Habitat differences in dung beetle assemblages in an African savanna–forest ecotone:implications for secondary seed dispersal  

作　　者：Britta K.KUNZ Frank-Thorsten KRELL 

机构地区：[1]Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology,Theodor-Boveri Institute of Biosciences,Würzburg,Germany [2]Department of Zoology,Denver Museum of Nature&Science,Denver,Colorado,USA

出　　处：《Integrative Zoology》2011年第2期81-96,共16页整合动物学（英文版）

基　　金：PhD scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service and the University of Würzburg(HSP III)funded field work.The research camp in the CNP was constructed with generous funds from the Volkswagen Foundation.The study was financially supported by the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and by the research funding program“Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-okonomischer Exzellenz”of Hesse’s Ministry of Higher Education,Research,and the Arts.

摘　　要：The probability and pattern of secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles(Scarabaeinae)depend on their community structure and composition at the site of primary deposition,which,in turn,seem to be strongly determined by vegetation.Consequently,we expected pronounced differences in secondary seed dispersal between forest and savanna in the northern Ivory Coast,West Africa.We found 99 dung beetle species at experimentally exposed dung piles of the olive baboon(Papio anubis(Lesson,1827)),an important primary seed disperser in West Africa.Seventy-six species belonged to the roller and tunneler guilds,which are relevant for secondary seed dispersal.Most species showed a clear habitat preference.Contrary to the Neotropics,species number and abundance were much higher in the savanna than in the forest.Rollers and tunnelers each accounted for approximately 50%of the individuals in the savanna,but in the forest rollers made up only 4%.Seeds deposited into the savanna by an omnivorous primary disperser generally have a higher overall probability of being more rapidly dispersed secondarily by dung beetles than seeds in the forest.Also,rollers disperse seeds over larger distances.In contrast to other studies,small rollers were active in dispersal of large seeds,which were seemingly mistaken for dung balls.Our results suggest that rollers can remove seeds from any plant dispersed in primate dung in this ecosystem.

关 键 词：Africa baboon defecations guild differences SCARABAEIDAE secondary seed dispersal. 

分 类 号：S71[农业科学—林学]