Edaphic and climatic history has driven current dung beetle species pool and assemblage structure across a transition zone in central South Africa

Davis, Adrian L. V.; Scholtz, Clarke H.; Deschodt, Christian M.; Strümpher, Werner P.

doi:10.1111/bij.12820

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Soil granulometry (i.e. proportions of silt, clay and sand) may also sustain species with specific habitat requirements due to differences in microhabitat conditions (Davis et al 2016;Daniel et al 2022). For instance, Salomão et al (2022) found that species richness of endocoprids increased with silt contents in central Amazon rainforest, while clay content was important for abundance and changes in composition of the entire community and species richness of paracoprid species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles across a chronosequence of tropical grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages

Correa

Silva

2022

Austral Ecology

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Livestock is a globally widespread farming practice, with benefits and harms for biodiversity. Biodiversity responses to vegetation and soil conditions associated with cattle grazing removal are poorly understood in tropical grassy ecosystems, especially in a long-term chronosequence. In this study, we aimed to identify the main drivers of local conditions on dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity across a chronosequence of natural grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages. We expect that vegetation and soil variables associated with environmental changes caused by longer time after cattle grazing removal will drive the taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles. We sampled dung beetles and recorded local environmental filters (vegetation and soil variables) in 14 natural grasslands with distinct cattle grazing removal ages (from 3 months to 22 years) and also in 10 reference sites (with cattle grazing). We used structural equation models to evaluate the relationships between the most informative explanations (vegetation and soil variables) of dung beetle taxonomic and functional metrics. Our results provide evidences that local conditions related to vegetation and soil variables in natural grasslands affect the taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles differently. Soil conditions (compaction and silt content) had more influence, mostly negative, on taxonomic metrics, while vegetation complexity had more influence on functional metrics, with positive or negative effects depending on the functional metric evaluated. Understanding the temporal change in vegetation and soil conditions can shed light on the process of recovering biodiversity and ecosystem functions in areas with different times of abandonment of livestock farming. Finally, using taxonomic and functional approaches together can also help to better understand how organisms are responding to the process of abandoning livestock farming over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…proportions of silt, clay and sand) may also sustain species with specific habitat requirements due to differences in microhabitat conditions (Davis et al . 2016; Daniel et al . 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles across a chronosequence of tropical grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages

Correa

Silva

2022

Austral Ecology

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“…In both African and South American studies, it is evident that species preference for a specific soil type is a clear reflection of edaphic structural differences and climatic history throughout geological periods (Davis et al . 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…African regions can sometimes accommodate more than 100 species per locality (Doube 1987, 1991; Davis & Dewhurst 1993; Davis et al . 2014, 2016). This high regional diversity of dung beetles is a clear result of the interaction of macro‐ and micro‐ecological variables that could generate a broad spectrum of habitats and environmental gradients closely associated with a high richness of vertebrates (Davis et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil type, vegetation cover and temperature determinants of the diversity and structure of dung beetle assemblages in a South African open woodland and closed canopy mosaic

et al. 2021

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Regional biogeographical patterns result from a complex combination across habitat, climate and environmental variables. Biotic and abiotic variables strongly influence the diversity and spatial distribution patterns. However, very few studies analyse the close interaction and effect of environmental variables on diversity at fine spatiotemporal scales. In this study, we evaluated the influence of soil type, vegetation cover and temperature on species diversity and functional structure of dung beetle assemblages. Dung beetle species were sampled using pitfall traps baited with cattle dung from sandy and clay soils in open woodland and closed canopy areas in Mkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. We performed a PERMANOVA, a PERMDISP and an NMDS to analyse differences in species composition between soil and vegetation cover types. To test the effect of environmental variables on species richness and abundance, we performed a generalised least squares model. Lastly, we searched for nodes using a bipartite analysis to evaluate network’s potential modularity. We collected 1439 specimens comprising 27 species and 13 genera. Species composition differed between environmental variables. Soil type was the most important driver for changes in dung beetle species composition. Species richness and abundance were influenced by the interaction between soil type and vegetation cover. The combination of microenvironmental preferences potentially influenced the dung beetle assemblage diversity and functional structure. Combining all these preferences may act as a dilution mechanism of interspecific competition in saturated habitat conditions, reducing the number of species that potentially interact and generating a modular network structure of the assemblage.

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“…rubrus ), from which it diverged by a vicariance process at ~3.27 Ma (Figure 4). This process possibly followed isolation due to aridification in the southwest (Deacon, 1983; Diester‐Haass et al, 2004; Petrick et al., 2015), which is considered responsible for diversification and endemism of various other southwest arid‐adapted dung beetle species (Davis, 1993; Davis, Scholtz, & Deschodt, 2008; Davis, Scholtz, Deschodt, & Strümpher, 2016; Sole et al., 2005). In summary, the low diversification or expansion of ranges (only two species) of a warmer and moister pre‐adapted genus, like Sisyphus , to the southwest region has probably been largely barred by inception of winter rainfall climate, aridity or deposition of Kalahari sands during the Pliocene.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary history and eco‐climatic diversification in southern African dung beetle Sisyphus

Daniel

Davis

Sole

et al. 2020

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim The high diversity of species in southern Africa has been attributed to geological and palaeoclimatic factors. The timing of radiations in some groups is held to be linked to these geoclimatic trends. Using the Scarabaeinae dung beetle genus, Sisyphus, as a model system, we investigate how geological uplift and climatic changes in the late Cenozoic affected its diversification patterns in southern Africa. Location Southern Africa. Taxon The dung beetle genus, Sisyphus Latreille, 1807 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). Methods A dated molecular phylogeny of southern African Sisyphus was compared with a factor analysis of species distribution data that statistically defined groups of species according to current climatic distribution. We used these climatic clusters to estimate ancestral ranges using the “BioGeoBEARS” R package. A lineage through time plot was calculated using the R package ‘APE’. We used Bayesian diversification models (compound Poisson process on mass extinction times) to test hypotheses on how late Cenozoic uplift and climatic changes affected speciation and extinction of Sisyphus. Furthermore, we implemented ecological niche modelling in MaxEnt to predict the habitat suitability of species under present climatic conditions. Results Four species groups defined from factor analysis of current climatic distribution data are primarily restricted to the moist summer rainfall region in the northeast. Species diversification occurred from the mid‐Miocene until the Pleistocene, during which the central southern African plateau was uplifted in tandem with the advent of winter rainfall and arid climatic zones to the southwest. The ancestor of Sisyphus was centred in eastern low to mid‐altitude areas. Speciation rates were higher in the Miocene to Pliocene, followed by a dramatic drop during the transition to the Pleistocene. Main conclusions The taxonomic and eco‐climatic diversification of sisyphines is coincident with geological uplift and changes in climate in east‐central southern Africa. However, phylogenetic relationships of southern African Sisyphus species are not homogenously distributed with respect to geography and climate.

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Edaphic and climatic history has driven current dung beetle species pool and assemblage structure across a transition zone in central South Africa

Cited by 8 publications

References 47 publications

Environmental drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles across a chronosequence of tropical grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages

Environmental drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles across a chronosequence of tropical grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages

Soil type, vegetation cover and temperature determinants of the diversity and structure of dung beetle assemblages in a South African open woodland and closed canopy mosaic

Evolutionary history and eco‐climatic diversification in southern African dung beetle Sisyphus

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