tolerance

Water balance

Gas exchange and metabolic rate

Conclusion and prospectus

Dung beetle populations: structure and consequences

Introduction

Study systems

Range size

Habitat and resource selection

Dung beetle movement

The genetic structure of dung beetle populations

Consequences: spatial population structures and responses to habitat loss

Perspectives

Biological control: ecosystem functions provided by dung beetles

Introduction

Function of dung beetles in ecosystems

Dung beetles in pasture habitats

Seasonal occurrence and abundance of native dung beetles in Australia

Distribution and seasonal occurrence of introduced dung beetles in Australia

Long term studies of establishment and abundance

Competitive exclusion

Optimising the benefits of biological control

Dung beetles as a candidate study taxon in applied biodiversity conservation research

Introduction

Satisfying data needs to inform conservation practice

The role of dung beetles in applied biodiversity research in human-modified landscapes

Dung beetle conservation

Some ways forward

References

Index

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