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Greenspace sites conserve taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles in an urbanized landscape in the Brazilian Cerrado

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Abstract

Urbanization transforms natural ecosystems, creating an environmental mosaic, characterized by native vegetation sites mixed with constructed sites. In this study, we compared dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity between residential and greenspace sites (remnants of native vegetation) in an urban landscape in the Brazilian Cerrado. We sampled dung beetles in February (2013–2014 – 2015) in four sites of remnants of native Cerado (here called “greenspace”) and four residential sites in the city of Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Greenspace sites are characterized by a mixture of plants of two distinct strata (phytophysiognomy Cerrado sensu stricto), a woody layer of trees and large shrubs, while residential sites are characterized by residential buildings (housing and commercial sites), unpaved roads with tree-lined streets. Dung beetle abundance and species richness were higher in greenspace sites. Species composition differed significantly among habitats but functional composition did not differ. Functional dispersion and functional richness was higher in greenspace sites. On the other hand, functional evenness was similar between greenspace and residential sites. In this study, we found higher taxonomic and functional components of dung beetle diversity in greenspace when compared to residential sites in the Brazilian Cerrado. Thus, we highlight the importance greenspace sites for the conservation of dung beetle biodiversity and consequently their ecological services (i.e. such as soil aeration, secondary seed dispersal, parasite regulation), which indirectly can affect human life quality in the urban matrix.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Fernando Z. Vaz-de-Mello (UFMT) for identification of the dung beetle species; Alfredo Raúl Abot (Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) for his lab equipment for insect screening, Mateus Alves and Paulo André Silva for the field support, the Editor and four anonymous reviewers for the fruitful comments on the manuscript. CMAC received a PhD scholarschip from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil) (140741/2015-1) from the Entomology Graduate Program, Universidade Federal de Lavras, and PhD sandwich scholarship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil) (88881.134292/2016-01). VK thanks FAPEMIG for financial support.

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior.

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Author notes

  1. César M. A. Correa

    Present address: Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, 79200-000, Brazil

  2. Anderson Puker

    Present address: Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Rondônia, Colorado do Oeste, Rondônia, 76993-000, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, 37200-000, Brazil

    César M. A. Correa

  2. Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Mato Grosso, Juína, Mato Grosso, 78570-000, Brazil

    Kleyton R. Ferreira

  3. Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Mato Grosso, Guarantã do Norte, Mato Grosso, 78520-000, Brazil

    Anderson Puker

  4. Departamento de Biologia, Setor de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, 37200-000, Brazil

    Lívia D. Audino

  5. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Ambientais, Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais, Frutal, Minas Gerais, 38200-000, Brazil

    Vanesca Korasaki

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  1. César M. A. Correa
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Contributions

CMAC and KRF conceived the study, they selected the study sites and performed the dung beetle surveys; CMAC analyzed data with substantial input from LDA; CMAC wrote the paper with substantial input from all authors.

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Correspondence to César M. A. Correa.

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CMAC, KRF, AP, LDA and VK declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Correa, C.M.A., Ferreira, K.R., Puker, A. et al. Greenspace sites conserve taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles in an urbanized landscape in the Brazilian Cerrado. Urban Ecosyst 24, 1023–1034 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-021-01093-8

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