Los escarabajos de la subfamilia Scarabaeinae son considerados importantes para estudios de diversidad biológica y conservación de ecosistemas. Realizan una variedad de funciones y son sensibles a las perturbaciones ambientales. Chiapas es una de las regiones con mayor número de registros de Scarabaeinae en México, pero aún existen extensas zonas con poco conocimiento sobre este grupo de insectos, incluyendo algunas áreas naturales protegidas, como es el caso de la Reserva de la Biosfera Selva El Ocote. Se analizaron los ensambles de escarabajos copronecrófagos, producto de cinco muestreos sistemáticos realizados durante 2011 y 2012, en tres hábitats representativos de la reserva. Las recolecciones se realizaron mediante trampas de caída utilizando calamar, estiércol de cerdo y estiércol vacuno como atrayentes. Se recolectaron 5421 escarabajos de seis tribus, 12 géneros y 37 especies. La cobertura del muestreo fue cercana al 100 % y las evaluaciones indican que la Selva tuvo la riqueza más cercana a la estimada mientras que el cultivo de café es el hábitat con mayor posibilidad de adicionar especies al inventario. Los valores de diversidad beta sugieren que las faunas de los tres hábitats forman parte de una sola comunidad de escarabajos, pero la composición de los gremios tróficos es diferente en todos ellos. La fauna obtenida constituye el 31,1 % de las especies registradas en Chiapas. Este trabajo representa el primer estudio mediante muestreos sistemáticos en la Reserva de la Biosfera Selva El Ocote.

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Background Anthropized landscapes play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, as they encompass about 90% of the remaining tropical forest. Effective conservation strategies require a deep understanding of how anthropic disturbances determine diversity patterns across these landscapes. Here, we evaluated how attributes and assembly mechanisms of dung beetle communities vary across the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve (REBISO) landscape. Methods Community attributes (species diversity, abundance, and biomass) were assessed at the landscape scale, using spatial windows and vegetation classes. Windows were categorized as intact, variegated, or fragmented based on their percent cover of tropical forest. The vegetation classes analyzed were tropical forest, second-growth forest, and pastures. Results We collected 15,457 individuals and 55 species. Variegated windows, tropical forests, and second-growth forests showed the highest diversity values, while the lowest values were found in intact windows and pastures. Landscape fragmentation was positively and strongly related to dung beetle diversity and negatively related to their abundance; biomass was positively associated with forest cover. Beta diversity was the primary driver of the high dung beetle diversity in the landscape analyzed. Discussion The landscape heterogeneity and its biodiversity-friendly matrix facilitate the complementarity of dung beetle assemblages in the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve. Random processes govern beta diversity patterns in intact and variegated windows. Therefore, vegetation cover in the region is sufficient to maintain a continuous flow of dung beetles between forested landscape segments. However, intense anthropic disturbances acted as deterministic environmental filters in fragmented windows and pastures sites, leading to biotic homogenization processes. Our results suggest that increasing habitat variegation in highly fragmented sites is an effective strategy to prevent or buffer homogenization processes in the REBISO landscape.

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El Centro Ecológico y Recreativo El Zapotal (CEREZ) se caracteriza por presentar uno de los últimos remanentes de selva mediana en la región central de Chiapas, México. Sin embargo, el conocimiento de algunos grupos taxonómicos de la reserva no es del todo adecuado. En este trabajo se analiza la composición y estructura, así como la distribución temporal de los escarabajos coprófagos que habitan en el CEREZ. Se realizaron muestreos mensuales entre febrero de 2013 y enero de 2014 utilizando trampas de caída cebadas con estiércol de seis especies de mamíferos que se mantienen en cautiverio al interior del Zoológico Miguel Álvarez del Toro (ZooMAT). Se presenta una lista anotada de 22 especies agrupadas en 12 géneros y seis tribus de Scarabaeinae. Onthophagus anthracinus, Canthon femoralis, Onthophagus landolti y Copris laeviceps aportan el 89.7% de la abundancia total. La curva de rarefacción muestra una tendencia asintótica, con un 92% de completitud. La fauna capturada muestra una marcada distribución temporal (p < 0.01), observando los valores más altos de riqueza y abundancia durante los meses de la temporada lluviosa. Los registros representan el 7.53% de la diversidad conocida en México y el 18.2% de las especies reportadas en el estado de Chiapas. A pesar de representar un pequeño remanente de selva tropical y de la constante presión antrópica generada por la zona urbana, El Zapotal conserva una fauna de escarabajos coprófagos representativa a nivel regional, resaltando la importancia de la reserva como refugio de especies.

