title: Resource Utilization and Temporal Segregation of Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) Community in a Caatinga Fragment.
abstract: We characterized dung beetles food preference and diel activity and examined the way such characteristics may structure a Scarabaeinae community in a dry forest. We sampled a fragment of Arboreal Caatinga in Milagres, Bahia, Brazil, during the dry and wet seasons, using baited pitfall (bovine spleen, human feces, cow dung, and rotten banana). Species were classified by activity (nocturnal and diurnal) and food preference (coprophagous, necrophagous, saprophagous, copro-necrophagous, and generalist). In total, 1,581 individuals belonging to 16 morphospecies were sampled, with six new records for Caatinga. The dung beetles were mainly from generalist and coprophagous species; seven species presented nocturnal activity, and five were diurnal. There was higher species richness during the day and greater abundance during the night. Species composition differences were influenced by functional guilds and beetle size according to temporal segregation. These factors may be related to physiological, morphological, and behavioral differences.
authors.affiliation: Depto de Ciências Biológicas, Univ Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA, Brasil. bojaum@gmail.com.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Depto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA, Brasil. bojaum@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.affiliation: Depto de Ciências Biológicas, Univ Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA, Brasil.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle; D001517:Coleoptera; D005243:Feces; D005260:Female; D065928:Forests; D006801:Humans; D008372:Manure; D011157:Population Dynamics
chemical_list: D008372:Manure
keywords: Activity; dung beetle; feeding; seasonally dry tropical forests