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Comparative patterns of dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) diversity in native fescue grassland and wooded habitats in the Cypress Hills, Alberta, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2022

G.A. Bezanson ,
C. Goater  and
K.D. Floate Open the ORCID record for K.D. Floate [Opens in a new window]
G.A. Bezanson
Affiliation:
Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 5403 1st Avenue South, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1J 4B1, Canada Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, Canada
C. Goater
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, Canada
K.D. Floate*
Affiliation:
Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 5403 1st Avenue South, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1J 4B1, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: Kevin.Floate@agr.gc.ca
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Abstract

Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae (Aphodiinae, Scarabaeinae) and some Geotrupidae) provide important ecosystem services on pastures by disrupting and burying deposits of cattle dung. The extent of these services is influenced by the number of individuals and species present, which may differ with habitat type. In the present study, we compared dung beetle assemblages in a mosaic of open grassland and wooded habitats on native fescue pastures in the Cypress Hills of southern Alberta, Canada. Using pitfall traps baited with cattle dung and operated from spring through autumn for two years at each of the two sites, we collected 4944 individuals representing 14 dung beetle species. More individuals and species were recovered in grassland habitat, which was dominated by nonnative species associated with cattle dung. Wooded habitat was dominated by a native species associated with deer dung. Dwellers (species that develop within the dung deposit) comprised 93% of the beetles recovered during the study. Significant variation in annual beetle counts in the two habitats highlights the value of studies conducted over multiple years. These results emphasise the importance of habitat diversity and interspecific habitat preference in structuring dung beetle assemblages on fescue grasslands, which are among the most threatened ecosystems in Canada.

Type
Research Paper
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 154 , Issue 1 , 2022 , e35
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022 and Her Majesty, the Queen, in right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of Canada

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Derek S. Sikes

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