02705nas a2200253   4500008004100000245004800041210004700089300001200136490000700148520200400155653001402159653001602173653001602189653001602205653001202221653001402233653001602247653002802263653002702291653002302318653001702341100001502358856007802373       2001                        eng d00aLarge-scale spatial ecology of dung beetles0 aLargescale spatial ecology of dung beetles  a511-5240 v243 aRecent modelling work shows that the composition of local communities can be influenced by the configuration of the surrounding landscape, but many of these models assume that all community members display the same type of extinction- colonization dynamics. I use Aphodius dung beetles to test the hypothesis that interspecific differences in habitat selection and dispersal capacity may translate into differences in spatial population dynamics, even among closely related species coexisting on the same resource. If this is true, then groups of species with different. characteristics would show different responses to landscape configuration. I first divided the area of Finland into a grid, and used collection records to describe regional variation in the Aphodius fauna of open cattle pastures. I then sampled dung beetles on 131 cattle farms, to examine whether the subset of species found on each farm was related to the density of pastures in the surrounding grid square. Finally, I used historical records to analyze changes in dung beetle communities during the last century, when there was great loss of pasture. Overall, I found no relationship between landscape characteristics and the total proportion of the regional species pool that was found on each farm. However, the distribution of species among guilds with different habitat specificity did related to the configuration of the landscape, and the pattern was most pronounced in a specialists species with limited dispersal. Associations between community structure and landscape configuration were superimposed on two much larger and stronger patterns: a large-scale latitudinal gradient in regional species richness, and a decelerating gain of species to local communities with an increasing regional species pool. I conclude that ecological variation among community members is a crucial factor in the analysis of local community composition, and that local species richness should always be conditioned on regional richness.10aabundance10aassemblages10acoexistence10acommunities10aFINLAND10agradients10aLATITUDINAL10aMETAPOPULATION DYNAMICS10aPLANT-SPECIES RICHNESS10aREGIONAL DIVERSITY10aScarabaeidae1 aRoslin, T.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/large-scale-spatial-ecology-dung-beetles02416nas a2200193   4500008004100000245006600041210006600107300001200173490000700185520179700192653001401989653001302003653001402016653002802030653002202058653003302080100001502113856009402128       2001                        eng d00aSpatial population structure in a patchily distributed beetle0 aSpatial population structure in a patchily distributed beetle  a823-8370 v103 aThe dynamics and evolution of populations will critically depend on their spatial structure.Hence, a recent emphasis on one particular type of structure—the metapopulation conceptof Levins—can only be justified by empirical assessment of spatial population structuresin a wide range of organisms. This paper focuses onAphodius fossor, a dung beetle specializedon cattle pastures. An agricultural database was used to locate nearly 50 000 localpopulationsofA. fossorin Finland. Several independent methods were then used to quantify key processesin this vast population system.Allozyme markers and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)sequences were applied to examine genetic differentiation of local populations and to deriveindirect estimates of gene flow. These estimates were compared to values expected on thebasis of direct observations of dispersing individuals and assessments of local effectivepopulation size. Molecular markers revealed striking genetic homogeneity inA. fossor.Differentiation was only evident in mtDNA haplotype frequencies between the isolatedÅland islands and the Finnish mainland. Thus, indirect estimates of gene flow agreed withdirect observations that local effective population size inA. fossoris large (hundreds ofindividuals), and that in each generation, a substantial fraction (approximately one-fifth) ofthe individuals move between populations. Large local population size, extreme haplotypediversity and a high regional incidence ofA. fossorall testify against recurrent populationturnover. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that the whole mainlandpopulation ofA. fossoris better described as one large ‘patchy population’, with substantialmovement between relatively persistent local populations, than as a classical metapopulation.10aallozymes10aaphodius10agene flow10agenetic differentiation10amitochondrial DNA10aspatial population structure1 aRoslin, T.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/spatial-population-structure-patchily-distributed-beetle02220nas a2200337   4500008004100000245007200041210006900113260000800182300001000190490000800200520133000208653001301538653002601551653001501577653001501592653001401607653001401621653001301635653001901648653001701667653001901684653001101703653001501714653002501729653001501754653003301769653001401802100001501816700001701831856003401848       2001                        eng d00aDistribution and abundance of dung beetles in fragmented landscapes0 aDistribution and abundance of dung beetles in fragmented landsca  cMar  a69-770 v1273 aRelated species utilising similar resources are often assumed to show similar spatial population structures and dynamics. This paper reports substantial ecological variation within a set of Aphodius dung beetles occurring in the same patchily distributed resource, livestock dung in pastures. We show how variation in habitat and resource selectivity, in the rate of movements between pastures, and in the distribution of local population sizes all contribute to interspecific differences in spatial population structures. Local dung beetle assemblages are compared between two landscapes with different densities of pastures. In one of the landscapes, we contrast the abundances and regional distributions of Aphodius before and after 15 years of rapid habitat loss. Different species show very dissimilar responses to changes in the structure of the landscape. Our results suggest that generalist Aphodius species, and specialist species with high dispersal powers, occur as large "patchy" populations in the landscape. In contrast? a strict pasture specialist species with limited dispersal powers (A. pusillus) forms classical metapopulations. At the community level, interspecific differences in spatial population structures make the local community composition a function of the structure of the surrounding landscape.10aaphodius10aAPHODIUS SCARABAEIDAE10aassemblage10aCOLEOPTERA10acommunity10adiversity10adynamics10aeurope mammals10ahabitat loss10ametapopulation10apatchy10apopulation10aresource utilization10aserpentine10aspatial population structure10astability1 aRoslin, T.1 aKoivunen, A.  u<Go to ISI>://000167629200008