Dung beetles use their dung ball as a mobile thermal refuge
Smolka, Jochen LU ; Baird, Emily LU ; Byrne, Marcus ; el Jundi, Basil LU ; Warrant, Eric LU
and Dacke, Marie
LU
(2012)
In Current Biology
22(20).
p.863-864
- Abstract
- At midday, surface temperatures in the desert often exceed 60°C. To be active at this time, animals need extraordinary behavioural or physiological adaptations. Desert ants, for instance, spend up to 75% of their foraging time cooling down on elevated thermal refuges such as grass stalks [1]. Ball-rolling dung beetles work under similar thermal conditions in South African savannahs. After landing at a fresh dung pile, a beetle quickly forms a dung ball and rolls it away in a straight line, head down, walking backwards [2]. Earlier studies have shown that some dung beetles maintain an elevated body temperature to gain a competitive advantage [3], [4] and [5], and that heat shunting may prevent overheating during flight [6] and [7]. However,... (More)
- At midday, surface temperatures in the desert often exceed 60°C. To be active at this time, animals need extraordinary behavioural or physiological adaptations. Desert ants, for instance, spend up to 75% of their foraging time cooling down on elevated thermal refuges such as grass stalks [1]. Ball-rolling dung beetles work under similar thermal conditions in South African savannahs. After landing at a fresh dung pile, a beetle quickly forms a dung ball and rolls it away in a straight line, head down, walking backwards [2]. Earlier studies have shown that some dung beetles maintain an elevated body temperature to gain a competitive advantage [3], [4] and [5], and that heat shunting may prevent overheating during flight [6] and [7]. However, we know little about the behavioural strategies beetles might employ to mitigate heat stress while rolling their dung balls. Using infrared thermography and behavioural experiments, we show here that dung beetles use their dung ball as a mobile thermal refuge onto which they climb to cool down while rolling across hot soil. We further demonstrate that the moist ball functions not only as a portable platform, but also as a heat sink, which effectively cools the beetle as it rolls or climbs onto it. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3132015
- author
- Smolka, Jochen
LU
; Baird, Emily
LU
; Byrne, Marcus
; el Jundi, Basil
LU
; Warrant, Eric
LU
and Dacke, Marie
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2012
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Dung beetles, thermoregulation, thermal refuge, Scarabeidae, Scarabaeinae
- in
- Current Biology
- volume
- 22
- issue
- 20
- pages
- 863 - 864
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000311882600006
- scopus:84867831802
- pmid:23098590
- ISSN
- 1879-0445
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cub.2012.08.057
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- d9ff0078-ba95-488b-a5a8-fefe464465ed (old id 3132015)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 11:01:17
- date last changed
- 2024-05-06 03:14:16
@article{d9ff0078-ba95-488b-a5a8-fefe464465ed,
abstract = {{At midday, surface temperatures in the desert often exceed 60°C. To be active at this time, animals need extraordinary behavioural or physiological adaptations. Desert ants, for instance, spend up to 75% of their foraging time cooling down on elevated thermal refuges such as grass stalks [1]. Ball-rolling dung beetles work under similar thermal conditions in South African savannahs. After landing at a fresh dung pile, a beetle quickly forms a dung ball and rolls it away in a straight line, head down, walking backwards [2]. Earlier studies have shown that some dung beetles maintain an elevated body temperature to gain a competitive advantage [3], [4] and [5], and that heat shunting may prevent overheating during flight [6] and [7]. However, we know little about the behavioural strategies beetles might employ to mitigate heat stress while rolling their dung balls. Using infrared thermography and behavioural experiments, we show here that dung beetles use their dung ball as a mobile thermal refuge onto which they climb to cool down while rolling across hot soil. We further demonstrate that the moist ball functions not only as a portable platform, but also as a heat sink, which effectively cools the beetle as it rolls or climbs onto it.}},
author = {{Smolka, Jochen and Baird, Emily and Byrne, Marcus and el Jundi, Basil and Warrant, Eric and Dacke, Marie}},
issn = {{1879-0445}},
keywords = {{Dung beetles; thermoregulation; thermal refuge; Scarabeidae; Scarabaeinae}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{20}},
pages = {{863--864}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Current Biology}},
title = {{Dung beetles use their dung ball as a mobile thermal refuge}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/2307625/3132016.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.cub.2012.08.057}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2012}},
}