Dung beetles in South American pasturelands / Besouros rola-bostas em pastagens sul-americanas

Abstract Pasturelands are characterized as grasslands utilized for cattle raising and consist of natural or exotic vegetation, predominantly grasses. In the context of sustainable production, the biodiversity of insects within grazing environments holds significant value. Dung beetles play a crucial role in sustaining pasturelands as the burial of feces by these beetles fosters ecological services indispensable for maintaining a robust and healthy environment. Given that different dung beetle species contribute to distinct environmental benefits, a comprehensive understanding of the species present in pasturelands, their origins, and the ecological services they provide is imperative. This study endeavors to compile comprehensive information on dung beetle species native to South America, emphasizing taxonomic precision and a confirmed affinity for cattle dung. Our findings are derived from a synthesis of literature and observational data, incorporating location information obtained from taxonomic revisions and specimen labels of specimens housed at CEMT. In South America, a total of 57 dung beetle species are documented that inhabit grazing areas and actively feed on cattle manure. These areas span diverse biomes encompassing native and/or introduced grasslands, which may include deforested sections within forest biomes such as Chaco, Pantanal, Cerrado, Caatinga, Pampa, Atlantic Forest, Amazon Forest, Paramo, Puna, Llanos, and Patagonia. The preponderance of species identified fall within the paracoprid category, recognized as particularly vital for the sustainability of pasturelands. Despite their acknowledged importance, a noticeable knowledge gap impedes the effective conservation of these species. This gap is a focal point of discussion in this study, addressing the challenges and opportunities for enhancing conservation efforts. The species documented in this research exhibit notable economic and environmental relevance in the context of sustainable livestock production, emphasizing the urgency and significance of initiatives that prioritize their conservation.

Resumo Pastagens são áreas formadas por vegetação nativa ou exótica, principalmente gramíneas, e são utilizadas na pecuária. A diversidade de insetos em áreas de pastagens é muito valiosa, especialmente quando consideramos os métodos de produção sustentável. Besouros rola-bostas são importantes para a sustentabilidade em pastagens porque o enterrio de esterco promove benefícios essenciais para a manutenção do ambiente pastoril. Espécies diferentes exercem diferentes serviços ecossistêmicos, logo é necessário saber quais espécies estão presentes em áreas de pastoreio para saber quais são os benefícios que elas podem proporcionar. Aqui reunimos todas as informações disponíveis para as espécies taxonomicamente bem definidas de rola-bostas nativos da América do Sul e que são conhecidas por utilizar fezes bovinas como recurso para alimentação e nidificação. Usamos dados encontrados na literatura, em observações de campo e em etiquetas de espécimes depositados na CEMT. São registradas 57 espécies de rola-bostas nativos da América do Sul que se alimentam e nidificam em fezes bovinas, e estas estão distribuídas nos seguintes biomas: Chaco, Pantanal, Cerrado, Caatinga, Pampa, áreas abertas da Mata Atlântica e da Floresta Amazônia, Paramo, Puna, Llanos e Patagônia. A maioria das espécies são de paracoprídeos e estes são considerados os mais importantes para as áreas de pastagem. No entanto, existe uma grande lacuna de conhecimento em história natural, o que dificulta a efetividade da conservação dessas espécies. Todas as espécies listadas neste trabalho têm potencial relevância econômica e ambiental na pecuária sustentável e, portanto, o estudo e conservação delas devem ser priorizadas.

Dung beetles from two sustainable-use protected forests in the Brazilian Amazon.

Background: The Amazon Forest is one of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems and yet its protected areas are understudied concerning insects and other invertebrates. These organisms are essential for tropical forests due to their ecological processes, with some species being very sensitive to habitat disturbances. Dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) have been used as bioindicators for more than 30 years and were surveyed to assess the insect biodiversity of two sustainable-use forest reserves in the Brazilian Amazon. New information: We report inventories of dung beetles from two Amazonian forest reserves in Pará State, Brazil: the Tapajós National Forest and the Carajás National Forest. Surveys were carried out with baited-pitfall traps installed in 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2019. We collected a total of 3,772 individuals from 19 genera and 96 species. We highlight the importance of Amazonian protected areas as refugia for insect biodiversity, particularly dung beetles, which contribute to many key ecosystem processes.

Factors Affecting the Composition and Succession of Beetles in Exposed Pig Carcasses in Southern Brazil.

