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Assembly of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) Inhabiting Sheep Droppings in the Northern Spurs of the Manchurian-Korean Mountains (Russian Far East)

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Abstract

An assembly of dung beetles from sheep droppings in the northern spurs of the Manchurian-Korean Mountains (Primorsky krai) has been studied. Data on the species composition, population dynamics, abundance, and biomass of dung beetles are presented. A comparison of assemblies of dung beetles inhabiting sheep droppings of the northern spurs of the Manchurian-Korean Mountains and the South Sikhote-Alin Mountains shows that, despite the fact that both groups were formed based on one local fauna and have the same number of species, their taxonomic structure and dynamic (seasonal) aspects are quite different. Differences in the species composition and composition of trophodynamic groups are due to specific features of the geographic location, different weather and climatic conditions, grazing regimes, differences in the composition of animals being grazed, as well as historical factors of the formation and dynamics of beetle assemblies. Weather conditions, as a factor influencing the rehydration of sheep droppings, determine dynamic processes in assemblies and limit the penetration of certain species into the Sikhote-Alin Mountain system. The small size of sheep excrements, which are both trophic and topical resources, determines the high transformation rate of the substrate and the distribution of species according to the hypothesis of niche overlap. The overlapping of niches in species from the same trophodynamic groups leads to a shift in the timing of the imaginal activity of certain species.

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  1. Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 690022, Vladivostok, Russia

    S. A. Shabalin

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Correspondence to S. A. Shabalin.

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Translated by K. Lazarev

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Shabalin, S.A. Assembly of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) Inhabiting Sheep Droppings in the Northern Spurs of the Manchurian-Korean Mountains (Russian Far East). Contemp. Probl. Ecol. 14, 500–514 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995425521050140

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