@article {1430,
	title = {Changes in food resources and conservation of scarab beetles: from sheep to dog dung in a green urban area of Rome (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea)},
	journal = {Biological Conservation},
	volume = {123},
	number = {4},
	year = {2005},
	note = {digital and hard copy},
	month = {Jun},
	pages = {547-556},
	abstract = {The aim of the research was to show how a change in land use influences the structure of a dung beetle assemblage and affect its conservation. In the Pineto Urban Regional Park (Rome), dog dung is the sole food resource currently available for scarab dung beetles, after the recent removal of wild and domestic herbivores. A one-year sampling was conducted to study the scarab assemblage in dog scats (1999) and to compare it with the previous assemblage associated with sheep droppings (1986). Richness, evenness and similarity parameters were compared between the two allochronic assemblages. From sheep to dog dung, an impoverishment of the total richness was observed (from 19 to 9 species) together with an increase of individuals (by 7 times). Dog dung harboured 20\% of the current scarab dung beetle fauna of Rome, probably as a consequence of the dog mixed diet, rich in cellulose. Both the communities showed a high percentage of tunnellers, probably because of the food shortage and, for dog scats, of the high dehydration rate. A comparison with other Roman scarab communities enhanced that: (1) the change in food resource determined a higher difference in species composition respect to other parameters (size and habitat diversity); (2) dog dung provided a temporary refuge for species that otherwise may encounter local extinction in urban environments. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.},
	keywords = {20th-century, abundance, assemblage, biodiversity conservatiom, Carabidae, colonization, communities, community ecology, competition, diversity, dung beetle assemblages, food, habitats mammals, netherlands, resources, urban ecology},
	url = {<Go to ISI>://000227958600012 },
	author = {Carpaneto, Giuseppe M. and Mazziotta, Adriano and Piattella, Emanuele}
}
@article {1431,
	title = {Inferring species decline from collection records: roller dung beetles in Italy (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)},
	journal = {Diversity and Distributions},
	volume = {13},
	year = {2007},
	pages = {903-919},
	abstract = {The decline of roller dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) in Italy, at national and regional level, was described using a database of both literature and unpublished data, since the late of 19th century. The probability of finding roller species was assessed for each decade of the 20th century in order to detect changes in their dis- tribution and status. An analysis of decline was performed using a complementary approach of different extinction indexes, according to IUCN criteria. During the 20th century, both the absolute number of records and the UTM cells where roller beetles were found increased clearly as a consequence of the escalation of entomo- logical surveys. Nevertheless, comparing R species (rollers) with all the scarab dung beetles from the first to the last quarter of the 20th century, the relative frequency of roller records decreased by 31\%, while the relative number of occupied UTM cells dropped by 23\%. Six roller species showed a significant decline in Italy from the first to the second part of the 20th century, and nine in the last 30years. Other two species disappeared from the majority of the northern regions. Finally, the values of all the extinction indexes were strongly correlated and detected a high risk of extinction in Italy for six species. A gradual change in land use during the last three decades, consisting of a reduced extension of grasslands in favour of either intensive agriculture or reforestation after abandonment of livestock raising, was likely the main factor inducing decline and local extinction of roller species. },
	keywords = {COLEOPTERA, Conservation biogeography, decline, extinction index, Italy, land use change, Scarabaeidae},
	author = {Carpaneto, Giuseppe M. and Mazziotta, Adriano and Valerio, Laura}
}
