Dung beetle activity has been associated with decreased time of dung pat decomposition, higher forage yield, and increased nutrient incorporation in soil. The objectives of the experiment were to test methods of assessing dung beetle colonization and evaluate the quantity and type dung beetles colonizing dung pat. This experiment is part of a larger project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Barta Brothers ranch, evaluating how dung beetles influence dung rate of dung pat decomposition, greenhouse gas flux, and soil nutrient dynamics. Dung pat, 20-cm in diameter, were placed in the field with or without screen to exclude dung beetles in Harvest time 1-6(days 1 through 56) replications. Dung pat were harvested after 4 days harvest time 2 days and tested for dung beetle presence using several methods. The methods were manual search, flotation, manual search before flotation, flotation followed by search in supernatant, and manual search plus flotation plus search in supernatant. The results showed that flotation followed by search of supernatant to be fastest and most effective method to quantify dung beetle number and type. Funds for this project were provided by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA).
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.