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Diurnal Activity Rhythms and Niche Differentiation in a Carrion Beetle Assemblage (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in Opava, the Czech Republic
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2001
Year
BiologyTerrestrial ArthropodDiurnal ActivityPlant-insect InteractionNatural SciencesInsect ConservationEntomologyEvolutionary BiologyCzech RepublicDiurnal Activity RhythmsInterspecific Behavioral InteractionDiurnal Activity PatternsTropical Insect ScienceForest EntomologyNiche DifferentiationInsect Social Behavior
Abstract Diurnal activity rhythms of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) were investigated in the surroundings of Opava in the Czech Republic. Beetles were collected in automatic pitfall traps at two-hour catch intervals during three one-month periods in spring (May), summer (July) and autumn (October) in forest and meadow habitats. Five Nicrophorinae species: N. vespillo, N. vespilloides, N. humator, N. fossor and N. investigator and three Silphinae species: Thanatophilus sinuatus, T. rugosus and Oiceoptoma thoracica occurred in the study sites. T. sinuatus, T. rugosus and O. Thoracica showed exclusively diurnal activity patterns. N. fossor and N. investigator were active from the late afternoon to the nightfall. The other carrion beetles did not show a restricted pattern of diurnal activity. Patterns of temporal utilisation among species were compared using Levins¹ measure of niche breadth and Horn's index of niche overlap. Lower niche overlap was found between species with different habitat preference. During the autumn period niche release was observed, due to lesser competition for carrion with species that only need feeding before hibernation.