In the pines: Dung beetle assemblages in longleaf forests

Dung beetle assemblages are recognized as ecological bioindicators allowing us to observe shifts within communities. Acting as primary nutrient cyclers, they establish niche segregation by selecting dung based on species (e.g. coyote) and by using dung in different ways (e.g. rollers vs. tunnelers). Species of dung beetles found in longleaf pine differ from those found in surrounding agricultural land, establishing that biodiversity of native species is maintained within these forested systems. Our objective was to investigate whether mammalian meso-predator exclusion, a proxy for habitat fragmentation, impacts dung beetle species composition and community diversity within this system. We randomized dung pitfall traps along a single transect inside four predator exclusion plots and in paired open control plots, each approximately 100 acres in size, in longleaf pine forests at The Jones Center in southwest Georgia. Traps were collected 72 hours later, each month, over a two-year period. We identified dung beetles to species level except aphodiines which we identified to the subfamily level. Species composition, population densities, and associated diversity indices were compared between predator exclusion and control (non-exclusion) plots, dung types, and site characteristics. Results from this study examined the effects of habitat fragmentation within the decomposer guild of insects and explore the implications of urbanization across the landscape and the necessity for future habitat conservation.