Current status of dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) diversity and conservation in Natural Protected Areas in Chiapas (Mexico)

Abstract

Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) are consider adequate tools for biodiversity conservation. Currently in Mexico there are 182 federal NPAs classified according to their management objectives. Chiapas is the Mexican state with the highest number of decreed NPAs and also allocates one of the largest territorial extensions for its protection. Unlike other taxa, and despite their proven ability to respond to ecosystem changes, the study of dung beetles within Mexican NPAs has been underestimated, as they are not considered as a priority group within their management and conservation programs. Based on the review of information available in publications and database on dung beetles, a list of 112 species and seven subspecies recorded in 16 of the 19 federal NPAs established in Chiapas is presented. The species recorded by each NPA show a significant correlation with the number of publications, but a low percentage of them correspond to studies with systematic samplings and most of the species reported in several of the NPAs come from sporadic records, which prevents the study of several basic and applied aspects of dung beetles in the region. Therefore, studies that extensively analyze the communities of arthropod groups, such as the Scarabaeinae, are necessary to understand their response to changes in the ecosystem at local and regional scale. It is advisable that these insects be included in the previous justifying studies for the designation or establishment of NPAs and, in turn, considered in the biological monitoring programs of these areas for their capacity as a bioindicator group.

Los escarabajos del estiércol (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) de Quintana Roo, México: Lista anotada de especies y nuevos registros

“…Por ejemplo, P. amithaon, P. palliatus y P. quadridens son elementos típicos de la fauna coprófaga de los bosques templados de la altiplanicie mexicana (Lizardo et al 2017;Moctezuma et al 2020). Por su parte, P. demon y P. mexicanus, son especies presentes en zonas de baja elevación, típicas de las selvas húmedas localizadas a lo largo de los valles costeros del Pacífico mexicano, desde Chiapas hasta Colima (Lizardo et al 2017;Sánchez-Hernández et al 2020).…”

“…Es probable que algunos de los registros omitidos correspondan a otras especies afines con las que se encuentran relacionadas morfológicamente, e.g. grupos de especies (Sánchez-Hernández et al 2020), por lo que la exploración en otras áreas de Quintana Roo, o en zonas adyacentes de la península de Yucatán, podrían corroborar estos hallazgos. De esta forma, los pocos estudios en el estado indican que la fauna esta subestimada, por lo que se requiere de un mayor número de estudios en diversas zonas para lograr un adecuado conocimiento de este importante grupo de escarabajos.…”

Habitat type affects the structure but not the composition of dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) assemblages in a tropical deciduous forest of southeastern Mexico

“…), and most of the species (∼80%) are also commonly found in the tropical deciduous forests of the Central Depression region of Chiapas (Sánchez-Hernández et al. 2020). Despite the region’s high level of fragmentation due to urban development and other land uses (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas 2012), these findings suggest the area holds a representative mixed pool of dung beetle species at both the local and regional scales, with a high sampling efficiency in our samplings.…”

“…2022b) and are reported from diverse areas of Chiapas with different forest cover types (Sánchez-Hernández et al. 2020). For example, Canthon vazquezae appears to adapt to dominant habitat conditions due to its trophic breadth.…”

Taxonomic revision of the Phanaeus endymion species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with the descriptions of five new species

“…This species was referred to as P. pyrois by Arellano et al (2008) and GBIF Secretariat (2019b), and as P. endymion by Morón et al (1986), Edmonds (1994), Arellano et al (2013), Lizardo et al (2017), and Sánchez-Hernández et al (2020). Nevertheless, the distribution areas of the aforementioned species do not overlap with the distribution of P. chiapanecus sp.…”