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

Abstract

Neotropical forests are extremely diverse ecosystems, listed within the biological hotspots of our planet. However, species from these forests are threatened by diverse anthropogenic activities. Small dung beetles (Scarabaeidae, Aphodiinae) assemblages were studied within different habitats of the Brazilian Amazon. The monitored habitats encompassed the main gradients of disturbance, from pristine to highly anthropogenic situations, with the aim of supporting their use as indicators of neotropical forests' ecological status. Additionally, seasonal patterns and bait attractiveness were evaluated in the scope of more effective monitoring studies. Our main results demonstrate that the diversity and distribution of small dung beetles along disturbance gradients, represented by the monitored locations, is associated with particular habitats within the forest landscape. Although spatially and temporally restricted, the results of this study highlight the potential of using small dung beetles, due to their sensitivity and habitat specificity, as ecological indicators for assessing the extent of disturbance in neotropical forest landscapes. We also suggest specific techniques and periods to be used in order to increase captures of small dung beetles within the different habitats.

Nuevos registros de Aphodiinae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) en Colombia

“…(Ronqui & Lopes, 2006). La captura con trampas de luz sugiere que en lo que respecta a esta subfamilia, dicho método de captura puede tener un mejor desempeño que las trampas de caída cebadas con excremento (16 especies/ morfoespecies en Cajaiba, et al, 2018). Sin embargo, se requieren estudios con un diseño metodológico adecuado para evaluar este aspecto en los dos métodos.…”

Assessing Ecological Disturbance in Neotropical Forest Landscapes Using High-Level Diversity and High-Level Functionality: Surprising Outcomes from a Case Study with Spider Assemblages

“…Rarefaction curves did not reach their asymptote values (Figure 2a,b). However, this level of sampling completeness is likely to be sufficient to draw conclusions about the usefulness of HLD and HLF as indicators of anthropogenic impacts [57,58].…”

Linking disturbances in neotropical landscapes with ecosystem functional traits: A preliminary assessment using epigaeic and leaf‐litter ant communities

“…Ecological indicators are a pragmatic approach to assess and communicate structural and functional changes in forest landscapes (Cajaiba, Périco, Caron, Dalzochio, Silva, & Santos, 2017; Cajaiba, Périco, da Silva, Leote, & Santos, 2018; Vandewalle et al, 2010). Indicators are particularly relevant in highly diverse (and in many cases remote) tropical regions (Audino et al, 2014), where it is considered unfeasible to monitor most species and locations (Cajaiba, Périco, da Silva, Vieira, et al, 2018; Raine et al, 2019).…”