Dung beetle diversity and functions suggest no major impacts of cattle grazing in the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands

Correa, C.M.A. and Braga, R.F. and Louzada, J. and Menéndez, R. (2019) Dung beetle diversity and functions suggest no major impacts of cattle grazing in the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands. Ecological Entomology. ISSN 0307-6946

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Abstract

1. Dung beetles perform relevant ecological functions in pastures, such as dung removal and parasite control. Livestock farming is the main economic activity in the Brazilian Pantanal. However, the impact of cattle grazing on the Pantanal's native dung beetle community, and functions performed by them, is still unknown. 2. This study evaluated the effects of cattle activity on dung beetle community attributes (richness, abundance, biomass, composition, and functional group) as well as their ecological functions (dung removal and soil bioturbation) in the Pantanal. In January/February 2016, dung beetles were sampled and their ecological functions measured in 16 sites of native grasslands in Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, 10 areas regularly grazed by cattle and six control ungrazed areas (> 20 years of abandonment). 3. In all, 1169 individuals from 30 species of dung beetles were collected. Although abundance, species richness, and biomass did not differ between grasslands with and without cattle activity, species composition and functional groups differed among systems. Large roller beetles were absent from non-cattle grasslands, and the abundance, richness, and biomass of medium roller beetles was higher in those systems. 4. Despite causing changes in species/functional group composition, the results of this study show that a density compensation of functional groups in cattle-grazed natural grasslands seems to have conserved the ecological functions (dung removal and soil bioturbation), with no significant differences between systems. 5. Therefore, these results provide evidence that cattle breeding in natural grasslands of the Brazilian Pantanal can integrate livestock production with the conservation of the dung beetle community and its ecological functions. © 2019 The Royal Entomological Society

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Ecological Entomology
Additional Information:
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Correa, C. M., Braga, R. F., Louzada, J. and Menéndez, R. (2019), Dung beetle diversity and functions suggest no major impacts of cattle grazing in the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands. Ecol Entomol. doi:10.1111/een.12729 which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/een.12729 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1109
Subjects:
?? biodiversity conservationecosystems servicesgrassland managementland-use intensityscarabaeinaeinsect scienceecology ??
ID Code:
131990
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
14 Mar 2019 14:45
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
16 Dec 2023 01:30