Diversity of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in a rainforest fragment and a remnant riparian forest in Córdoba, Colombia

The expansion of the agricultural frontier produces fragmented landscapes, habitat decline and loss of diversity. In these landscapes, remnants of riparian vegetation are important elements to maintain biodiversity. We tested the hypothesis that a riparian remnant keeps similar values of dung beetles diversity, compared with a rainforest fragment. Therefore, we expected to find similar values of diversity between the riparian remnant and the adjacent rainforest fragment. The study was carried out in an area of the buffer zone of Natural Paramillo National Park of Córdoba, Colombia. A linear transect including 15 pitfall traps (30 m apart from each) was established at each sampling sites between April and May 2011. We collected 575 specimens, which were distributed among 26 species. The results show a community of dung beetles more equitable and diverse inside remnant forest riparian compared to forest fragment. The forest fragment was dominated by a species Canthon sp.01H that concentrated about 40% of the individuals captured, while in the remnant riparian forest three species were co-dominant Canthon sp.01H, S. moniliatus and Canthidium sp.02H. Beta diversity was <1.4 (maximum beta = 2.0). However, the biggest difference in the assemblies is presented in dominant species in each habitat. Results highlight the importance of riparian vegetation to the diversity of dung beetles to keep particular assemblages differing of the forest fragment mainly in dominant species. The remnant riparian forest was also important to present values of diversity that duplicate the forest fragment diversity and conserves some different species, contributing to the diversity of this landscape. However, this result should be taken with caution due to the particular condition of our study system that involved a comparison between a single fragment and a single riparian remnant. Future studies are needed for further generalization. © 2016, Asociacion Argentina de Ecologia. All rights reserved.