Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T19:11:56.530Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Degree-day models for development of the dung beetles Onthophagus nuchicornis, O. taurus, and Digitonthophagus gazella (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), and the likelihood of O. taurus establishment in southern Alberta, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2014

K.D. Floate ,
D.W. Watson ,
P. Coghlin  and
O. Olfert
K.D. Floate*
Affiliation:
Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1J 4B1
D.W. Watson
Affiliation:
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695–7626, United States of America
P. Coghlin
Affiliation:
Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1J 4B1
O. Olfert
Affiliation:
Saskatoon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 0X2
*
1 Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Three studies were performed to assess the likelihood of establishing the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Schreber) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in southern Alberta, Canada. This European species was first reported in Florida in the 1970s and now occurs as far north as Michigan, United States of America. Its ability to establish in Canada is unknown, but is desired to accelerate the degradation of cattle dung on pastures. The first study examined egg-to-adult development at temperatures of 10–32 °C (in increments of 2 °C) to develop degree-day models for O. taurus and for two other closely related species of dung beetles. Onthophagus nuchicornis (Linnaeus), used as a positive control, is a European species common across Canada. Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius), used as a negative control, is an Afro-Asian species whose distribution is restricted in North America to the southern United States of America. The second study examined the overwintering ability of O. taurus and D. gazella in outdoor field cages. The third study compared climate parameters between southern Alberta and the northernmost recorded distribution of O. taurus. Results combined across the three studies show that O. taurus can complete egg-to-adult development and overwinter in southern Alberta. However, high overwintering mortality is predicted to prevent establishment of O. taurus in the region.

Type
Biodiversity & Evolution
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 147 , Issue 5 , October 2015 , pp. 617 - 627
Copyright
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Subject editor: Rob Johns

References

Arnold, C.Y. 1959. The determination and significance of the base temperature in a linear heat unit system. Proceedings of the American Society of Horticultural Science, 74: 430–445.Google Scholar
Bertone, M., Green, J., Washburn, S., Poore, M., Sorenson, C., and Watson, D.W. 2005. Seasonal activity and species composition of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae) inhabiting cattle pastures in North Carolina. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 98: 309–321.Google Scholar
Blume, R.R. 1985. A check-list, distributional record, and annotated bibliography of the insects associated with bovine droppings on pasture in America north of Mexico. Southwestern Entomologist, 9: 1–55.Google Scholar
Blume, R.R. and Aga, A. 1978. Onthophagus gazella: F.: progress of experimental release in south Texas. Folia Entomologica Mexicana, 39/40: 190–191.Google Scholar
Boodley, J.W. and Sheldrake, R. Jr. 1982. Cornell peat-lite mixes for commercial plant growing. Cornell University, Cooperative Extension, Information Bulletin. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.Google Scholar
Bornemissza, G.F. 1970. Insectary studies on the control of dung breeding flies by the activity of the dung beetle, Onthophagus gazella F. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society, 9: 31–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, W.J. 1940. Notes on the American distribution of some species of Coleoptera common to the European and North American continents. The Canadian Entomologist, 72: 65–78.Google Scholar
Burmeister, F. 1930. Die brutfiirsorge und das bauprinzip der gattung Onthophagus latr. Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Ökologie der Tiere, 16: 559–647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincher, G.T. 1981. The potential value of dung beetles in pasture ecosystems. Journal of the Georgia Entomological Society, 16: 316–333.Google Scholar
Fincher, G.T. and Hunter, J.S. III 1989. Overwintering studies on Onthophagus gazella (F.) and Onthophagus bonasus (F.) in two different textural classes of soil in east-central Texas. Southwestern Entomologist, 14: 133–138.Google Scholar
Fincher, G.T. and Woodruff, R.E. 1975. A European dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus Schreber, new to the U.S. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 29: 349–350.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D. 2011. Arthropods in cattle dung on Canada’s grasslands. In Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (volume 2): inhabitants of a changing landscape. Edited by K.D. Floate. Biological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Pp. 71–88.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D., Blanckenhorn, W.U., Coghlin, P., Davies, I., Gray, J., Höhn, P., et al. 2011. Lessons learned during the selection of a dung beetle species as a test for insecticidal residues in cattle dung. In Abstract book, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe 21st Annual Meeting, May 15–19, Milano, Italy. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe, Brussels, Belgium. P. 293.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D., Bouchard, P., Holroyd, G., Poulin, R., and Wellicome, T.I. 2008. Does doramectin use on cattle indirectly affect the endangered burrowing owl? Rangeland Ecology & Management, 61: 543–553.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D. and Gill, B.D. 1998. Seasonal activity of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) associated with cattle dung in southern alberta and their geographic distribution in Canada. The Canadian Entomologist, 130: 131–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Floate, K.D. and Kadiri, N. 2013. Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) associated with cattle dung on native grasslands of southern Alberta, Canada. The Canadian Entomologist, 145: 647–654.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D., Wardhaugh, K.G., Boxall, A.B., and Sherratt, T.N. 2005. Fecal residues of veterinary parasiticides: nontarget effects in the pasture environment. Annual Review of Entomology, 50: 153–179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoebeke, E.R. and Beucke, K. 1997. Adventive Onthophagus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in North America: geographic ranges, diagnoses, and new distributional records. Entomological News, 108: 345–362.Google Scholar
Hunt, J., Simmons, L.W., and Kotiaho, J.S. 2002. A cost of maternal care in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus? Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 15: 57–64.Google Scholar
Kadiri, N., Lumaret, J.-P., and Floate, K.D. 2014. Functional diversity and seasonal activity of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) on native grasslands in southern Alberta, Canada. The Canadian Entomologist, 146: 291–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, J.M. and Peng, Y.-S. 1982. Influence of manure availability and nesting density on the progeny size of Onthophagus gazella . Environmental Entomology, 11: 38–41.Google Scholar
Lobo, J.M. 2000. Species diversity and composition of dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) assemblages in North America. The Canadian Entomologist, 132: 307–321.Google Scholar
MacRae, T.C. and Penn, S.R. 2001. Additional records of adventive Onthophagus Latreille (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in North America. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 55: 49–50.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, N.B., Bowes, G.R., Thomas, A.G., Dyck, F.B., Lindsay, T.M., and Wise, R.F. 1985. A new design for a seed germinator with 100 independently temperature controlled cells. Weed Research, 25: 161–173.Google Scholar
Montes de Oca, E. and Halffter, G. 1998. Invasion of Mexico by two dung beetles previously introduced into the United States. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 33: 37–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichols, E., Spector, S., Louzada, J., Larsen, T., Amequita, S., and Favila, M.E. 2008. Ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by Scarabaeinae dung beetles. Biological Conservation, 141: 1461–1474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pullin, A.S. 1996. Physiological relationships between insect diapause and cold tolerance: coevolution or coincidence? European Journal of Entomology, 93: 121–129.Google Scholar
Rounds, R.J. and Floate, K.D. 2012. Diversity and seasonal phenology of coprophagous beetles at Lake City, Michigan, USA, with a new state record for Onthophagus taurus (Schreber) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 66: 169–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tinerella, P.P. and Fauske, G.M. 1999. Occurrence of Onthophagus nuchicornis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in North Dakota. Entomological News, 110: 22–26.Google Scholar
Wardhaugh, K.G., Holter, P., and Longstaff, B. 2001. The development and survival of three species of coprophagous insect after feeding on the faeces of sheep treated with controlled-release formulations of ivermectin or albendazole. Australian Veterinary Journal, 79: 125–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed