Date of Award

Summer 2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Program/Concentration

Biology

Committee Director

Deborah A. Wailer

Committee Member

John R. Holsinger

Committee Member

Kerry S. Kilburn

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.B46 S56 2010

Abstract

Carrion beetles (Silphidae) are important in the decomposition of carcasses in ecosystems. Two subfamilies, Nicrophorinae and Silphinae, differ in reproductive behaviors. The Nicrophinae, burying beetles, bury small carcasses to serve as food for the adults and their offspring. The Silphinae oviposit near larger carcasses. There is intense competition among all carrion beetles and other carrion feeders for carcasses, and beetle species have evolved seasonal activity patterns that minimize competition, such as when they are active and when they reproduce. Northern Silphidae communities are more diverse than southern communities, probably due to increased competition for carrion in the south.

This research focused on the Silphidae in the Blackwater Ecologic Preserve (BEP), a long leaf pine habitat in southeastern Virginia. One objective was to determine whether the carrion beetle community structure was more similar to the northern or the southern fauna. Northern habitats tend to support habitat generalists and habitat specialists, whereas southern habitats tend to support habitat generalists. A second objective was to determine if carrion beetles of both subfamilies at BEP differ in seasonal patterns as they do in other studies. A third objective concerned beetle response to prescribed burns at BEP with the expectation that open habitat species might prefer burned areas. Finally, beetle dispersal ability and the effect of different trapping methods on beetle catch were investigated.

Three Nicrophorinae and four Silphinae species were collected at BEP. One Silphinae has a northern distribution but the other species occur throughout the eastern United States. Each species had a distinct seasonal pattern similar to that reported previously. One Silphinae, an open habitat species, was found primarily in burned areas but the other species were collected more frequently in unburned forest. In the mark/recapture study, no marked beetles returned to traps, which is consistent with literature reports that beetles cannot detect carrion beyond a few meters. Three Nicrophorinae species and one Silphinae species were primarily in tree traps. One Silphinae species was abundant in both tree and ground traps, and two Silphinae species were collected exclusively in ground traps. Future studies should include a variety of trapping methods and trap locations.

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DOI

10.25777/qwq9-by19

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