The dung beetle assemblage (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) is differently affected by land use and seasonality in northeastern Brazil

Resumen

Dung beetles have been widely used as bioindicators of environmental quality. Here, we assessed the influence of land use and seasonality on patterns of species richness and abundance of dung beetles in northeastern Brazil. Dung beetles were sampled in five different land uses (cassava, eucalyptus, alley cropping, young fallows and old fallows) in the dry and rainy seasons, using pitfall traps baited with fresh cow manure. Seasonality strongly influenced the dung beetle assemblage with a higher number of species and individuals being collected during the rainy season. Species richness was influenced by land use only in the rainy period. Additionally, except for eucalyptus, all land uses supported high dung beetle diversity during the rainy season. We conclude that seasonality and land use should be taken into consideration in bioindication studies using dung beetles since species richness and abundance vary widely depending on the period of the year and on the habitat.