Seasonal Variations in the Assembly of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae and Scarabaeidae) Attracted to Macaque Feces in Temperate Forests in Japan
2022
Tsuji, Yamato | Matsubara, Miki | Sawada, Kenta | Shiraishi, Toshiaki
Dung beetles attracted to the feces of wild Japanese macaques (Primates: Macaca fuscata Blyth) were studied at two temperate sites in Japan, Kinkazan (dominated by deciduous forest) and Yakushima (dominated by evergreen forest), to determine if temporal variations occur in the dung beetle community. Data from 428 pitfall traps baited with fresh Japanese macaque feces and placed during 15 sampling periods from 2015 to 2019 were analyzed. We captured 1,682 beetles (two families, five genera, and nine species) from Kinkazan and 1,102 beetles (two families, four genera, and nine species) from Yakushima. More than 50% of the beetles captured were small (body size < 10 mm) tunnelers (species of Onthophagus Latreille and Caccobius Thomson). Large (body size > 10 mm) tunnelers (species of Phelotrupes Jekel and Copris acutidens Motschulsky) were common in Kinkazan, and dwellers (species of Aphodius Illiger) were frequently obtained in Yakushima. At both sites, the capture rate and number of trapped beetles were greater during the summer and autumn (Kinkazan: 90–100%; Yakushima: 64–95%) than during other seasons. For several species, the number of beetles collected in each trap was positively correlated with mean temperature, but no relationship with rainfall was observed. From an ecological viewpoint, dung beetles burying seeds embedded in macaque feces might affect plant fitness in the initial stages.
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