Dung beetle community dynamics in undisturbed tropical forests: implications for ecological evaluations of land‐use change

Abstract

1. The impacts of human activities on tropical forests are widespread and increasing. Hence, a good knowledge base about ecological processes in undisturbed tropical forest is crucial to provide a baseline for evaluating anthropogenic change.2. Our 5-year study focused on understanding the background spatial and inter-annual variation in dung beetle communities at 12 sites of undisturbed lowland tropical rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon. We then assessed how this variation may affect ecological evaluations of anthropogenic influence by comparing community metrics with comparable dung beetle data collected from 15 sites of Eucalyptus plantation in the same region.3. Of all measured environmental variables, soil texture best explained spatial variation in dung beetle communities in undisturbed forests. Furthermore, soil texture was important for community assembly as it was associated with dung beetle nesting behaviours. While the relative abundance of dung beetle functional groups was stable over time, there were important inter-annual temporal dynamics, with a fivefold variation in abundance and body mass, and with species richness ranging from 52 to 74. These temporal oscillations were probably caused by variation in dry season rainfall.4. This inter-annual variation influenced the comparison between undisturbed forests and plantations, which could lead to inconsistencies in evaluation of anthropogenic change. We therefore highlight the importance of understanding natural variation in studies evaluating the consequences of land-use change and other forest disturbances on forest biodiversity.

Fire? They don't give a dung! The resilience of dung beetles to fire in a tropical savanna

“…They are widely used as ecological indicators in monitoring studies and conservation strategies (Nichols et al, 2007(Nichols et al, , 2013, because they are inexpensive to sample and exhibit high sensitiveness to anthropogenic and natural changes in environmental conditions (Gardner et al, 2008;Larsen et al, 2008;Nunes et al, 2016;Beiroz et al, 2017). They are widely used as ecological indicators in monitoring studies and conservation strategies (Nichols et al, 2007(Nichols et al, , 2013, because they are inexpensive to sample and exhibit high sensitiveness to anthropogenic and natural changes in environmental conditions (Gardner et al, 2008;Larsen et al, 2008;Nunes et al, 2016;Beiroz et al, 2017).…”

“…Araújo & Rahbek, 2006;Lugo, 2008;Peters et al, Correspondence: Cássio A. Nunes, Setor de Ecologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, CP 3037, Câmpus Universitário -Lavras, Minas Gerais 37200-000, Brazil. E-mail: cassioalencarnunes@gmail.com 2016; Beiroz et al, 2017), intensive single-event disturbance (e.g. Dalsgaard et al, 2007;Lugo, 2008), and land-use modifications (e.g.…”

“…Dung beetles are great focal organisms for evaluating the effects of post-fire conditions on invertebrate fauna. They are widely used as ecological indicators in monitoring studies and conservation strategies (Nichols et al, 2007(Nichols et al, , 2013, because they are inexpensive to sample and exhibit high sensitiveness to anthropogenic and natural changes in environmental conditions (Gardner et al, 2008;Larsen et al, 2008;Nunes et al, 2016;Beiroz et al, 2017). Additionally, dung beetles can be used as good indicators of ecosystem functioning, as they play key roles in many ecological processes related to biodiversity conservation and human benefits, such as nutrient cycling and parasite suppression (Nichols et al, 2008).…”

“…Additionally, dung beetles can be used as good indicators of ecosystem functioning, as they play key roles in many ecological processes related to biodiversity conservation and human benefits, such as nutrient cycling and parasite suppression (Nichols et al, 2008). They are also widely known for their rapid recovery after changes in environmental conditions (Quintero & Roslin, 2005;Beiroz et al, 2017).…”

Effects of Land use Change on Coprini dung Beetles in Tropical Karst Ecosystems of Puluong Nature Reserve

“…Để có thể bảo vệ và duy trì tính đa dạng sinh học bọ hung cũng như chức năng sinh thái của chúng thì việc đánh giá ảnh hưởng của sự chuyển đổi đất đến quần xã bọ hung là quan trọng. Mặc dù hậu quả của việc chuyển đối rừng tới quần xã bọ hung đã được đánh giá trong nhiều nghiên cứu trên thế giới [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], kết luận về xu hướng biển đổi của bọ hung theo các kiểu thay đổi sử dụng đất vẫn còn ít sự thống nhất. Ví dụ, Boonrotpong [7], Shahabuddin và cs.…”