Dung removal increases under higher dung beetle functional diversity regardless of grazing intensification.

Dung removal by macrofauna such as dung beetles is an important process for nutrient cycling in pasturelands. Intensification of farming practices generally reduces species and functional diversity of terrestrial invertebrates, which may negatively affect ecosystem services. Here, we investigate the effects of cattle-grazing intensification on dung removal by dung beetles in field experiments replicated in 38 pastures around the world.

Linking functional group richness and ecosystem functions of dung beetles: an experimental quantification.

Dung beetles form an insect group that fulfils important functions in terrestrial ecosystems throughout the world. These include nutrient cycling through dung removal, soil bioturbation, plant growth, secondary seed dispersal and parasite control. We conducted field experiments at two sites in the northern hemisphere temperate region in which dung removal and secondary seed dispersal were assessed.

Importance of autonomous selfing is inversely related to population size and pollinator availability in a monocarpic plant.

Premise Of The Study: In animal-pollinated plants, autonomous selfing may provide reproductive assurance when pollinators or reproductive partners are limited. Under such circumstances, the contribution of pollinator-mediated seed set to total seed production also may be more variable compared with situations in which pollinator abundances are high or populations consist of large numbers of individuals. Despite the widespread acceptance of the reproductive assurance hypothesis, only limited empirical evidence exists that autonomous selfing confers reproductive output and guarantees constant seed set under variable pollination environments.

Patch quality and connectivity influence spatial dynamics in a dune wolfspider.

The spatial population dynamics of the wolfspider Pardosa monticola, inhabiting patchily distributed grasslands in the Flemish coastal dunes of Belgium and Northern France were investigated with incidence function models using field survey data from 1998 and 2000. Vegetation height and patch size were related to habitat quality. Mark-recapture experiments revealed maximum cursorial dispersal distances of 280 m for moss dunes and 185 m for higher dune grassland.