TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL PATTERNS OF RESOURCE USE AMONG NICROPHORUS CARRION BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: SILPHIDAE) IN A SPHAGNUM BOG AND ADJACENT FOREST NEAR OTTAWA, CANADA

Abstract

AbstractThis study examines reproductive resource acquisition and utilization among Nicrophorus carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in two different and adjacent habitats. The proportion of small carrion resource (dead mice, Mus musculus L.) used by Nicrophorus and other scavengers in a Sphagnum bog did not differ significantly from that used in a nearby forest. Among congeneric Nicrophorus, N. vespilloides Herbst reproduced on small carrion exclusively in the Sphagnum bog, whereas a closely related species, N. defodiens Mannerheim, reproduced only in the nearby mixed forest. Nicrophorus sayi Laporte, N. orbicollis Say, and N. tomentosus Weber were rarely associated with small carrion resource in the bog, and reproduced primarily in the forest during the spring, summer, and fall, respectively. A significant positive correlation between brood size and weight of larval carrion resource was found for N. vespilloides.