Deltochilini and Phanaeini dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in introduced and native ecosystems of Brazil

<div><p>The dung beetle tribes Deltochilini and Phanaeini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) play an important ecological role in the habitats in which they live. Despite much field work on these beetles in the Neotropical region, biological information on many taxa is still unknown. Here we provide information on species of Deltochilini and Phanaeini including temporal distribution of adults, sex ratio (Male : Female) and measurements of the individuals as well as on ecology and general biology of all species sampled in introduced (pasturelands of <i>Brachiaria</i> spp.) and native (patch of the Brazilian savanna) ecosystems of Brazil. Furthermore, our findings may help to understand the complexity of the effects of mixed ecosystems on the biodiversity of dung beetles.</p></div

Study areas and sampling design in Amazonas State, Brazil (reproduced, with permission, from Google Earth™).

<p>(A) Benjamin Constant municipality. (B) Guanabara II community. (C) Noval Aliança community. Replicates of each land-use treatment were proportionally distributed inside the grids according to the availability of distinct land-use systems in the study area. Each sample point was comprised of three pitfall traps for the measurement of community attributes and one experimental dung unit for the measurement of functions <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0057786#pone.0057786-Braga1" target="_blank">[31]</a>.</p

Mean values of (A) abundance, biomass and richness of dung beetles, (B) amount of soil excavated and dung removed, and (C) secondary dispersal of small, medium and large seed mimics.

<p>Land-use systems sampled were: primary forest (PF), secondary forest (SF), agroforest (AF), agriculture (AG) and pasture (PA). Different letters above bars indicate statistically significant differences (p<0.05) among land-use systems. Error bars represent ±1 SEM.</p

Total number of individuals, by species, captured in different land-use systems in Benjamin Constant, AM, Brazil.

<p>Mean body weight of dung beetle species, the number of beetles used to calculate mean body weight (<i>n</i>) and body length category (‘Small’ for species <10 mm long and ‘Large’ for species ≥10 mm long) are also shown. Land-use systems are: primary forest (PF), agroforest (AF), secondary forest (SF), agriculture (AG) and pasture (PA).</p

Experimental arena used for measuring three ecological functions of dung beetles.

<p>(A) The experimental dung pile in the center of the arena should be protected from rain. (A1) Plastic beads of different sizes were placed within the dung as seed mimics. (B) General setup of the experimental arena (see main text for description).</p

França_et_al_SelectiveLogging_BrazilianAmazon_DungBeetle_13032016

This dataset results from the PhD research “Ecological Impacts of selective logging in the Amazon: lessons from dung beetles” developed by Filipe França to understand the impacts of selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon on the dung beetle diversity, physiology and associated ecological functions. For dataset descriptions see the file 'README.docx'