Volatile-mediated behavioural preferences in the chemical ecology of dung beetles: a review

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Abstract

Abstract: Dung beetles are important processors of animal faeces in terrestrial ecosystems and especially in pastoral agriculture.
Volatiles emitted from different types of vertebrate dung are diverse and play a crucial role in attraction of dung
beetles. A great deal of previous research into dung beetles has focused on their ecosystem services, biology, and ecology.
In this review we consider the role of dung volatile compounds (VOCs) in olfactory ecology of dung beetles. We focus on
the main dung volatile organic constituents reported in the literature, their attractiveness and the ecological significance for
dung beetle behavioural responses as well as the olfactory apparatus. We report 69 VOCs in total from dung beetle-related
studies along with their potential involvement in modifying dung beetle behaviour. Behavioural studies reported here are a
combination of laboratory and field-based studies, and we have incorporated information on the antennal sensilla of dung
beetles for the first time. We conclude that current knowledge transcends a foundation of fundamental knowledge of the
chemical ecology of dung beetles, by offering scope to employ synthetic compounds as baits in trapping systems in which
they offer improved efficiency and standardisation in monitoring this important group of ecosystem service providers.
Original languageEnglish
Article number10.1127/entomologia/2024/2642
JournalEntomologia Generalis
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2024

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