Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 2005 |
Authors: | A. L. V. Davis, Scholtz, C. H., Deschodt, C. |
Journal: | African Entomology |
Volume: | 13 |
Pagination: | 1-16 |
Keywords: | conservation, Dung, Gauteng, nature reserve, Scarabaeinae, SouthAfrica, survey |
Abstract: | Aquantitativedungbeetlesurvey(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. |