Influence of climatic factors on the flight time of coprophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

• Grant number: 05/01670-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Technical Training Program - Technical Training
• Start date: September 01, 2005
• End date: February 28, 2006
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Alberto Hector Flechtmann
• Grantee: Fernando Luiz Nunes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 03/11248-1 - Influence of climatic factors on the flight time of coprophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), AP.R

Abstract

Scarabaeidae beetles present a variety of food habits, including coprophagy. Beetles with this habit are of great importance for they remove from the pasture and dig in cow pads, and so improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil; in addition they are biological control agents of bovine parasites. More recently, these beetles are also being used as biological indicators of habitat degradation. Several species fly at night, while other are crepuscular and/or early evening flyers, and by means of this activity they locate their food, the dung pads. Several abiotic factors may play a role in the flight, where the most important are temperature (air, soil), relative humidity (air, soil), wind speed, rainfall and atmospheric pressure. Despite the economic and ecological importance of these beetles, these are little researched in Brazil. The main objectives of this experiment are to determine the flight time of species of coprophagous Scarabaeidae occurring in pasture area in Selviria, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and to determine the influence of the abiotic factors on the regulation of this flight.