Spatial and temporal changes in the dung beetle diversity of a protected, but fragmented, landscape of the northernmost Neotropical rainforest

Abstract

Abstract Studies addressing the temporal changes of ecological communities within fragmented forests transformed into natural protected areas are urgently needed. The creation of the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (LTBR) in 1998 stopped the deforestation process of the northernmost tropical rainforest of the Neotropical region, allowing the analysis of the long-term effects on native communities after the halting of habitat fragmentation. We compared the diversity of dung beetles in 11 forest fragments and eight pastures in the LTBR between two periods: 1999–2000, the early years after the creation of the LTBR; and 2016–2017, i.e., 17 years later. Species richness and abundance of dung beetles were similar in both periods, being higher in forest fragments than in pastures; however, the dominant species were different in each period in both forest fragments and pastures. The number of habitat indicator species increased in 2016–2017 compared to 1999–2000, with a high species diversity of forest indicators relative to pasture indicators at both periods. Alpha and gamma diversities were lower in 1999–2000 than in 2016–2017. Beta-diversity at the spatial level was strongly driven by species turnover, which was higher in pastures than in forest fragments. All functional groups (dwellers, rollers, and tunnellers) showed higher abundances in forest fragments than in pastures in both 1999–2000 and 2016–2017 periods. Our results suggest that stopping the fragmentation process in the LTBR has allowed the survival of native dung beetle assemblages, which are undergoing a recovery process of their populations and ecological functions over the years.