Dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) attraction to woodcreeper (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae) dropping in the central Amazon

ABSTRACT Bird droppings are an unusual food resource for coprophagous insects and used mostly by opportunistic decomposers. Among them, dung beetles feed mainly on dung, although the species differ in their trophic plasticity. Here we report a record of a dung beetle, Canthidium cf. gracilipes, reac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta amazonica 2024, Vol.54 (1)
Main Authors: SALOMÃO, Renato Portela, VAZ-DE-MELLO, Fernando, CUPELLO, Mario Jardim, CASSIANO, Liara de Azevedo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brazil
coprophagous
feeding behavior
Neotropics
Scarabaeidae
tropical forest
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Summary:ABSTRACT Bird droppings are an unusual food resource for coprophagous insects and used mostly by opportunistic decomposers. Among them, dung beetles feed mainly on dung, although the species differ in their trophic plasticity. Here we report a record of a dung beetle, Canthidium cf. gracilipes, reaching and manipulating the dropping of a passeriform bird, Dendrocincla fuliginosa (Dendrocolaptidae). The behavior was observed in an urban forest fragment located in the Amazonian city of Manaus, Brazil. Two hours after the bird defecated, the dung beetle reached the dropping and started manipulating them with its fore- and hindlegs. It did not eat the dung, though. For a clear understanding of the relationships between bird droppings and Amazonian dung beetles, it will be important to perform standardized experiments with a wide variety of native dung and carrion types. RESUMO Excrementos de aves correspondem a um recurso alimentar pouco comum para insetos coprófagos, sendo utilizados geralmente por decompositores oportunistas. Entre eles, os rola bostas se alimentam principalmente de fezes, entretanto a plasticidade alimentar varia entre as espécies. Neste estudo nós reportamos um registro do rola bosta Canthidium cf. gracilipes se aproximando de e manipulando os excrementos de uma ave passeriformes, Dendrocincla fuliginosa (Dendrocolaptidae). O comportamento foi observado em um fragmento localizado na cidade amazônica de Manaus, Brasil. Duas horas depois de que a ave defecou, o rola bosta se aproximou das fezes e começou a manipulá-las com as patas anteriores e posteriores. Entretanto, não se observou consumo do excremento. Para uma compreensão mais clara das relações entre os excrementos de aves e os rola bostas amazônicos, é importante a realização de experimentos padronizados com uma ampla variedade de fezes e carcaças nativas.
ISSN:0044-5967
1809-4392
DOI:10.1590/1809-4392202301510