Copro-necrophagous beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) diversity in an agroecosystem in Yucatan, Mexico (original) (raw)
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Acta zoológica mexicana, 2009
In order to determine the changes in biological diversity over time in different habitats of a fragmented tropical rain forest in Manaus, Brazil, we compared capture data from two windows in time: 1986 and 2000. We used beetles of the subfamily Scarabaeinae as an indicator group. Both sets of samples were collected from the same sites and following the same methodology. The only difference was that in 2000 most of the pastures that had been created as isolation barriers had been replaced by secondary vegetation in different stages of development. Beetles were collected from the following habitats: pasture, secondary vegetation, 1 ha, and 10 ha fragments of forest, and continuous rainforest. The main results follow. 1) After the dramatic decrease in Scarabaeinae species richness that followed the creation of the pastures and the isolation of the fragments there was a notable recovery of biodiversity. We associate this with the enormous tract of continuous rainforest that surrounds the study area since the sites were recolonized by rainforest species. 2) The high number of tourist species recorded for the pastures is evidence of the ease with which Scarabaeinae can overcome the physical barriers imposed by fragmentation. Over time, many of the tourist species coming from the intact forest can become colonizers. 3) Even when there is no human intervention, there is a high degree of heterogeneity in the spatial and temporal distributions of the Scarabaeinae in the rainforest. 4) For coprophagous beetles, the effects of forest fragmentation are a function of both forest fragment size and the nature of the matrix in which the fragments occur. In our study the development of secondary vegetation favored the connection between fragments and the continuous forest.
Journal of Insect Conservation, 2015
Understanding changes in copro-necrophagous beetle diversity related to characteristics of habitat and soil associated with livestock management systems can provide a tool for the conservation of edaphic fauna and improved use of natural resources. We evaluated changes in species diversity and assemblage structure in copro-necrophagous beetles under different livestock management systems in an anthropized tropical dry forest landscape in Mexico. We used a standard sampling protocol to capture copronecrophagous beetles in three livestock management systems: silvopastoral systems with Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (SPS) associated with grasses, treeless pastures (monocultures) and managed tree fallows of tropical dry forest with livestock. We characterized the habitat structure, management practices and physico-chemical parameters of the soil in each system. We recorded a total of 1423 specimens belonging to 15 species. The results show a greater beetle species richness in the SPS with G. ulmifolia, which declines with reduced site complexity and soil quality and increased management practice intensity. There was a positive relationship between beetle species abundance and the soil physico-chemical characteristics such as moisture and nutrient content, as well as with the density of plants. A negative effect of management practices (use of insecticides, anti-parasite treatments and burning) was observed on beetle abundance; when the analyzed variables were related to each individual species, only four species responded to differences in levels of nitrogen and magnesium, as well as to the management practice and density of plants. Systems where perennial woody plants (trees and/or shrubs) interact with traditional components (animals and herbaceous forage plants) under integrated management can provide favorable conditions for the maintenance of a relatively high diversity of beetle species as well as a refuge for species with different habitat requirements.
Biodiversity and …, 2005
Biological diversity conservation within natural reserves has been prioritized, but conservation efforts outside protected areas (where most human activities take place) have been very little considered. In this scenario, an alternative agricultural practice that may reduce the impacts of fragmentation in outer landscapes is a perforation process, which involves conservation in agricultural fields surrounded by continuous forests. Such practices enhance the positive impact of ecological services on fields. In this study we analyzed the biological diversity state in perforation fields and their surrounding forests. The analysis was done using dung beetles as biological indicators. A nested pattern in dung beetles distribution was found, which ordered the surrounding continuous forest sites as the ones with the highest species richness, followed by the perforation fields, and placed the fragmentation practice fields (continuous agricultural fields surrounding forest patches) with the lowest one. Indicator species for perforation fields and surrounding continuous forests were chosen. In general, perforation practice fields differed in composition, based upon functional groups richness and identity; it also contained a higher species richness than the fragmentation practice. Agricultural practices that enhance biological diversity conservation such as perforation, should be recommended and considered in natural resource management by local communities in order to take advantage of ecological services that otherwise may be gradually lost.
