Whose poos do northeastern Ohio dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) choose?

Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) are primarily scavengers of decomposing material but are especially reliant on animal feces. While dung beetles have been identified as promising ecological indicators, there has been little work to investigate the associations of dung beetles with native fauna, constraining our understanding of the role of dung beetles in the broader context of the ecosystems in which they naturally exist. To learn more about diet breadth and preference of Northeastern Ohio dung beetles, we assessed their attraction to a range of baits, including mushrooms and nine types of Ohio native animal dung at two forested sites over the course of two summers during 2021–2022. Placing dung beetles in the context of the native fauna they rely on for dung provides a basis for understanding the role of dung beetles in non-agricultural ecosystems. Here we carry out the important first steps in assessing dung beetle and native fauna associations by investigating dung beetle attraction and preference to a wide variety of naturally occurring bait types.