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Response of a dung beetle assemblage along a reforestation gradient in Restinga forest

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Abstract

Scarabaeinae dung beetles are indicator insects used in the evaluation of the ecological effects caused by changes in habitat structure and ecosystem integrity resulting from environmental degradation. We compared dung beetle diversity in conserved restinga forests (coastal tropical moist broadleaf forest) and in reforested areas of various ages during the rainy and dry seasons, on the coast of Paraíba State, Brazil. A total of 3,634 individuals comprising 14 species were collected. In the reforested areas there was a gradual increase in species abundance relative to the area’s age, but in the conserved restinga the abundance of individuals was 10–20 times higher than that recorded in areas of recent reforestation. The highest species richness was found in the conserved restinga and in the oldest reforested area (16 years old) during the rainy season. During the dry season, when environmental conditions do not seem to favor adult survival, most of the species were found in the conserved restinga forest. The dung beetle community structure was related to the increases in habitat heterogeneity in the successional processes of the reforested areas. Our results suggest that reforested areas act as a source of and refuge for dung beetle species.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of the project “Ecological Succession and Regeneration of Restingas: Reforestation of Dunes in Mataraca, Paraíba”, financed by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq/Process number 507127/2004-8), in partnership with the Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Company, which provided financial and logistical support for research development through the Federal University of Paraíba. Biology students Pedro Barreto and Valderêz da Costa received ITI/CNPq scholarships (Scientific Initiation). The Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) awarded a PRO-DOC scholarship to Malva I. M. Hernández through the Regional Graduate Program in Development and the Environment of the Federal University of Paraíba. Comments by anonymous reviewers improved the manuscript. Bianca Delfosse revised the final version of the manuscript. We would like to thank Dr. Fernando Z. Vaz-de-Mello, of the Federal University of Mato Grosso, who confirmed the identification of species.

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Author notes

  1. Malva I. M. Hernández

    Present address: Depto. Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, CEP: 88040-900, Brasil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa Regional de Pós Graduação em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente (PRODEMA), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Caixa Postal 5122, João Pessoa, Paraíba, CEP: 58051-970, Brasil

    Malva I. M. Hernández

  2. Departamento de Sistemática e Zoologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, CEP: 58059-900, Brasil

    Pedro S. C. S. Barreto, Valderêz H. Costa & Antonio J. Creão-Duarte

  3. Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, México

    Mario E. Favila

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  1. Malva I. M. Hernández
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Correspondence to Malva I. M. Hernández.

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Hernández, M.I.M., Barreto, P.S.C.S., Costa, V.H. et al. Response of a dung beetle assemblage along a reforestation gradient in Restinga forest. J Insect Conserv 18, 539–546 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9645-5

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