Coleopterists Bulletin, 2006
Resource partitioning strategies can help us understand the origin and maintenance of highly diverse communities. We collected 205 dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) associated with many different kinds of resources in southeastern Peru. We focus only on extreme cases of resource specialization of species occupying unusually narrow ecological niches, rather than the broad range of specialists which exists. The natural history of most of these species is previously unknown, and several have been considered very rare. Although dung beetles were captured with all types of dung, including avian, reptile and invertebrate dung, species did not specialize exclusively on certain dung types. Ten species appeared to specialize exclusively on a single non-dung food resource, including fruit, fungus, carrion, dead invertebrates, and live millipedes. The diets of 15 species captured only by hand or with passive flight intercept traps are unknown, and these included species in unusual genera such as Anomiopus, Bdelyrus, Canthonella, Dendropaemon, and Sinapisoma. Eleven species appeared to specialize exclusively on a restricted habitat or microhabitat such as riverine beach, Guadua bamboo patches, river alder forest (Tessaria), attine ant nests, or abandoned termite nests. Four species of Canthon were forest canopy specialists. The apparent rarity of some of these species, such as Canthonidia rubromaculata Blanchard, Deltochilum valgum Burmeister, Ontherus laminifer Balthasar, and Ontherus raptor Génier, may only be due to their unusual habits, while other species, such as Megatharsis buckleyi Waterhouse, appear to be genuinely rare. We also discuss the implications of these findings for sampling methodology and assessment of species abundance distributions.
Journal of Insect Conservation, 2019
In the tropics, changes in land use are a major concern given that the transformation of natural ecosystems to degraded environments for human use occurs rapidly and is associated with deforestation, fragmentation, isolation, among other impacts. Scarab beetles are well represented in tropical and warm temperate ecosystems due to their high diversity, numerous ecological functions, sensitivity to habitat disturbances, and responses to anthropized areas, so they are considered as a model group to study the consequences of environmental disturbance in tropical regions. We present an analysis of the scarab beetle diversity in an anthropized landscape with five different land uses in the Central Valleys of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, with an emphasis on the dissimilarity in species composition. The organisms were collected with dung-, carrion-and fruit-baited traps during five sampling periods. We identified 2766 individuals belonging to 40 species, the majority being coprophagous or copro-necrophagous. The most abundant species was Phanaeus nimrod, with 624 individuals, although the most abundant species changed according to land uses. Beta diversity was high (80% on average), and between four sites dissimilarity was 100%. Species replacement was more important than differences in richness for the total beta diversity calculated with incidence data; and balanced variation in abundance was more important than the abundance gradient in the case of analyses with abundances. The landscape presented high scarab beetle diversity, mainly due to a high species replacement and the balanced variation in abundance, indicating that a high biotic heterogeneity has been maintained, or even enhanced following landscape modification.
Acta Zoológica Mexicana (ns), 2009
In order to determine the changes in biological diversity over time in different habitats of a fragmented tropical rain forest in Manaus, Brazil, we compared capture data from two windows in time: 1986 and 2000. We used beetles of the subfamily Scarabaeinae as an indicator group. Both sets of samples were collected from the same sites and following the same methodology. The only difference was that in 2000 most of the pastures that had been created as isolation barriers had been replaced by secondary vegetation in different stages of development. Beetles were collected from the following habitats: pasture, secondary vegetation, 1 ha, and 10 ha fragments of forest, and continuous rainforest. The main results follow. 1) After the dramatic decrease in Scarabaeinae species richness that followed the creation of the pastures and the isolation of the fragments there was a notable recovery of biodiversity. We associate this with the enormous tract of continuous rainforest that surrounds the study area since the sites were recolonized by rainforest species. 2) The high number of tourist species recorded for the pastures is evidence of the ease with which Scarabaeinae can overcome the physical barriers imposed by fragmentation. Over time, many of the tourist species coming from the intact forest can become colonizers. 3) Even when there is no human intervention, there is a high degree of heterogeneity in the spatial and temporal distributions of the Scarabaeinae in the rainforest. 4) For coprophagous beetles, the effects of forest fragmentation are a function of both forest fragment size and the nature of the matrix in which the fragments occur. In our study the development of secondary vegetation favored the connection between fragments and the continuous forest.
Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia, 2021
The Cañón del Sumidero National Park (PNCS) is a priority area for conservation, but there are few studies on its fauna, which evidences the need for further basic studies to produce adequate knowledge on its biodiversity. This study aimed to determine dung beetle assemblages temporal distribution, trophic preference, and daily activity patterns. We conducted samplings using baited pitfall traps in a PNCS tropical sub deciduous forest remnant, during the dry and rainy seasons between 2014 and 2015. We captured a total of 863 individuals of 20 species, 12 genera, and five tribes of Scarabaeinae. Estimators suggest that we obtained high faunistic representation (> 80%), but species richness is low compared to other regional studies. The community was characterized by a high number of rare species and few dominant species. We captured the greatest richness and abundance during rainy months, however, species composition between seasons did not differ significantly. Trophic preference was mainly generalist and we considered only four species as specialists to tapir dung. We observed a clear segregation between activity hours. Nevertheless, we determined only nine species as specialists (six nocturnal and three diurnal) and two others had generalist habits. The low diversity we found could be influenced by the constant pressure of the urban area and non-native species within the park, which alter the dung beetle assemblages. However, performing samplings for longer periods and using a wider range of resources would help us obtain more robust results and better understand species distribution patterns.