Kleyton Rezende Ferreira

Urbanization alters the ecological dynamics of greenspace sites by filtering species and their traits, ultimately reducing community differentiation and driving biodiversity homogenization. We assessed short- and long-term changes in the taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles in urban greenspaces of the Brazilian Cerrado. Dung beetles were sampled annually in the same sites during two three-year periods (2013–14-15 and 2023–24-25). A total of 4,333 individuals from 32 species were collected: 1,012 individuals (21 species) in the first period and 3,321 (25 species) in the second. Species richness varied among years but not between periods, whereas abundance increased 3.3-fold in the second period. Functional richness declined by nearly 40% between 2013 and 2025, functional evenness decreased significantly across years and periods, while functional divergence remained stable. Taxonomic beta diversity was lower in the second period, with species replacement increasing between periods but declining within them. Functional beta diversity showed no overall differences, though functional replacement rose between periods and fell within the second. Beta diversity was strongly shaped by extirpations and colonizations, with incidence-based changes exceeding abundance-based ones. Within-period shifts were more pronounced, initially driven by colonization of frequent species, and later by extirpations of common and colonization of rare species. Overall, dung beetle communities in urban greenspaces exhibited dynamic shifts, with abundance gains and long-term reductions in functional and taxonomic distinctiveness. These findings stress that conserving or restoring species with unique functional traits is essential, as maintaining richness alone may not safeguard ecosystem functioning in urban landscapes.

Urbanization is a key driver of biodiversity change globally, reshaping species composition, ecosystem functions, and spatial diversity patterns. In this study, we investigated how urbanization influences the taxonomic and functional beta diversity of dung beetles in the eastern Amazon. Sampling was conducted along a preserved–rural–urban gradient using baited pitfall traps during the rainy season. We focused on three functional traits closely linked to dung beetle ecosystem functions and characterized landscape structure around each site using four land‐use and land‐cover types. Taxonomic and functional beta diversity, along with their replacement and gain/loss components, were calculated and related to urbanization effects. In total, we collected 4298 individuals from 66 species, with both richness and abundance declining from preserved to urban sites. A nested pattern in taxonomic diversity and evidence of nested functional diversity emerged along the gradient, suggesting that urbanization acts as a filtering process that progressively excludes species with unique trait combinations. Functional differences among environments were largely driven by nestedness, indicating that urban assemblages represent subsets of species from less disturbed habitats rather than functionally distinct assemblages. Additionally, the positive relationship between environmental dissimilarity and taxonomic beta diversity underscores the influence of landscape changes across the gradient on dung beetle assemblages. Our results demonstrate that urbanization reduces both taxonomic and functional beta diversity in Amazonian dung beetles, reinforcing the importance of conserving forest cover. Implementing sustainable policies, such as protecting urban forest remnants, can help preserve biodiversity and the ecosystem processes it supports within tropical cities.

Dietary breadth enhances animal resilience in environments where resources are unpredictable or declining, enabling species to exploit alternative food sources when primary ones are scarce. In dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae), frugivory is an increasingly recognised foraging strategy, particularly in tropical regions experiencing mammalian declines. Here we evaluated the attractiveness of native Caryocar brasiliense (pequi) and exotic (banana) fruits to dung beetles in the Brazilian Cerrado. Furthermore, we compared the attractiveness of fresh and 48‐h fermented pequi. We hypothesised that traps baited with native fruits (fresh and fermented) would attract higher abundance, biomass and diversity of dung beetles than those baited with exotic fruit, and that fermented pequi would be more attractive than fresh pequi due to the odour of decaying fruit. We collected 426 individuals, representing 14 dung beetle species, where Canthidium sp. was classified as specialist of fermented pequi. Traps baited with pequi, both fresh and fermented, attracted significantly higher diversity, abundance and biomass than banana. However, species richness and composition did not differ significantly among bait types, indicating generalist feeding strategies related to fruits. The fermentation stage of pequi did not influence attraction, suggesting that volatile cues from fresh fruits are sufficient to trigger beetle foraging, highlighting the role of native fruits in supporting dung beetle diversity. These findings highlight the potential of native fruits as an important food resource for dung beetles and underscore the importance of using native fruits known to attract these insects to improve fruit‐based sampling methods for dung beetle assemblages in Neotropical landscapes.

