Natural history data for Nicrophorus orbicollis

Burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus have become a model for studying the evolution of complex parental care in a laboratory. Nicrophorus species depend on small vertebrate carcasses to breed, which they process and provision to their begging offspring. However, vertebrate carcasses are highly sought after by a wide variety of species and so competition is expected to be critical to the evolution of parental care. Despite this, the competitive environment for Nicrophorus is rarely characterized in the wild and remains a missing factor in laboratory studies. Here, we performed a systematic sampling of Nicrophorus orbicollis living near the southern extent of their range at Whitehall Forest in Clarke County, Georgia, USA. We determined the density of N. orbicollis and other necrophilous species that may affect the availability of this breeding resource through interference or exploitation competition. In addition, we characterize body size, a key trait involved in competitive ability,..., ,埋葬甲属（Nicrophorus）昆虫已成为实验室研究复杂双亲照料行为演化的经典模式生物。该属物种依赖小型脊椎动物尸体完成繁殖，它们会对尸体进行处理并饲喂求食的幼虫。然而，脊椎动物尸体会被众多物种竞相争夺，因此种间竞争被认为是双亲照料行为演化的关键驱动因素。尽管如此，目前极少有研究对埋葬甲在野外的竞争环境进行系统性表征，这也仍是实验室研究中缺失的关键环节。本研究针对美国佐治亚州克拉克县怀特霍尔森林（Whitehall Forest）内、分布范围南部边缘的斑埋葬甲（Nicrophorus orbicollis）开展了系统性采样，调查了该物种以及其他食尸性（necrophilous）物种的种群密度——这些物种可通过干扰竞争或利用竞争影响该繁殖资源的可获得性。此外，我们还对影响竞争能力的关键性状——体型大小进行了表征，……