The aim of the research was to show how a change in land use influences the structure of a dung beetle assemblage and affect its\ud
conservation. In the Pineto Urban Regional Park (Rome), dog dung is the sole food resource currently available for scarab dung\ud
beetles, after the recent removal of wild and domestic herbivores. A one-year sampling was conducted to study the scarab assemblage\ud
in dog scats (1999) and to compare it with the previous assemblage associated with sheep droppings (1986). Richness, evenness\ud
and similarity parameters were compared between the two allochronic assemblages. From sheep to dog dung, an impoverishment of\ud
the total richness was observed (from 19 to 9 species) together with an increase of individuals (by 7 times). Dog dung harboured 20%\ud
of the current scarab dung beetle fauna of Rome, probably as a consequence of the dog mixed diet, rich in cellulose. Both the communities\ud
showed a high percentage of tunnellers, probably because of the food shortage and, for dog scats, of the high dehydration\ud
rate. A comparison with other Roman scarab communities enhanced that: (1) the change in food resource determined a higher difference\ud
in species composition respect to other parameters (size and habitat diversity); (2) dog dung provided a temporary refuge for\ud
species that otherwise may encounter local extinction in urban environments.\ud
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.\ud
Keywords: Urban ecology; Community ecology; Biodiversity conservation; Food resources; Dung beetle assemblage