02314nas a2200241   4500008004100000245010800041210006900149300001200218490000700230520150800237653002201745653001701767653001201784653001601796653002401812653001801836653001901854653000901873653001701882653002101899100002301920856012901943       2006                        eng d00aAggregation and coexistence of dung beetles in montane rain forest in deforested siters in central Peru0 aAggregation and coexistence of dung beetles in montane rain fore  a359-3700 v223 aThe ‘aggregation model of coexistence’ predicts that a strong and independent aggregation of species across ephemeral resource patches promotes species coexistence and maintains diversity. This study examines the role of aggregation in maintaining tropical dung beetle diversity and the effects of deforestation on aggregation patterns and diversity loss. Using clusters of pitfall traps, dung beetle aggregation was quantified in natural and disturbed habitat at nested temporal and spatial scales in central Peru. The results indicate that dung was colonized by a greater number of species, many of which were large, leading to a higher total beetle biomass in forest habitat than in deforested, farm habitat. Beetles were intraspecifically aggregated at each spatial scale examined. Habitat-type (forest/deforested) had no effect on the intensity of intra- or interspecific aggregation. Analyses of aggregation patterns revealed that dung beetle assemblages in forest habitat were generally saturated whereas in deforested habitat they were unsaturated. In general, interspecific aggregation was too weak relative to intraspecific aggregation to explain the high diversity of species in forest habitat. Other mechanisms, including resource partitioning are likely to play a greater role in maintaining the diversity of dung beetle assemblages in the region. These results also indicate that the loss of species from disturbed habitat has not been due to a breakdown in the aggregation mechanism. 10aAggregation model10abiodiversity10abiomass10acoexistence10acommunity structure10adeforestation10ahabitat change10aPeru10aScarabaeidae10aspecies richness1 aHorgan, Finbarr, G  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/aggregation-and-coexistence-dung-beetles-montane-rain-forest-deforested-siters-central-peru02705nas 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-beetles