Dung midden
Dung middens, also known as dung hills,[1] are piles of dung that mammals periodically return to and build up.[2] They are used as a form of territorial marker. A range of animals are known to use them including steenbok,[3] hyrax[4] (the dung beetle genus Dicranocara of the Richtersveld in South western Africa spends its whole lifecycle in close association with hyrax dung middens) and rhinoceros.[5] Other animals such as beetles are attracted to them for a variety of purposes. This can include food as well as a location to find a mate.[5] Dung often contains pollen which means fossilised dung middens can be used to learn about past climates.[6][7][8] Paleobotany relies on the fact that each ecosystem is characterised by certain plants, which in turn act as a proxy for climate.[9]
References
- ↑ The New Encyclopaedia of Mammals D MacDonald 2002 Oxford ISBN 0-19-850823-9
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Cohen, Michael. 1976. The Steenbok: A neglected species. Custos (April 1976): 23–26.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
 |
This ethology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
.png){kind=small} |
This article about a mammal is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
