| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 2004 |
| Authors: | S. F. Pinero, Avila J. M. |
| Journal: | Journal of Arid Environments |
| Volume: | 56 |
| Pagination: | 303-327 |
| Keywords: | desert, Dung-insect community, Inter-annual variability, Seasonality, Spain, Spatial variability |
| Abstract: | Dung-insectcommunitycompositionwasstudiedatthreesitesfor1year,andforafurther8 monthsatonesite, inanaridregionofSpain. Theinsectcommunitywasdominatedbyants, dungfliesandbeetles. Antswereabundantandfliesrelativelyscarceatall threesites, whereas beetle diversity and abundance differed among sites and between years. Community compositionvariedalongthe year inspecies richness, abundance andbiomass. Although dung-insectcommunitiesofaridSpainsharesometraitswithdung-insectassemblagesinother deserts, diversityandtrophicstructureof thesecommunitiesarehighlyvariable, acommon but underappreciatedfeatureofcommunitiesinaridregions. |