Dissertation Research: Sexual Selection and the Evolution ofHorns in the Dung Beetle Phanaeus Difformis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae)

金龟子在循环利用各种动物粪便中的营养物质方面具有重要的生态意义。粪便不仅构成了成虫的大部分饮食，而且也是成虫在地下洞穴中为幼崽提供食物的资源。清除粪便减少了害虫物种的可用资源，如繁殖粪便的苍蝇，从而降低了这些物种的种群密度。掩埋粪便还会增加牲畜和野生动物的草和其他饲料的生长。在这个项目中，Pi‘s将研究北美本土的粪便甲虫Phanaeus difformis的生殖生物学，这种甲虫利用牛和其他大型哺乳动物的粪便。这项研究将有助于我们理解屎甲虫在草原生态中的作用。这项研究的目标包括记录形态和行为变量如何在一系列生态条件下影响异形棘豆的生殖生物学。投资将包括观察自然繁殖的成虫和受控的田间实验。野外实验将考虑成年种群密度和性别比例如何影响种群中不同个体的生殖潜力。

Dung beetles are ecologically important in recycling nutrients present in various types of animal feces. Dung not only makes up the bulk of the diet of the adults but is also the resource adults use to provision their young in underground burrows. Dung removal decreases resources available to pest species such as dung-breeding flies, thus lowering population densities of these species. Burial of dung also increases growth of grasses and other forage for livestock and wild animals. In this project, the PI's will study the reproductive biology of a native North American dung beetle, Phanaeus difformis, which utilizes feces of cattle and other large mammals. This research will contribute to our understanding of the role that dung beetles play in rangeland ecology. The goals of this research include documenting how morphological and behavioral variables influence the reproductive biology of P. difformis under a range of ecological conditions. Investgations will involve observations of naturally breeding adults and controlled field experiments. Field experiments will consider how adult population density and sex ratio influence the reproductive potential of different individuals in the population.