Diversity Patterns of Dung Beetles along a Mediterranean Elevational Gradient.

ABSTRACT: Most studies of biodiversity-elevational patterns do not take species abundance into consideration. Hill numbers are a unified family of indices that use species abundance and allow a complete characterization of species assemblages through diversity profiles. Studies on dung beetle responses to elevation were essentially based on species richness and produced inconsistent results because of the non-distinction between different habitats and the use of gradients dispersed over wide areas. We analyzed dung beetle diversity in a Mediterranean mountain (central Italy) for different habitats (woodlands vs. grasslands) and taxonomic groups (scarabaeids and aphodiids). Scarabaeids were the most abundant. Since scarabaeids are able to construct subterranean nests, this indicates that the warm and

SUBMITTER: Mantoni C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8466803 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature