Effect of vegetation cover on dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) and their ecological functions in an Andean forest of Colombia

Arias-Álvarez G.A.¹ [0000-0001-9990-4525] gustavoar2905@gmail.com

Vanegas-Alarcón D.A.¹ [0000-0002-4394-1711]davidvaneal@gmail.com

García-Hernández A.L.¹ [0000-0003-1670-2018]ikbolon84@gmail.com

Santos-Heredia M.C.² [0000-0001-7617-0581]macasahe@gmail.com

Andresen E.³ [0000-0001-8957-4454]andresen@iies.unam.mx

1. Grupo de Investigación Ecdysis, Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Biotecnología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Quindío, Colombia
2. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia
3. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México

Abstract

Introduction: Dung beetles perform important functions in terrestrial ecosystems, but anthropogenic pressures negatively affect them. These effects are well documented in lowland Neotropical forests, yet they have been scarcely studied in Andean forests. Objective: To evaluate how the attributes of dung beetle assemblages and three of their ecological functions differ across three types of vegetation cover, and to determine the relationships between attributes and functions, as well as among functions. Methods: Dung beetles were captured using pitfall traps, and ecological functions were measured through a field experiment conducted at the “El Ocaso” farm (Colombia), in three types of vegetation cover: secondary forest, mixed forest, and cattle pastures (three independent sites per cover). The assemblage attributes evaluated were abundance, species richness, biomass, and community-weighted mean body length; the functions measured were dung removal, soil excavation, and secondary seed dispersal. Results: Both assemblage attributes and ecological functions were negatively affected in the most altered vegetation covers, particularly in cattle pastures. Most assemblage attributes were positively correlated with functions; soil excavation and secondary seed dispersal showed a strong positive correlation with dung removal. Conclusions: Dung beetle assemblages play important ecological roles and are sensitive to ecosystem alterations. This study demonstrates how dung beetles and their functions are negatively impacted when forests are transformed into cattle pastures in poorly studied and highly fragmented Andean forest ecosystems.

Keywords: Premontane forests; secondary seed dispersal; soil excavation; fragmented landscape; Andean region; dung removal