Niche differentiation of burying beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorinae) in carcass use in relation to body size : Estimation from stable isotope analysis

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Adult burying beetles use the carcasses of small vertebrates for food and breeding their young. Some species are known to have optimum carcass sizes related to their body sizes, but their carcass use is difficult to observe in situ. We explored their size-related niche differentiation in carcass resource using stable isotope analysis. The largest Nicrophorus species in Japan (N. concolor) showed the highest δ^<15>N, and the smallest Nicrophorus species in Japan (N. montivagus) showed the lowest δ^<13>C and δ^<15>N among all Nicrophorus species, suggesting that their niches are differentiated from those of other species in carcass resource. We also revealed a positive correlation between δ^<15>N and body size. Ptomascopus morio showed significantly higher δ^<15>N than all studied Nicrophorus species. This species does not show parental care behavior and the adults may feed on quite different resources from Nicrophorus species.
日本応用動物昆虫学会の論文
2006-11-25