Graduate Student University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois
Dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) occupy a unique ecological niche depending on the dung of other organisms (largely mammals) for nurture and reproduction. This dependence, together with their diversity and near-global distribution, gave rise to the idea that dung beetle diversification might at least partly have been fuelled by the diversity of available mammalian dung producers. However, whether and to what degree this is true has been difficult to establish with certainty. Here, we employ environment-dependent diversification models in order to test whether past mammal diversity over time – as estimated from the fossil record – may have influenced dung beetle speciation and extinction rates. Beyond that, we discuss the limits and caveats of these approaches and possible future avenues in answering this question.
