Effect of Deforestation on a Southwest Ghana Dung Beetle Assemblage (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) at the Periphery of Ankasa Conservation Area

Davis, Adrian L. V.; Philips, T. Keith

doi:10.1093/ee/34.5.1081

Cited by 68 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Our results clearly demonstrate the dramatic negative effect that oil palm plantations have on the overall arthropod community, which has only been shown before for specific taxa (Chang et al 1997, Chey 2006, Chung et al 2000aDavis & Philips 2005, Pfeiffer et al 2008. This ecosystem-wide loss of arthropods is probably due to the dramatically altered structural habitat and harsher environmental conditions in plantations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…Such variability between taxa is probably due to species-specific differences in tolerance to agricultural landscapes. It is likely that the arthropods that do well in a plantation are species that are more common in the wider agricultural landscape (Chey 2006, Davis & Philips 2005 and so are considered to be of less conservation importance than forest specialists, which may have been lost. However, these arthropods can still be important in the functioning of oil palm plantations and the ecosystem as a whole, aiding decomposition, preying on pests, or providing a food source for predators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Email: ect23@cam.ac.uk 2000a, b; Davis & Philips 2005), moths (Chey 2006) and ants (Pfeiffer et al 2008). Similarly, Chang et al (1997) recorded a reduced abundance in the majority of mosquito species studied, both as adults and larvae in an area following conversion from forest to oil palm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some studies, forest conversion has also resulted in a reduction in the number of individuals with a few species dominating the samples (Chung et al 2000a, Liow et al 2001. However, other studies have found a higher abundance of individuals in oil palm (Davis & Philips 2005, Hassall et al 2006, although these are probably species which were previously characteristic of open habitats or agricultural areas (Chey 2006, Davis & Philips 2005. Therefore, although detrimental overall, the specific impact of oil palm expansion on arthropods is far from straightforward.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of forest conversion to oil palm on arthropod abundance and biomass in Sabah, Malaysia

2009

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Deforestation rates in South-East Asia are among the highest of any tropical region, with expansion of oil palm being one important factor. Despite this, few studies have investigated the impact of oil palm expansion on the arthropod fauna. We report here the first study on the impact of forest conversion to oil palm on overall arthropod abundance, biomass and composition. We compared arthropod abundance and biomass, collected from epiphytic bird's nest ferns, the canopy, and leaf litter between primary forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation. Epiphytes, canopy and litter all contained a lower abundance (epiphytes: 67.2%, canopy: 2.3% and litter: 77.1% reduction) and biomass (epiphytes: 87.5%, canopy: 37.9% and litter: 72.4% reduction) of arthropods in oil palm compared with primary forest. However, not all orders of arthropods showed the same level of decline, with some groups having higher abundance and biomass in oil palm, resulting in an altered community composition in the epiphytes and canopy in oil palm compared with forest. Our results show that forest conversion to oil palm impacts detrimentally on invertebrates in all compartments of the forest ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of forest conversion to oil palm on arthropod abundance and biomass in Sabah, Malaysia

2009

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“…Dung beetles also represent a large proportion of insect biomass, are easily attracted to baits, and have a relatively well-known taxonomy, at least for some groups (Hanski & Cambefort 1991). For these reasons, numerous studies have investigated the impact of habitat disturbance on dung beetle communities in various tropical regions including Eastern Asia (Boonrotpong et al 2004, Shahabuddin et al 2005, Africa (Davis & Philips 2005) and Latin America (Klein 1989, Quintero & Roslin 2005, Scheffl er 2005, Gardner et al 2008) (see Nichols et al 2007 for a review). Some of these authors have stressed the potential use of dung beetles as bio-indicators for mammal population densities (as many species rely directly on mammal excrement for food and nesting while others are carrion feeders) and environmental changes (e.g., Nichols et al 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Short term response of dung beetle communities to disturbance by road construction in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Carpio

Donoso

Ramón

et al. 2009

Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.)

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In the tropics, human disturbance continuously challenges initiatives for habitat conservation. In these regions, as economical budgets for conservation shrink, conservation planning requires precise information on when and how different kinds of disturbance may affect natural populations, but also on adequate experimental designs to monitor them. Due to their high diversity, ecological role, stable taxonomy and facilities to sample, dung beetles are used in biodiversity surveys for conservation purposes worldwide. Here we studied the short-term effects of dung beetle communities to an important and widespread ecological disturbance due to road construction in the Amazon basin. We surveyed the dung-beetle community in a spatio-temporal context, i.e. in transects located at 10, 50 and 100-m from a newly constructed, 10-m wide, paved road. The sampling periods took place 1, 3 and 6 months after the construction. During the survey, we collected 4895 specimens that belong to 69 species in 19 dung beetles genera. Six dung beetles species (Canthon aequinoctialis, C. luteicolis, Dichotomius fortestriatus, Eurysternus caribaeus, E. confusus and Onthophagus haematopus) accounted for 55% of all individuals collected. Both species diversity and abundance tended to decrease during the 6 months after the opening of the road, but not with distance from the road. Accordingly, an NMDS analysis revealed clear differences in dung beetle community composition and biomass among the three sampling periods, but not with respect to transect location. However, the number of rare species tended to increase toward the forest interior. A detailed analysis of dung beetle species among transects revealed that 5 species (Sylvicanthon bridarollii, Canthidium sp. 2, C. sp. 6, C. sp. 7 and Ontherus diabolicus) were more abundant when getting further from the road. On the contrary 6 species (Eurysternus hamaticollis, E. velutinus, E. confusus, E. caribaeus, Deltochilum oberbengeri and D. orbiculare) increased in abundance in the transect next to the road. Our study therefore confi rmed that while overall community metrics did not respond to road construction, several rare dung beetle species did, within an incredibly rapid time frame. While pattern based descriptions of dung beetle responses to anthropogenic activities are common in the literature, our fi ndings suggest that effect of roads is certainly under emphasized.Résumé. Réponse à court terme des communautés de bousiers aux perturbations induites par la constructions de toutes dans l'Amazonie Equatorienne. Dans les zones tropicales, les activités humaines sont une menace constante pour la conservation des habitats. Les budgets alloués aux efforts de conservation étant réduits dans ces régions, l'établissement de plans de gestion requiert des informations précises sur la manière dont différents types de perturbations affectent les populations naturelles et sur les protocoles expérimentaux adéquats pour suivre l'évolution de ces populations. En raison de leur diversité, de leur rôle écologiq...

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Biodiversity of Coleoptera

Bouchard

Smith

Douglas

et al. 2017

Insect Biodiversity

105

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Effect of Deforestation on a Southwest Ghana Dung Beetle Assemblage (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) at the Periphery of Ankasa Conservation Area

Cited by 68 publications

References 22 publications

The impact of forest conversion to oil palm on arthropod abundance and biomass in Sabah, Malaysia

The impact of forest conversion to oil palm on arthropod abundance and biomass in Sabah, Malaysia

Short term response of dung beetle communities to disturbance by road construction in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Biodiversity of Coleoptera

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