Anthelmintics, veterinary medicines for the control of endoparasites, enter into the environment largely through faeces of the treated animals. Sheep dung is a patchily distributed, ephemeral resource, with a functionally important decomposer community. The nature of this community and the pharmacokinetics of anthelmintics in sheep mean that the ecotoxic impacts of these drugs in sheep dung may...

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...

Fresh cattle dung is a nutrient-rich habitat that is quickly colonized by a speciose and abundant assemblage of organisms. The ease with which this habitat is manipulated by using artificially formed pats (size, shape, site, and time of deposition), the speed of community succession, and the complex interactions among its diverse inhabitants combine to make the dung pat a model ecosystem for sc...

The coprophagous fauna associated with the mammals of Africa plays an important role in the recycling of nutrients and in the destruction of the habitat of many dung breeding flies [1], The failure of this process has been recorded in Australia where cattle were introduced without the associated insect fauna, resulting in the deteriora­ tion of the pastures [2] and the uncontrolled increase of ...

An experiment was performed during the grazing seasons of 1998, 1999 and 2000 to study the influence of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin and the nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans on cattle dung disintegration. The faeces originated from groups of animals that were part of a separate grazing experiment where different control strategies for nematode parasite infections were investigate...

The increasing rate of woody plant encroachment in grasslands or savannas remains a challenge to livestock farmers. The causes and control measures of woody plant encroachment are of common interest, especially where it negatively affects the objectives of an agricultural enterprise. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of gut passage (goats, cattle), dung (nutrients), fir...

Agriculture is one of the largest anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs), with dairy and beef production accounting for nearly two-thirds of emissions. Several recent papers suggest that dung beetles may affect fluxes of GHGs from cattle farming. Here, we put these previous findings into context. Using Finland as an example, we assessed GHG emissions at three scales: the dung pat, pas...

Submission Form Title: Does cattle dung determine differences in germination responses of grazing increasers vs decreasers? Author(s): Carlos P. Carmona, Francisco M. Azcárate & Begoña Peco Institutional Affiliations: Department of Ecology. Universidad Autónoma. Madrid. Spain

Agriculture is one of the largest anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs), with dairy and beef production accounting for nearly two-thirds of emissions. Several recent papers suggest that dung beetles may affect fluxes of GHGs from cattle farming. Here, we put these previous findings into context. Using Finland as an example, we assessed GHG emissions at three scales: the dung pat, pas...