Dung Beetles and Long-Term Habitat Fragmentation in Alter do Chão, Amazônia, Brazil

Abstract

We examined the abundance and diversity of dung beetles in forest fragments within a savanna landscape near Alter do Chão, Pará, Brazil. These fragments have existed for 150 years and possibly millennia. Using pit-fall traps to capture dung beetles, we investigated fragment area, fragment isolation, and tree density in fragments as predictors of species richness, abundance, and biomass of dung beetles. Across six fragments, isolation distance was negatively related with dung beetle species richness, while all other variables were unrelated. We also examined the abundance of the dominant species using flight-intercept traps in 21 fragments. Tree density correlated negatively with abundance of the dominant species, a probable new species.