Succession and community structure in dung-beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in ageing cattle dung

The succession of scarabaeid dung beetles and their community structure were studied in bovine dung under tropical conditions in India. In contrast to the longer cycles of temperate regions, the succession lasted for 4 and 8 days in May and August, respectively in tropical conditions. Drying of the dung and it becoming uninhabitable very fast was due to arid conditions. Out of the total of 17 species obtained from 4 genera of Scarabaeinae, (Onthophagus bonasus, O. catta, O. centricornis, O. falsus, O. mopsus, O. ramosellus, Oniticellus pallipes, O. spinipes, Drepanocerus setosus and Onitis subopacus; and one genus of Aphodiinae, i.e. Aphodius crenatus, A. lividus, A. marginellus, A. moestus, A. testaceus, A. urostigma and Aphodius sp.). in May and August, most of them (14 species) visited dung on the 1st day itself, but the peak in species number (15 species) was on the 2nd day. Though the successional pattern in species diversity and biomass were broadly the same as in species number, there were evidently some small differences. However, the successional pattern in abundance of beetles was a little more different from the other three, with peaks on the 1st and 3rd day. Consequently, the beetle community changed daily to some extent in all its characteristics, i.e., species number, diversity, abundance, and beetle size. The differences in the patterns of May and August were merely seasonal. Primarily, there were two guilds, one preferring quite fresh dung and the other mostly 1- to 2-day old dung. The fact that Drepanocerus setosus did not make any distinction between fresh and old dung was an exception.