Dung beetles can sow : the potential of secondary seed dispersers to assist ecological restoration.
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Date
2022
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Abstract
1. Restoration of disturbed environments in which soil surface layers have
been removed is challenging and its success depends on the characteristics of the
exposed soil layers and neighbour organisms. Dung beetles are important elements in
the restoration of degraded habitats as secondary seed dispersers.
2. In this study, we first assessed how the removal of upper soil layers affected the
assemblage of dung beetle compared to adjacent reference areas without soil removal.
We also evaluated the efficiency of dung beetles as secondary seed dispersers by
experimentally testing their effect on the germination of wolf apple seeds (Solanum
lycocarpum).
3. Degraded areas harboured a different dung beetle assemblage compared to the
reference area, with a predominance of habitat generalist species. In addition, we found
higher abundance and richness of dung beetles in the degraded than in reference areas.
Despite dung removal being similar between areas, more seeds were removed in the
reference area.
4. Dung beetles, especially rollers, positively influenced the probability of wolf apple
seed germination in the degraded environment by up to 5%; germination occurred in
27% of treatments with dung beetle presence and no germination occurred when beetles
were excluded.
5. Therefore, promoting the attraction of dung beetles from reference areas, together
with other techniques that enhance primary seed dispersion, mainly by mammals and
birds, could potentially increase the success of projects to restore areas with degraded
soil.
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Keywords
Cerrado, Ecosystem functions, Scarabaeinae, Seed dispersion, Soil degradation
Citation
ALMEIDA, H. A. et al. Dung beetles can sow: the potential of secondary seed dispersers to assist ecological restoration. Ecological Entomology, v. 47, p. 181-191, 2022. Disponível em: <https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/een.13100>. Acesso em: 29 abr. 2022.