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

1. ^ The New Encyclopaedia of Mammals D MacDonald 2002 Oxford ISBN 0-19-850823-9
2. ^ Payne, Ben. "Glossary". http://www.benpayne.com/html/Glossary.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-15. "Dung midden : Pile of droppings that grows through consistent returns. Used as a territory marker in connection with scent-marking." 
3. ^ Cohen, Michael. 1976. The Steenbok: A neglected species. Custos (April 1976): 23–26.
4. ^ Scott, L.; B. Cooremans (1992). "Pollen in Recent Procavia (Hyrax), Petromus (Dassie Rat) and Bird Dung in South Africa". Journal of Biogeography (Journal of Biogeography, Vol. 19, No. 2) 19 (2): 205–215. doi:10.2307/2845506. JSTOR 2845506. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Burger, B. V.; W. G. B. Petersen1, W. G. Weber1 and Z. M. Munro (2002). "Semiochemicals of the Scarabaeinae. VII: Identification and Synthesis of EAD-Active Constituents of Abdominal Sex Attracting Secretion of the Male Dung Beetle, Kheper subaeneus". Journal of Chemical Ecology (Springer) 28 (12): 2527–2539. doi:10.1023/A:1021440220329. PMID 12564798. 
6. ^ Scott, L.; J. C. Vogel (1992). "Short-term changes of climate and vegetation revealed by pollen analysis of hyrax dung in South Africa". Review of palaeobotany and palynology 74 (3–4): 283–291. doi:10.1016/0034-6667(92)90012-6. 
7. ^ Gil-Romera, Graciela; Louis Scott, Eugène Marais, George A. Brook (2006). "Middle-to late-Holocene moisture changes in the desert of northwest Namibia derived from fossil hyrax dung pollen". The Holocene (Sage) 16 (8): 1073–1084. doi:10.1177/0959683606069397. 
8. ^ Carrión, Jose S.; Louis Scott, John C. Vogel (1999). "Twentieth century changes in montane vegetation in the eastern Free State, South Africa, derived from palynology of hyrax dung middens". Journal of Quaternary Science (Wiley) 14 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1417(199902)14:1<1::AID-JQS412>3.0.CO;2-Y. 
9. ^ Coetzee, J. A. (November 7, 1964). "Evidence for a Considerable Depression of the Vegetation Belts during the Upper Pleistocene on the East African Mountains". Nature (Nature Publishing Group) 204 (4958): 564–566. doi:10.1038/204564a0. 

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This article about a mammal is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Ethology Ethology stubs Mammal stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Savannah State University College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Calung Look at other dictionaries: midden — (n.) mid 14c., dung hill, of Scandinavian origin; Cf. Dan. mèdding, from mèg muck (see MUCK (Cf. muck) (n.)) + dynge heap of dung (see DUNG (Cf. dung)). Modern archaeological sense of kitchen midden is from Danish excavations …   Etymology dictionary Midden — Mid den, n. [Also {midding}.] [Cf. Dan. m[ o]gdynge, E. muck, and dung.] [1913 Webster] 1. A dunghill. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster] 2. An accumulation of refuse about a dwelling place; especially, an accumulation of shells or of cinders, bones,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English midden — noun Etymology: Middle English midding, Old Norse *mykdyngja, from myki dung + dyngja manure pile more at dung Date: 14th century 1. dunghill 2. a. a refuse heap; especially kitchen midden b. a small pile (as of seeds, bones, or leaves) gathered… …   New Collegiate Dictionary midden — I Everyday English Slang in Ireland n a sloppy person II Scottish Vernacular Dictionary The waste disposal area or bin. When ah catch ye ah m gony stick mah truncheon up yer arse! III Glesga Glossary Rubbish Site, bin, IV Cleveland Dialect List a …   English dialects glossary dung — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. excrement, manure, droppings. See excretion. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. offal, excrement, manure, guano, fertilizer, night soil, compost, droppings, excreta, chips, pellets, spoor, evidence, leavings,… …   English dictionary for students midden —   n. dung or refuse heap …   Dictionary of difficult words Steenbok — Taxobox | name = Steenbok status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 image caption = Female, Namibia regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Mammalia ordo = Artiodactyla familia = Bovidae genus = Raphicerus species = R. campestris binomial =… …   Wikipedia midding — Midden Mid den, n. [Also {midding}.] [Cf. Dan. m[ o]gdynge, E. muck, and dung.] [1913 Webster] 1. A dunghill. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster] 2. An accumulation of refuse about a dwelling place; especially, an accumulation of shells or of cinders,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Pack rat — This article is about the rodent. For other uses, see Pack rat (disambiguation). Packrats Temporal range: Late Cenozoic Recent Neotoma cinerea …   Wikipedia muck — [13] The original meaning of muck is ‘excrement’; the more general ‘dirt’ is a 14thcentury development. It goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *muk , *meuk ‘soft’. This was also the source of Danish møg ‘dung’ (which provides the first syllable… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”