Does the composition of Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera) communities reflect the extent of land use changes in the Brazilian Amazon?

Species diversity and community structure of fruit-feeding butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in an eastern amazonian forest

“…The Whittaker plot and the results from Simpson's diversity and Pielou's evenness reinforce that the studied community is dominated by few abundant species. Similar patterns have been observed in numerous insect communities of tropical forests (DeVries & Walla, 2001;Tonhasca Jr. et al, 2002;Silva & Di Mare, 2012) and appear to be even more prominent in disturbed environments and fragmented landscapes where opportunistic species thrive and sensitive species suffer population declines (Schmidt et al, 2013;Cajaiba et al, 2017).…”

How informative is the response of Ground Beetles' (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages to anthropogenic land use changes? Insights for ecological status assessments from a case study in the Neotropics

“…Predicting the ecological consequences of LUCC is therefore subject to scientific and political studies aimed at supporting strategic options for landscape planning and natural resources management (Turner et al, 2007). In this context the selection of the most pertinent indicators for ecological assessments and monitoring is crucial, namely to detect and evaluate possible trends with relevance to guide conservation decision-making in the scope of disturbed ecosystems management (Cajaiba et al, 2017a).…”

Are Small Dung Beetles (Aphodiinae) useful for monitoring neotropical forests’ ecological status? Lessons from a preliminary case study in the Brazilian Amazon

“…extensive livestock and agriculture) are concentrated in the southcentral part of territory and near the main roads. The selected areas covered the most representative habitats of the region, in terms of biophysical and ecological characteristics for understanding the response of SDB assemblages to forest disturbance and/or LUCC (Cajaiba et al, 2017a). The habitats include: PF (Primary forest), SF-15 (Secondary forest with 15 years of regeneration), SF-5 (Secondary forest with five years of regeneration), Agriculture (Ag, cocoa plantations, Theobroma cacao L.) and Pasture for extensive livestock (Pa) (For a generic characterization of the habitats sampled, see Table S1 and Fig.…”

“…Sampling was carried out during the year 2015, in the months of February/March (rainy season), June (final of rainy season and early dry season) and September/October (dry season), for integrating possible seasonal differences in the activity of SDB (Cajaiba et al, 2017a). In each study site (PF, SF-15, SF-5, Ag and Pa), seven sample points were placed 100 m apart.…”

“…Terrestrial invertebrates and especially insects play a central role in most ecological processes and are key components of neotropical forests' structure and functioning (Bicknell et al, 2014;Viegas et al, 2014;Campos and Hernández, 2015;Cajaiba et al, 2017a). Insects' diversity is a surrogate of other taxa diversity and abiotic conditions, representing the core biological indicators of forests' ecological status (e.g.…”