Although the Amazon provides crucial goods and ecosystem services for humanity, the alarming conversion of its original ecosystem due to agricultural activities challenges the maintenance of biodiversity in this rainforest. Beetles from the family Melolonthidae serve as a proxy for assessing the effect of land use change on biodiversity. In this study, we evaluated the effect of land use changes on the entire Melolonthidae community (species richness, abundance and biomass) and on each subfamily (Rutelinae, Melolonthinae and Dynastinae). Peach palm Bactris gasipaes Kunth (Arecaceae) plantation, coffee Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner (Rubiaceae) plantation, pasture Urochloa decumbens Stapf. (Poaceae) and forest remnants had their Melolonthidae communities assessed in the southern Amazon region. Forest remnants encompassed a higher species richness of the entire Melolonthidae family and Rutelinae subfamily compared to coffee plantations. Pasture areas had a higher abundance of the entire Melolonthidae family and the subfamilies Dynastinae and Melolonthinae, as well as a higher biomass of the Melolonthidae family and Melolonthinae subfamily. Coffee plantations presented the lowest species richness, abundance and biomass for all taxonomic levels studied. The results provide evidence that the Melolonthidae beetle community, especially Rutelinae, is negatively affected by land use change in the Amazon, reinforcing the role of these beetles in conservation studies. Pasture areas are favourable habitats for some species of the Dynastinae and Melolonthinae subfamilies, which suggests that they may be pests in this ecosystem. Future population studies are necessary to broaden our understanding of this group of insects.

The Pantanal is one of the largest Neotropical seasonal freshwater wetlands on Earth, with high biodiversity. Livestock farming has historically been the main economic activity in the Pantanal, in large areas of exotic pastures, and more recently, new areas for soybean croplands were implemented in this biome. However, the impacts of the new areas with soybean crops on biodiversity are still unknown. Here, we used dung beetles, a recognised bioindicator group, to assess the effect of the exotic pastures and soybean croplands on biodiversity in the Brazilian Pantanal. For this, we sampled dung beetles in January 2023 (rainy season) using standardised sampling protocols in the native grasslands, exotic pastures, and soybean croplands in Aquidauana municipality, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Our results show a consistent shift in dung beetle species composition and a reduction of abundant and dominant species from native grasslands to soybean croplands. These results indicate that the effects caused by soybean croplands are more severe on dung beetle biodiversity than exotic pastures, demonstrating that soybean croplands established in the Pantanal have severe negative consequences for biodiversity. Therefore, management of native grasslands and exotic pastures may be an alternative to avoid the loss of dung beetle biodiversity and to maintain livestock sustainable production in the Brazilian Pantanal. Finally, we highlight the importance of evaluating the effects of traditional and new agricultural systems on biodiversity for the development of more efficient, sustainable management and conservation strategies in the Brazilian Pantanal.

By understanding how assemblages segregate according to food types, it is possible to depict and understand species distribution and exploitation of similar food resources. Although it is well known that dung beetles may feed on carrion, but the attractiveness of different carrion types for these beetles is still poorly understood. In this study, we compared the dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) diversity attracted to two carrion types in different habitats in an Amazonian landscape. Dung beetles were captured by using pitfall traps baited with decaying cattle beef and cattle liver in native forest, peach palm plantation, teak plantation and exotic pasture. Overall, we captured 582 dung beetles of 43 species, where Canthidium aff. lentum was classified as a specialist of cattle beef, Deltochilum sp. One was considered specialist of liver carrion, 11 were considered generalists and for the 30 remaining species, it was not possible to determine their carrion preference due to the low number. Abundance, but not species richness, was affected by carrion type, and a higher number of beetles was recorded in beef‐baited traps compared to liver‐baited traps. According to functional groups, endocoprid beetles were more abundant in traps baited with decaying beef, while paracoprid and telecoprid beetles did not show preference for any carrion type. This study suggests a novel scenario of intra‐resource segregation, where species vary their preferences depending to the part of the dead corpse being exploited. The amount of food resource, the maintenance of stable populations and trophic preference mediated by chemical cues are some mechanisms that may explain the segregation of dung beetles among carrion types.