The importance of dung beetles and arthropod communities on degradation of cattle dung pats in eastern South Dakota.

Jacob R Pecenka,Jonathan G Lundgren

doi:10.7717/peerj.5220

Abstract

BackgroundDung accumulation in rangelands can suppress plant growth, foul pastures, and increase pest pressure. Here, we describe the arthropod community of dung in eastern South Dakota, and quantify their contributions to dung degradation using an exclusion cage design.MethodsVarious arthropod community and degradation characteristics were measured in caged and uncaged dung pats over time in early and late summer.ResultsA total of 86,969 specimens were collected across 109 morphospecies (13 orders) of arthropods, and cages effectively reduced arthropod abundance, species richness, and diversity. Uncaged dung pats degraded significantly faster than the caged pats, with the largest difference occurring within 2 d of pat deposition. Dung organic matter was degraded more slowly (by 33–38 d) in the caged pats than where insects had free access to the pats. Although dung beetles only represented 1.5–3% of total arthropod abundance, they were significantly correlated to more abundant and complex total arthropod communities.DiscussionA diverse community contributes to dung degradation in rangelands, and their early colonization is key to maximizing this ecosystem service.

Highlights

When cattle excrete dung onto the soil surface, the failure of the pats to break down can challenge the productivity of grazing on rangelands (Fincher, 1981)
Dry weight, moisture percentage, and ash-free organic matter content (AFOM) all decreased over time during the 42-d observation period (Table 1, Fig. 3)
The degradation characteristics show that uncaged pats degraded faster than the caged ones

Summary

Introduction

When cattle excrete dung onto the soil surface, the failure of the pats to break down can challenge the productivity of grazing on rangelands (Fincher, 1981). When a dung pat is deposited on a pasture, all of the available forage underneath and up to a 5 m radius around the pat is unused by grazing cattle until the pat is incorporated into the soil. How to cite this article Pecenka and Lundgren (2018), The importance of dung beetles and arthropod communities on degradation of cattle dung pats in eastern South Dakota. Various arthropod community and degradation characteristics were measured in caged and uncaged dung pats over time in early and late summer. Uncaged dung pats degraded significantly faster than the caged pats, with the largest difference occurring within 2 d of pat deposition. A diverse community contributes to dung degradation in rangelands, and their early colonization is key to maximizing this ecosystem service

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