Variación en las abundancias de Homocopris achamas (Harold, 1867) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) en el páramo de Rabanal, Boyacá-Colombia / Variation in the Abundances of Homocopris achamas (Harold, 1867) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in the Rabanal Paramo, Boyacá-Colombia

Abstract

ResumenEl conocimiento sobre los escarabajos coprófagos de los páramos en Colombia es insuficiente y limitado, pues estos ecosistemas han sido poco muestreados para el caso de este taxón. El artículo describe la variación de las abundancias de Homocopris achamas, única especie reportada de la familia Scarabaeidae en el páramo de Rabanal. Se capturaron un total de 46 individuos: uno en la cobertura de Bosque, cinco en el borde Bosque-Frailejonal, 22 en Frailejonal y 18 en Pastizal. De estos, el 36.4 % fueron hembras y el 63.6 %, machos. La totalidad de los individuos fueron colectados durante la época lluviosa. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en las abundancias de H. achamas en las diferentes coberturas vegetales presentes en el páramo, sugiriendo mayor preferencia de la especie por las coberturas de frailejonal y pastizal que por las coberturas de borde e interior de bosque.Palabras clave: Escarabajos coprófagos, Alta montaña, Páramo de Rabanal. AbstractThe knowledge about dung beetles in Colombian paramos is insufficient and limited, due to that these ecosystems have been poorly sampled for Scarabaidae family case. This paper aims to describe the variation in the abundances of Homocopris achamas, unique species of the family Scarabaeidae reported in the Rabanal paramo. 46 specimens were collected, from which one was captured inside the forest, five in the frailejonal-forest edge, 22 in frailejonal and 18 in grassland. 36.4 % of them were female and 63.6 % were male. All specimens were collected during the rainy season. Significant differences in the H. achamas abundances were found in the different vegetables covers present in the paramos, suggesting that H. achamas prefers frailejonal and grassland covers more than the forests edge and interior covers. prefers frailejonal and grassland covers more than the forests edge and interior covers.

Quantifying the distribution and morphological variation of the beetles Homocopris achamas and Uroxys coarctatus in Andean ecosystems of Colombia

“…Our hypothesis regarding regional predictors that could act as geographic barriers was not fulfilled, since records were found throughout the gradient for both species with a higher concentration of H. achamas in the páramo region and a higher concentration of U. coarctatus in the Andean region. Our results showed that, although beetles seem to be linked to different life zones, they can disperse along a wide elevational gradient, demonstrating their conditions as generalists as previously documented (Amat‐García et al, 1997; Moreno‐Mancilla & Molano‐Rendón, 2016). The most acceptable explanation is that the beetles respond to changes in environmental conditions and could colonize more suitable habitats for their development.…”

“…H. achamas is distributed between 2200 and 3700 m, but its distribution is in the northern parts of the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes in localities in the departments of Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Santander (Figure 1). Both are typical species of open grassland areas (Amat‐García et al, 1997; Moreno‐Mancilla & Molano‐Rendón, 2016); and their distributions correspond to the Andean and páramo regions, based on the types of plant formations, geological landscapes and soil types (Rangel‐Churio et al, 1997). Taking into account that the taxonomic information of the species was collected from entomological collections and GBIF records, we accepted the correct taxonomic identification by experts in these groups.…”

“…We selected H. achamas and U. coarctatus as our study groups because their records are generally associated with fragmented landscapes with high livestock activity. These species are typical of high Andean ecosystems but have high dispersal ability (Amat‐García et al, 1997; Moreno‐Mancilla & Molano‐Rendón, 2016). These characteristics raise questions about their distributional range and how this affects the morphology of the species.…”