Coleoptera is one of the largest taxon among animals and exhibits diverse eating habits. When associated with decaying corpses, beetles can be of great value in estimating the postmortem interval. In order to consolidate a useful database for the forensic field, it is necessary to study the entomological fauna associated with the carcasses in different geographical regions since the diversity of insects varies according to the biogeoclimate zone. Thus, this study aimed to assess the influence of environmental and ecological factors on the composition and succession of beetles associated with pig carcasses exposed in southern Brazil. Collections were carried out during the hot/dry and cold/wet seasons. A total of 415 specimens belonging to 18 Coleoptera families were sampled. The highest total abundance (n = 329) and diversity (n = 44 taxa) were recorded in the cold/wet season, corresponding to approximately 80% of the total sampled from the two seasons. Dermestidae (26.7%) was the family most abundantly sampled. Regarding eating habits, in an increasing order of importance were necrophagous (43.3%), predator (31.6%), and omnivorous (0.05%). In the hot/dry season, there was no faunal succession. In the cold/wet season, the succession was more associated with differences in abundance than to the presence or absence of a specific taxon by decomposition stage. Considering all the factors analyzed in the current study, three species of beetles, Dermestes maculatus DeGeer (Dermestidae), Euspilotus azureus (Sahlberg, 1823) (Histeridae), and Oxelytrum discicolle Brullé, 1840 (Silphidae), could be identified as being of the greatest forensic relevance in this biogeoclimatic zone.

A new species of Polynoncus Burmeister (Coleoptera: Trogidae) from Argentina.

Trogidae (Coleoptera) is a cosmopolitan family with about 350 described species within five extant genera (Zídek 2013, 2017; Strümpher et al. 2014, 2016; Nikolajev 2016). For South American, three genera are recorded: Trox Fabricius, 1775 (Troginae), Omorgus Erichson, 1847 (Omorginae), and Polynoncus Burmeister, 1876 (Omorginae) (Scholtz 1990; Strumpher et al. 2016; Huchet Costa-Silva 2018).

A new species of Polynoncus Burmeister, 1876 from Brazil (Coleoptera: Trogidae).

Polynoncus vazdemelloi Huchet Costa-Silva new species (Coleoptera: Trogidae) from Brazil is described and illustrated with data about the natural history and geographic distribution. Comparative data between P. vazdemelloi, P. juglans (Ratcliffe, 1978), and P. gemmingeri (Harold, 1872), species closely related morphologically, are given. Omorgus (Omorgus) triestinae Pittino, 1987 is removed from synonymy with O. (O.) suberosus (Fabricius, 1775) and reinstated as a valid species.

Redescription and new records of Ontholestes brasilianus Bernhauer, 1906 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae).

The genus Ontholestes Ganglbauer includes 35 species distributed mainly in Eurasia, with a few additional species in Africa and North and South America (Herman, 2001; Yang Zhou, 2012; Smetana Shavrin, 2013; Rougemont, 2016). According to Asenjo et al. (2013), the South American record of the Palearctic species Ontholestes murinus (Linnaeus, 1758) for Brazil made by J. Guérin (1953) seems doubtful. Ontholestes murinus was recorded for the first time outside the Palaearctic region by Smetana (1981), from Newfoundland, in Canada, as an adventive species (e.g., Downie and Arnett, 1996; Brunke et al., 2011), but its occurrence in Brazil remains to be confirmed; if the Guérin (1953) record was based on a mistaken identification or mislabeled specimen, this would reduce the number of species distributed in this region from two to one. With respect to O. brasilianus Bernhauer, although it has been confirmed for Peru, Brazil and Argentina (Herman, 2001; Asenjo et al., 2013; Newton, 2015; Newton Caron, 2015), no specific localities of occurrence have been reported since its description in 1906. Thus, to solve problems of misidentification with Neotropical species of this genus, in this study we redescribe Ontholestes brasilianus and provide the first illustrations of the beetle including its aedeagus and a short key for South American species. Additionally, new records from South America are listed here.

Experimental Infection with Sporulated Oocysts of Eimeria maxima (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) in Broiler.

Through this study we assessed the metabolic and pathological changes in broilers experimentally infected with oocysts of Eimeria maxima. To perform the experiment, we used 150 broiler strain cooB males, with ten days of age, were randomized according to weight and randomly assigned to two experimental groups: the control group was inoculated with 0.5 mL of distilled water; the infected group inoculated with 0.5 mL of solution containing 5 × 10(4) sporulated oocysts of Eimeria maxima. The live performance was evaluated on day 0 (day of inoculation), 5°, 10°, 15°, 25°, and 35° dpi, being slaughtered by cervical dislocation, fifteen birds/group. Although the sum in meat production was higher in the control group, the weight of the heart and gizzard of the experimental animals showed no significant difference, while the liver had difference on day 5°, 15°, and 35° dpi. The pathologic evaluation showed congested mucosa and presence of large amounts of mucus at 6 dpi. Therefore, it is concluded that the dose of 5 × 10(4) E. maxima inoculated in the experimental group was enough to cause harm to the animal organism.