Fruit-eating bats play a fundamental role in animal seed dispersal and should be considered key actors in tropical forest restoration. We explored the use of commercial fruits as attractants for bats to increase seed dispersal to areas affected by forest fires in southern Mexico. We captured bats and collected seeds from feces and seed rain at perturbed sample sites where mature bananas and mangos were placed, and from non-treated control sites. Bat and bat-dispersed plant species richness and abundance were analyzed, and the importance of each bat species as a disperser was evaluated. Additionally, germination boxes were set up to evaluate the germination of seeds found in bat feces. We captured 724 individuals of 16 frugivorous bat species, 15 spp in treated and 12 spp in control sites. Sowell's Short-tailed bat, Toltec Fruit-eating bat and the Western Long-tongued bat showed higher abundances in treated sites, suggesting that these three species were attracted by fruits. The most important disperser was the Sowell's Short-tailed bat, followed by the Jamaican Fruit-eating and Toltec Fruit-eating bat. A greater proportion of pioneer species and trees, followed by shrubs, were found in the overall bat diet. The germination percentage was > 50%, suggesting that the use of fruits to attract bats can be a feasible wildlife management activity to encourage the succession process. We recommend further studies to test and improve this activity.Key words: Chiapas, Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae, seed dispersal and germination, tropical forest restoration, wildlife management. ResumenLos murciélagos frugívoros juegan un papel fundamental en la dispersión zoocórica, por lo que deben ser considerados actores clave en la restauración de selvas tropicales. Exploramos el uso de frutas comerciales como atrayentes de murciélagos para incrementar la dispersión de semillas hacia áreas afectadas por incendios forestales en el sur de México. Capturamos murciélagos, colectamos semillas de sus heces y la lluvia de semillas en sitios perturbados con tratamiento donde colocamos plátanos y mangos maduros, así como en sitios de control sin tratamiento. Se analizó la riqueza y abundancia de las especies de murciélagos y las de las plantas dispersadas, y la importancia de cada especie de murciélago como dispersor. Además, se establecieron charolas de germinación para evaluar la germinación de semillas encontradas en las heces de murciélagos. Capturamos 724 individuos de 16 especies de murciélagos frugívoros, 15 spp en los sitios de tratamiento y 12 spp en sitios de control. El murciélago frugívoro de cola corta sedosa (Carollia sowelli), el murciélago frutero tolteca (Artibeus toltecus) y el murciélago lengüetón de Xiutepec (Glossophaga morenoi) mostraron mayores abundancias en los sitios con tratamiento, lo cual sugiere que estas tres especies fueron atraídas por las frutas. El dispersor más importante fue C. sowelli, seguido por A. jamaicensis (murciélago frugívoro de Jamaica) y A. toltecus. En la dieta de los murciélagos capturados...

The Pjiekakjoo are the smallest indigenous group in the State of Mexico. They have managed to survive and maintain an ethnic project despite their proximity to the largest metropolitan areas in central Mexico: Mexico City, Toluca and Cuernavaca. Sadly, their indigenous language is considered to be in danger of extinction. Their knowledge of insects and other invertebrates was recorded through a collaborative project that included the collection of organisms, semi-structured interviews and intergenerational workshops. The documentation and systematisation of their ethnoentomological information was with the active participation of the Tlahuicas. Discussions with the Tlahuicas about other topics, such as the importance of biocultural diversity and the heritage it represents, was promoted. The methodology developed is based in Freire’s ideas of education for freedom and Smith's proposals for the decolonisation of methodologies in anthropological research. An emic perspective was preferred. We documented invertebrates in general. A total of 70 taxa of invertebrates were documented distributed in 3 phyla: Arthropoda (67), Mollusca (2) and Annelida (1).These have 58 Pjiekakjoo names and 66 names in Spanish. The most representative class is the Insecta, with 60 out of 67 categories of arthropods. Half of the taxa (34) have uses: 14 are edible, 7 medicinal, 8 recreational, 2 ornamental, one as an aphrodisiac and one as flavouring. The edible insects are primarily Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera orders. The Pjiekakjoo use 4 invertebrate products: honey, honeycomb, beebread and spider web. The use of insects and other invertebrates requires specialised ecological and ethological knowledge. 9 taxa are associated with distinctive beliefs, commonly as omens. The present paper recommends the use of ethnoentomological research to help the heirs of this biocultural heritage to face the challenges of the contemporary world.

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.