Dung-visiting beetle diversity is mainly affected by land use, while community specialization is driven by climate.

ABSTRACT: Dung beetles are important actors in the self-regulation of ecosystems by driving nutrient cycling, bioturbation, and pest suppression. Urbanization and the sprawl of agricultural areas, however, destroy natural habitats and may threaten dung beetle diversity. In addition, climate change may cause shifts in geographical distribution and community composition. We used a space-for-time approach to test the effects of land use and climate on α-diversity, local community specialization (H ₂') on dung resources, and γ-diversity of dung-visiting beetles. For this, we used pitfall traps baited with four different dung types at 115 study sites, distributed over a spatial extent of 300 km × 300 km and 1000 m in elevation. Study sites were established in four local land-use types:

SUBMITTER: Englmeier J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9547384 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature