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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
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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

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