The value of the dung of game animals as a larval habitat for Culicoides species was briefly investigated in 1973/74 in the Kruger National Park, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa. A total of 4 species in the subgenus Avaritia was reared, 3 from elephant dung, 2 from zebra dung and 1 from the dung of buffalo. These early studies have recently led to more intensive rearing and a better underst...

Agriculture is one of the largest contributors of the anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) responsible for global warming. Measurements of gas fluxes from dung pats suggest that dung is a source of GHGs, but whether these emissions are modified by arthropods has not been studied. A closed chamber system was used to measure the fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2...

The face fly was introduced from the Palearctic region and spread across North America in 20 years after World War II. Adults feed on cattle and horses, and larvae develop in fresh cattle dung. Little genetic differentiation appears between European and North American populations and among regions within North America. After an autumnally initiated diapause, overwintered flies emerge in spring ...

The immune system is costly to maintain and use [1], and because organisms are resource limited, the allocation of resources to immune function should trade-off against other fitness components [1,2]. While flexible resource allocation indicative of trade-offs is evident in several taxa, and correlational and phenotypic evidence suggests immune investment often trades-off against reproduction [...

During last two decades studies on endozoochorous seed dispersal indicated that a large numbers of plant seeds are potentially dispersed and suceefully germinated via animal dung. However, very little is known about the relative importance of endozoochory in germination success of plant species in semi-steppe rangelands. In this paper we examined dung germinating seed content, seed deposition p...

Guilds of dung dwelling and tunneling dung beetles coexist in local assemblages in warm temperate regions, despite the tendency of dwellers to be inferior competitors. A field experiment on the Black Sea coast of Turkey examined the role of temporal resource partitioning in their coexistence. Standardized dung pads deposited at 4 h intervals through a 24 h period in summer were collected 12, 24...

Abstract The genus Xenanoetus Mahunka, 1969, only described by the hypopial stage, is characterised an enlarged gnathosoma, presence of double claws in legs I, II and III addition to remarkably broadened femur genu I II, particularly visible lateral view. Only five species from this have been they are all northern hemisphere. Hypopi generally found as phoretic on Sphaeroceridae flies Hydrophili...

The effects of cabbage waste (CW) addition on methane production in cow dung and corn straw co-fermentation systems were investigated. Four experimental groups, each containing 55 g of substrate, were set up as follows: 100% cow dung (C); 36% cabbage and 64% cow dung (CC); 36% straw and 64% cow dung (SC); and 18% cabbage, 18% straw, and 64% cow dung (CSC). After seven days of fermentation, the ...

Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in three landscapes in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Dung Beetles are important for biological control of intestinal worms and dipterans of economic importance to cattle, because they feed and breed in dung, killing parasites inside it. They are also very useful as bioindicators of species diversity in agricultural or natural environments. The aims of this...

BACKGROUND African trypansomiases of humans and animals can be controlled by attacking the vectors, various species of tsetse fly. Treatment of cattle with pyrethroids to kill tsetse as they feed is the most cost-effective method. However, such treatments can contaminate cattle dung, thereby killing the fauna which disperse the dung and so play an important role in soil fertility. Hence there i...