03032nas a2200337   4500008004100000245012100041210006900162260000800231300001000239490000700249520210400256653001702360653002602377653001502403653001402418653001702432653001702449653001402466653000902480653002602489653001802515653001602533653001002549653001702559653001702576653001702593653001802610653001102628100002102639856003402660       2002                        eng d00aDung beetle diversity in South Africa: influential factors, conservation status, data inadequacies and survey design0 aDung beetle diversity in South Africa influential factors conser  cMar  a53-650 v103 aDung beetles are useful as indicators in conservation and global warming studies owing to their specialized regional and local distribution patterns. However, existing South African data are inadequate for indication at the necessary degree of spatial resolution. To improve the database, Survey methods need to Lie designed according to the spatial and temporal factors that influence dung beetle diversity. Across four major climatic regions, there are seven principal species distribution centres for dung beetles in which activity is influenced primarily by difference, in rainfall seasonality and temperature, Across these regions, generic endemism is largely concentrated around the coastline and in montane areas. The conservation status of endemic genera is discussed. At a local scale, spatial diversity is influenced primarily by soil, vegetation and dung type. Maximum local diversity of dung beetles is observed after rainfall and decreases as surface conditions become warmer and drier. After workshop discussions, a coarse-grained, asymmetrical gradsect survey grid has been designed according to vegetative, climatic and land-usage gradients across South Africa. It is suggested that each survey point across these regional gradients should comprise a quarter-degree square in which local ecological gradients should be surveyed for invertebrates, Baited pitfall trapping is an easy method to provide quantitative data for dung beetles across such environmental gradients. Lining up each catch on a tray provides a relatively quick way to compare the specimens, identify the species present, and provide a quantitative assessment of species abundance. Data collection may be conducted on one or more occasion., to accommodate seasonal and daily variation in species occurrence. This exercise could identify localities suitable for ecotourism reserves representative of the variation in ecotypes across the country, particularly, in coastal, natural grass and wooded regions, where many invertebrate taxa are endangered by habitat fragmentation including some rare dung beetle species.10aassociations10abiodiversity hotspots10aCOLEOPTERA10acommunity10aconsequences10aconservation10adiversity10aDung10ahabitat fragmentation10ahydrophilidae10apopulations10as str10aScarabaeidae10aScarabaeinae10asouth africa10astaphylinidae10asurvey1 aDavis, A., L. V.  u<Go to ISI>://00017624700000602663nas a2200229   4500008004100000245012800041210006900169300000900238490000700247520187800254653001702132653000902149653001202158653001902170653001702189653001602206653001102222100002102233700002402254700001702278856013802295       2005                        eng d00aA dung beetle survey of selected Gauteng nature reserves: implications for conservation of the provincial scarabaeine fauna0 adung beetle survey of selected Gauteng nature reserves implicati  a1-160 v133 aAquantitativedungbeetlesurvey(Coleoptera:Scarabaeidae:Scarabaeinae)wasconducted insixGautengnaturereserves(Tswaing,Leeuwfontein,Roodeplaat,Ezemvelo,AbeBailey, Suikerbosrand) representativeof theprovincial rangeinenvironmental conditions. The studyprovidedaprovincial species inventorythat has beentestedfor completeness bycomparisonwithmuseumreferencematerial. It alsopermittedananalysisof major influencesonregional(altitude,annualrainfall)andlocal(soilandvegetationtype)patterns of speciesabundance. Thesurveyrecordedatotal of 152species. Althoughafurther29 specieswererepresentedinreferencecollections,theirabsencefromthepresentworkwas probablyduetohabitat,food,ortemporalspecializations.Multivariateanalyses(clustering, MDS)ofspeciesabundancedataformedsixclusters,eachcomprisingexclusivelythesitesin singlereserves. Thisindicatesthatregionalbetween-reservefaunaldifferencesaregreater thanlocal withinreservedifferences, thusdemonstratingthevalueof eachreserve. Ina hierarchical analysisofobliquefactors, fiveoutofsevenstatisticallydefinedclusterscom- prisedexclusivelythesitesinsinglereserveswithSuikerbosrandsplitintwo.Theseclusters werevariouslycorrelatedwithnineextendedfactors.Alongsevenfactors,correlationswere uniqueoressentiallyuniquetosinglereservesandwerefairlyhigh,particularlyatinterme- diatealtitude. Alongtheremainingtwosharedfactors, therewereopposingtrendsinthat correlationseitherdecreasedwithhigheraltitudeordecreasedwithloweraltitude. Thus, eachclustershowsthreecoefficientsofdetermination, onerepresentingtheproportionof varianceduetosharedhighlandfaunalinfluence,onerepresentingthatduetosharedlow- landfaunal influenceandthethirdrepresentingthatduetouniquelocal faunal composi- tion. Theanalysesidentifythetransitionfromlowlandtohighland-dominatedfaunas, the relativefaunal distinctivenessofeachreserve, andomissionsfromtheprovincial reserve system.10aconservation10aDung10aGauteng10anature reserve10aScarabaeinae10aSouthAfrica10asurvey1 aDavis, A., L. V.1 aScholtz, Clarke, H.1 aDeschodt, C.  uhttps://scarabnet.myspecies.info/dung-beetle-survey-selected-gauteng-nature-reserves-implications-conservation-provincial-scarabaeine