Exploring the predictive performance of several temperature measurements on Neotropical dung beetle assemblages: Methodological implications

Basic characteristics of species assemblages are frequently related to temperature variables recorded at a coarse-grained scale. In this study, 15 min instant-measurements of environmental and soil temperatures were recorded during 1 year in six Atlantic Forest sites of southern Brazil, ranging from 250 to 1,630 m a.s.l. These measurements were used to examine the comparative explanatory capacity of several temperature variables in predicting species richness and total or specific variations of dung beetle abundance. The results suggest that temperature measurements obtained during the survey period have the highest explanatory capacity. Furthermore, average temperature values seem to have a relatively higher explanatory capacity than absolute minimum or maximum values reflecting extreme conditions. In general, there is no rule in selecting a temperature variable when the objective involves explaining the variation in species abundances. Both soil and air variables can have similar explanatory capacities. The present results should be considered when designing future ecological studies in Neotropical conditions.