ASSEMBLAGES OF DUNG BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEOIDEA) LIVING IN THE DUNG OF WILD ANIMALS IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST. COMMUNICATION 1. INHABITANTS OF THE DUNG OF THE SIKA DEER (CERVUS NIPPON)

In the south of the Russian Far East an assembly of dung beetles inhabiting sika deer dung has been studied.Data on the species composition, population dynamics, and number and biomass of the dung beetles are presented.Comparisons of assemblies of dung beetles that inhabit wild and domestic mammals show that the species composition of these assemblies as well as the dynamic processes taking place in them have significant differences.This is expressed in a richer species composition and number of species in individual functional groups in cow dung, and poor species composition in sika deer dung, in differences in dominant species, features of the seasonal distribution of abundance and biomass (including peak values of these indicators for individual functional groups of dung beetles), and aggregate indicators of overlap of temporal aspects ecological niches of coprophilous Coleoptera.