Livestock grazing impact differently on the functional diversity of dung beetles depending on the regional context in subtropical forests

• Autores: Guerra Alonso, Celeste Beatríz; Zurita, Gustavo Andrés; Bellocq, Maria Isabel
• Año de publicación: 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Ecology; Environmental sciences
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de Misiones

Fil: Guerra Alonso, Celeste Beatríz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología Subtropical (Puerto Iguazú, Misiones); Argentina.
Fil: Guerra Alonso, Celeste Beatríz. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical (Puerto Iguazú, Misiones); Argentina.
Fil: Zurita, Gustavo Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales; Argentina.
Fil: Zurita, Gustavo Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales; Argentina.
Fil: Bellocq, Maria Isabel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Argentina.
The replacement of native forest by cattle pastures reduces functional diversity; however, little is known about whether the changes depend on regional variation. Dung beetles are one of the most diverse and functionally important taxa; through organic matter burial, dung beetles improve soil quality. We collected dung beetles in native forests and cattle ranching areas in subtropical forests with contrasting climatic conditions: the Atlantic Forest, the Humid Chaco, and the Dry Chaco. We measured 11 traits related to the ecology and the physiology of species. Irrespectively of the region, functional richness was higher in forests (native and with cattle) when compared to open pastures. Humid forests (Atlantic Forest and Humid Chaco) showed higher functional richness than Dry Chaco. Functional dispersion in humid forests was similar between native forest and livestock systems, however, functional dispersion in the Dry Chaco was higher in open pastures compared to native forest. According to our results, native forests and forests with cattle maintain functional diversity in all regions. However, in the case of open pastures, the response depends on the regional context; the replacement of native forest by open pastures strongly affected functional diversity in humid forests and showed less impact on dry forest.