Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T11:06:02.170Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL PATTERNS OF RESOURCE USE AMONG NICROPHORUS CARRION BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: SILPHIDAE) IN A SPHAGNUM BOG AND ADJACENT FOREST NEAR OTTAWA, CANADA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Clifford W. Beninger  and
Stewart B. Peck
Clifford W. Beninger
Affiliation:
Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaK1S 5B6
Stewart B. Peck
Affiliation:
Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaK1S 5B6
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examines reproductive resource acquisition and utilization among Nicrophorus carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in two different and adjacent habitats. The proportion of small carrion resource (dead mice, Mus musculus L.) used by Nicrophorus and other scavengers in a Sphagnum bog did not differ significantly from that used in a nearby forest. Among congeneric Nicrophorus, N. vespilloides Herbst reproduced on small carrion exclusively in the Sphagnum bog, whereas a closely related species, N. defodiens Mannerheim, reproduced only in the nearby mixed forest. Nicrophorus sayi Laporte, N. orbicollis Say, and N. tomentosus Weber were rarely associated with small carrion resource in the bog, and reproduced primarily in the forest during the spring, summer, and fall, respectively. A significant positive correlation between brood size and weight of larval carrion resource was found for N. vespilloides.

Résumé

L’acquisition des ressources pour la reproduction et leur utilisation ont fait l’objet d’une étude chez des Nicrophorus (Coleoptera : Silphidae), des coléoptères charognards, en deux habitats différents mais adjacents. La proportion de petites charognes (souris mortes, Mus musculus L.) utilisées par les nécrophores et par d’autres détritivores dans une tourbière à Sphagnum ne différait pas significativement de celle qui prévalait dans une forêt avoisinante. Nicrophorus vespilloides Herbst se reproduisait dans les petites charognes seulement dans la tourbière, alors que l’espèce apparentée N. defodiens Mannerheim ne se reproduisait que dans une forêt mixte avoisinante. Nicrophorus sayi Laporte, N. orbicollis Say et N. tomentosus Weber étaient rarement associés aux petites charognes dans la tourbière et se reproduisaient principalement dans la forêt, le premier au printemps, le second en été, le troisième à l’automne. Il existe une corrélation positive significative entre le nombre de rejetons et la masse de la charogne utilisée par les larves chez N. vespilloides.

[Traduit par la rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 124 , Issue 1 , February 1992 , pp. 79 - 86
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R.S. 1981. The biology and distribution of the Silphidae and Agyrtidae of Canada and Alaska. M.Sc. thesis, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont., Canada.Google Scholar
Anderson, R.S. 1982 a. Resource partitioning in the carrion beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae) fauna of southern Ontario: Ecological and evolutionary considerations. Can. J. Zool. 60: 1314–1325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, R.S. 1982 b. Burying beetle Larvae: Nearctic Nicrophorus and oriental Ptomoscapus morio (Silphidae). Syst. Ent. 7: 249–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartlett, J. 1987. Filial cannabalism in burying beetles. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 21: 179–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartlett, J., and Ashworth, C.M.. 1988. Brood size and fitness in Nicrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 22: 429–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, C.U. 1895. On the food habits of certain dung and carrion beetles. J.N.Y. ent. Soc. 3: 61.Google Scholar
Fetherston, I.A., Scott, M.P., and Traniello, J.F.A.. 1990. Parental care in burying beetles: The organization of male and female brood-care behavior. Ethology 85: 177–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hairston, N.G. 1983. Alpha selection in competing salamanders: Experimental verification of an a priori hypothesis. Am. Nat. 122: 105–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katakura, H., and Fukuda, H.. 1975. Faunal makeup of ground and carrion beetles in Kamiotoineppu, Hokkaido University Nakagawa Experiment Forest, Northern Japan, with notes on some related problems. Res. Bull. College Exp. Forests, College Agric., Hokkaido Univ. 35: 75–92.Google Scholar
Katakura, H., and Ueno, H.. 1985. A preliminary study on the faunal make-up and spatio-temporal distribution of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) on the Ishikari Coast, Northern Japan. Jap. J. Ecol. 35: 461–468.Google Scholar
Müller, J.K. 1987. Replacement of a lost clutch: A strategy for optimal resource utilization in Necrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera, Silphidae). Ethology 76: 74–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, J.K., and Eggert, A.-K.. 1989. Paternity assurance by “helpful males”: Adaptations to sperm competition in burying beetles. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 24: 245–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, J.K., and Eggert, A.-K.. 1990. Time-dependent shifts between infanticidal and parental behavior in female burying beetles: A mechanism of indirect mother–offspring recognition. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 27: 11–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, J.K., Eggert, A.-K., and Furlkröger, E.. 1990. Clutch size regulation in a burying beetle Necrophorus vespilloides Herbst (Coleoptera: Silphidae). J. Insect Behav. 3: 265–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Otronen, M. 1988. The effect of body size on the outcome of fights in burying beetles (Nicrophorus). Ann. Zool. Fenn. 25: 191–201.Google Scholar
Peck, S.B. 1986. Nicrophorus (Silphidae) can use large carcasses for reproduction. Coleopterists’ Bull. 40: 44.Google Scholar
Pukowski, E. 1933. Okologische Untersuchungen an Necrophorus F.Z. Morphol. Oekol. Tiere. 28: 518–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoener, T.W. 1974. Resource partitioning in ecological communities. Science 185: 27–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schoener, T.W. 1983. Field experiments on interspecific competition. Am. Nat. 122: 240–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, M.P., and Traniello, J.F.. 1987. Behavioral cues trigger ovarian development in the burying beetle Nicrophorus tomentosus. J. Insect Physiol. 33: 693–696.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spicarova, N. 1971. Dwarf forms of burying beetles and the causes of their development (Col. Silphidae). Acta Univ. Palackianae Olomucensis (Facultas rerum nat.) 34: 193–197.Google Scholar
Spicarova, N. 1973. Morphoplastic influence of the food factor on the progeny of several species of the genus Necrophorus F. (Col. Silphidae). Acta Univ. Palackianae Olomucensis (Facultas. rerum nat.) 43: 297–323.Google Scholar
Steele, B.F. 1927. Notes on the feeding habits of carrion beetles. J.N.Y. ent. Soc. 35: 77–81.Google Scholar
Trumbo, S. 1990. Interference competition among burying beetles (Silphidae, Nicrophorus). Ecol. Ent. 15: 347–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D.S., and Fudge, J.. 1984. Burying beetles: Intraspecific interactions and reproductive success in the field. Ecol. Ent. 9: 195–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D.S., and Knollenberg, V.G.. 1984. Food discrimination and ovarian development in burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorus). Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 77: 165–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D.S., Knollenberg, V.G., and Fudge, J.. 1984. Species packing and temperature dependant competition among burying beetles (Silphidae: Nicrophorus). Ecol. Ent. 9: 205–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar