The effect of horn on Megasoma elephas beetles
Introduction:
Megasoma elephas, a large and distinctive tropical beetle inhibits a variety of

tropical forests, including tropical plantations and sometimes forest remnants,at

elevations up to around 1000 metres.(Wildscreen, 2015). This types of species have a

Long, rhinoceros-like horn on its head, its unusual structure is found only in male,

which means Megasoma elephas is sexual dimorphic. In addition, male elephant

beetles use their impressive horns to fight rival males for access to females or feeding

sites.(Wildscreen,2015). Based on that, I would investigate if the horn affect the

mating probability in Megasoma elephas by designing an experiment. My hypothesis

is that the size of horn …show more content…
Disscusion: To test weather the horn affect the mating rate of male beetles, I controlled the environment

to avoid other factors to influence the result. Hence, if the results of the experiment reject my null

hypothesis, it means the the size of the horn on male will affect its mating rate, the larger horn will

attract females more and get more mates, also the larger horn cause higher pressure to rival males.

If the results doesn’t change, which means my null hypothesis fails to be rejected, the horn doesn’t

affect the mate between male and female beetles. Brandon Bryn (2012) tested that in male

Rhinoceros beetle, horn size signals healthy mate. This observation rejected my null hypothesis,

I will further investigate the detail in experiment.

Literature cited:
1.
Joseph K J. Biology and breeding behaviour of the elephant dung beetle, Heliocopris dominus Bates (Coprinae: Scarabaeidae)[J]. ENTOMON-TRIVANDRUM-, 1998, 23: 325-330.

2.Emlen D J, Marangelo J, Ball B, et al. Diversity in the weapons of sexual selection: horn evolution in the beetle genus Onthophagus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)[J]. Evolution, 2005, 59(5): 1060-1084.