The influence of the first wave of colonizing insects on cattle dung dispersal

An exclusion experiment was conducted to measure the impact of dung beetles on cattle dung dispersal. Covered pats took 1.7-2.2 times longer to dissipate than exposed pats. Colonisation by dung beetles in the first month after deposition was especially important. Stepwise linear regression showed that rainfall was the best environmental predictor of dung dissipation for exposed pats but had little impact on dissipation of covered pats.