TY - JOUR T1 - The verification and application of bioindicators: a case study of dung beetles in a savanna ecosystem JF - Journal of Applied Ecology Y1 - 2002 A1 - McGeoch, M. A. A1 - Van Rensburg, B. J. A1 - Botes, A. SP - 661 EP - 672 KW - assemblages KW - bioindication KW - COLEOPTERA KW - conservation KW - detector species KW - habitat KW - habitat specificity KW - indicator species KW - indicators KW - range size KW - Scarabaeidae KW - SELECTION KW - south-africa KW - species richness KW - transformation AB - 1.Bioindicators of habitat quality and environmental change must be identified quantitatively and tested independently to confirm their usefulness. We used the indicator value (IndVal ) method, which combines measures of habitat fidelity and specificity, to assess the indicator responses of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa. The indicator responses were verified by sampling in different areas of the Park, 2 years after the responses were originally quantified. 2. We postulated that terrestrial insect indicators with different combinations of habitat specificity and fidelity might fulfil different indicator roles. Indicator species with strong habitat specificity (characteristic species) are unlikely to provide information on the direction of ecological change despite high vulnerability. Rather, detector species that span a range of ecological states are likely to be better in this role. We used IndVal for selecting such detector species that indicate the direction of ecological change. 3. Sets of species were found to be robust bioindicators, i.e. reliably characteristic across the habitat of which they were indicative. The suite of indicators was refined by discarding those with IndVal s that varied significantly across years, thus improving the confidence in the final suite of species selected. By clearly responding to a change in habitat between two ecological states, detector species provided information complementary to that provided by characteristic species. 4. The IndVal method enabled both the identification and testing of indicator (characteristic and detector) species. Because of its resilience to changes in abundance, IndVal is a particularly effective tool for ecological bioindication. 5. We conclude that both characteristic and detector species are useful bioindicators of habitat quality and conversion. We propose that bioindicators that are categorized and verified in this way will have valuable application in the monitoring of habitat integrity. VL - 39 UR - ://000177255000011 N1 - Times Cited: 1Cited Reference Count: 50Cited References: ANDERSEN AN, 2002, J APPL ECOL, V39, P8 BALMFORD A, 1996, P ROY SOC LOND B BIO, V263, P1571 BROWN JH, 1984, AM NAT, V124, P255 BULMER MG, 1979, PRINCIPLES STAT CARO TM, 1999, CONSERV BIOL, V13, P805 COLLETT D, 1991, MODELLING BINARY DAT COLWELL RK, 2000, TRENDS ECOL EVOL, V15, P70 COUSINS SH, 1991, TRENDS ECOL EVOL, V6, P190 DAVIS AJ, 2001, J APPL ECOL, V38, P593 DAVIS ALV, 1997, AFR J ECOL, V35, P10 DAVIS ALV, 1994, J NAT HIST, V28, P383 DEMPSTER JP, 1998, INSECT POPULATIONS T DIAMOND JM, 1975, ECOLOGY EVOLUTION CO, P342 DOUBE BM, 1983, B ENTOMOL RES, V73, P357 DOUBE BM, 1987, ORG COMMUNITIES PAST, P255 DUFRENE M, 1997, ECOL MONOGR, V67, P345 ERHARDT A, 1991, CONSERVATION INSECTS, P213 FAVILA ME, 1997, ACTA ZOOLOGICA MEXIC, V72, P1 GASTON KJ, 1997, J ANIM ECOL, V66, P579 GASTON KJ, 1994, RARITY GREENSLADE PJM, 1983, AM NAT, V122, P352 HILTY J, 2000, BIOL CONSERV, V92, P185 JENKINS DW, 1971, MANS IMPACT TERRESTR, P351 KENT M, 1997, PROG PHYS GEOG, V21, P315 KINGSOLVER JG, 1989, PHYSIOL ZOOL, V62, P314 KITCHING RL, 2000, J APPL ECOL, V37, P284 KLEIN BC, 1989, ECOLOGY, V70, P1715 KREMEN C, 1994, CONSERV BIOL, V8, P388 LUFF ML, 1995, INSECTS CHANGING ENV, P400 LYONS SK, 1997, OIKOS, V79, P568 MAJER JD, 1998, J APPL ECOL, V35, P161 MCCULLAGH P, 1989, GEN LINEAR MODELS MCGEOCH MA, 1998, BIOL REV, V73, P181 MCGEOCH MA, 1998, TRENDS ECOL EVOL, V13, P46 NOSS RF, 1990, CONSERV BIOL, V4, P355 RABINOWITZ D, 1981, BIOL ASPECTS RARE PL, P205 SOUTHWOOD TRE, 1977, J ANIM ECOL, V46, P337 SPECTOR S, 1998, CONSERVATION CHANGIN, P181 STEENKAMP HE, 1996, BIOL CONSERV, V78, P305 TAUBER MJ, 1998, ENVIRON ENTOMOL, V27, P523 THOMSON JD, 1996, ECOLOGY, V77, P1698 VANRENSBURG BJ, 1999, BIOL CONSERV, V88, P145 VANRENSBURG BJ, 2000, ECOLOGY, V81, P3163 VANRENSBURG BJ, 2000, J BIOGEOGR, V27, P1385 VANSTRAALEN NM, 1997, J APPL ECOL, V34, P217 VANWYK AE, 1996, BIODIVERSITY AFRICAN, P198 WEATHERLEY NS, 1990, J APPL ECOL, V27, P952 WEAVER JC, 1995, CONSERV BIOL, V9, P939 WILLIAMS KA, 1986, OECOLOGIA, V70, P362 WOLDA H, 1988, ANNU REV ECOL SYST, V19, P1EnglishArticle580UTJ APPL ECOL ER -