Landscape structure and composition define the body condition of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in a fragmented tropical rainforest

Salomão, Renato Portela; González‐Tokman, Daniel; Dáttilo, Wesley; López‐Acosta, Juan Carlos; Favila, Mario E.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.01.033

Cited by 41 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 65 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Both these findings suggest that previous forest disturbance could have acted as an environmental filter or selective force (Balmford, 1996;Nunes et al, 2016): Microclimatic changes relating to previous logging or fires (e.g., Hardwick et al, 2015;Lindenmayer, Hunter, Burton, & Gibbons, 2009) may have extirpated the most disturbance-sensitive species-as previously observed for dung beetle communities in primary forests converted to oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia (Edwards et al, 2014)-and favored the species that are more tolerant to drought and fires. This conjecture is supported by evidence showing that dung beetle species are highly susceptible to environmental modification (Beiroz et al, 2018), including changes in forest structure (Salomão et al, 2018) and microclimatic conditions (Birkett, Blackburn, & Menéndez, 2018). Perhaps more importantly, our results support that local human-driven disturbance and climateassociated stressors can act together and influence tropical forest biodiversity and functioning.…”

Section: Could Pre-el Niño Forest Disturbance Influence Post-el Niñsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Tropical dung beetles have been shown to respond to such forest modification, both indirectly through sublethal changes on their body conditions Salomão, González-Tokman, Dáttilo, López-Acosta, & Favila, 2018) and directly, by reducing species-specific relative abundances and the community diversity and biomass .…”

Section: Indirect Mechanisms Underpinning Post-el Niño Changes In Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

El Niño impacts on human‐modified tropical forests: Consequences for dung beetle diversity and associated ecological processes

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Our knowledge of how tropical forest biodiversity and functioning respond to anthropogenic and climate‐associated stressors is limited. Research exploring El Niño impacts are scarce or based on single post‐disturbance assessments, and few studies assess forests previously affected by anthropogenic disturbance. Focusing on dung beetles and associated ecological functions, we assessed (a) the ecological effects of a strong El Niño, (b) if post‐El Niño beetle responses were influenced by previous forest disturbance, and (c) how these responses compare between forests impacted only by drought and those affected by both drought and fires. We sampled 30 Amazonian forest plots distributed across a gradient of human disturbance in 2010, 2016, and 2017—approximately 5 years before, and 3–6 and 15–18 months after the 2015–16 El Niño. We found 14,451 beetles from 98 species and quantified the beetle‐mediated dispersal of >8,600 seed mimics and the removal of c. 30 kg of dung. All dung beetle responses (species richness, abundance, biomass, compositional similarity to pre‐El Niño condition, and rates of dung removal and seed dispersal) declined after the 2015–16 El Niño, but the greatest immediate losses (i.e., in 2016) were observed within fire‐affected forests. Previous forest disturbance also influenced post‐El Niño dung beetle species richness, abundance, and species composition. We demonstrate that dung beetles and their ecological functions are negatively affected by climate‐associated disturbances in human‐modified Amazonian forests and suggest that the interaction between local anthropogenic and climate‐related stressors merits further investigation. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.

show abstract

Section: Could Pre-el Niño Forest Disturbance Influence Post-el Niñsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Indirect Mechanisms Underpinning Post-el Niño Changes In Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

El Niño impacts on human‐modified tropical forests: Consequences for dung beetle diversity and associated ecological processes

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Not all fragmentation effects are beneficial since a higher edge density can have adverse effects on the abundance, biomass, and even the physiological condition of tropical dung beetles ( Portela Salomão et al, 2018 ). We found the lowest abundance of dung beetles in variegated windows, where the highest edge density occurs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of diversity maintenance in dung beetle assemblages in a heterogeneous tropical landscape

Rivera

Gómez

Navarrete-Gutiérrez

et al. 2020

PeerJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

“…Early studies showed that the body size and fecundity of a generalist ground beetle was positively correlated with field perimeter-to-area ratio and percentage of perennial crops across cereal farms (Bommarco et al 1998(Bommarco et al , Östman et al 2001. Effects of landscape structure on body condition have also been demonstrated for wolf spiders (Öberg 2009;Drapela et al 2013) and dung beetles (Salomão et al 2018). Flying organisms are highly mobile and thus may be most susceptible to landscape-related drivers.…”

Section: Physiological Indicators Of Individual Body Condition and Fitness Can Offer Valuable Insights Intomentioning

confidence: 95%

Agriculturally Intensified Landscapes Are Associated With Reduced Body Condition of Lady Beetles

Tiede

Iuliano

Gratton

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context: Agricultural intensification is contributing to a global species decline. Underlying mechanisms include toxic effects of pesticides on non-target organisms and reductions in habitat and food availability. However, the effects of agricultural intensification on body condition, particularly of ecosystem service providing arthropods, are poorly understood.Objectives: Here, we investigated whether variations in the body condition of common lady beetle species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) can be explained by the composition and configuration of the surrounding landscape. Assuming strong seasonal variation in food availability in intensively farmed regions, we included the entire period of lady beetle activity in our study.Methods: Lady beetles were collected from April to September 2011 in 30 landscapes in southern Wisconsin, USA. We examined how body size, body density, and lipid content of the beetles responded to the percentage of intensive cropland, habitat diversity, and edge density in the surrounding landscape.Results: The strongest predictor of body condition was the percentage of intensive cropland. For every 10% increase in cropland, body density decreased by about 3.9% and fat content by 6.4%. Landscape diversity and edge density correlated with body condition of individual species.Conclusions: In agriculturally intensified landscapes, lady beetles with reduced body condition may produce fewer offspring, have lower survival rates, and exert less effective pest control. Thus, our results suggest a mechanistic link between landscape patterns and observed declines in lady beetle populations. Our results also show that the expansion of monocultures affects even common cropland-associated species such as Harmonia axyridis, suggesting a long-term decline in biocontrol services in simplified agricultural landscapes.

show abstract

Landscape structure and composition define the body condition of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in a fragmented tropical rainforest

Cited by 41 publications

References 65 publications

El Niño impacts on human‐modified tropical forests: Consequences for dung beetle diversity and associated ecological processes

El Niño impacts on human‐modified tropical forests: Consequences for dung beetle diversity and associated ecological processes

Mechanisms of diversity maintenance in dung beetle assemblages in a heterogeneous tropical landscape

Agriculturally Intensified Landscapes Are Associated With Reduced Body Condition of Lady Beetles

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About