Escarabajos coprófagos (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) del Parque Nacional Los Estoraques (Norte de Santander, Colombia)

Abstract

Information on the diversity and abundance of the coprophagous scarab beetles of Los Estoraques National Park (ANUE) in Colombia is presented. Beetles were collected monthly from February to December 2002 with pitfall traps baited with human excrement. Four environments where sampled including montane dry forests and montane humid forests with different degrees of disruption. A total of 10,538 specimens representing 19 species were collected. All the species were collected by the fifth month. The Scarabaeinae represented 89% of the collected species (16); the remaining 11% were in Hybosoridae (3). An ANOVA analysis showed significant differences in richness and abundance between some of the sites. No correlation between precipitation and abundance was found for any of the sites sampled. For Norte de Santander, seven species are recorded for the first time, and the known altitudinal distribution in Colombia is expanded for four species.