“…Tropical dung beetles offer a variety of clear ecosystem functions: they prevent soilsurface fouling by burying dung (Myrcha and Andrzejewska, 1984;Cambefort, 1986;Davis, 1996); they aerate soils, improve water penetration and prevent nutrient loss through tunnelling and burial activities (Edwards and Aschenborn, 1987;Herrich and Lal, 1996); they bury seeds and improve seed germination rates (Shepherd and Chapman, 1998;Andresen, 2002Andresen, , 2003 and they reduce populations of flies and other nuisance organisms (Fincher, 1975;Ridsdill-Smith et al, 1987). During the last 50 years, huge tracts of native Neotropical forests have been cleared for timber extraction or for agriculture (Riitters et al, 2000), which negatively affects local dung beetle assemblages (Howden and Nealis, 1975;Klein, 1989;Estrada et al, 1998).…”