Dung removal increases under higher dung beetle functional diversity regardless of grazing intensification

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Authors

Noriega, Jorge Ari
Hortal, Joaquín
DeCastro-Arrazola, Indradatta
Alves-Martins, Fernanda
Ortega, Jean C.G.
Bini, Luis Mauricio
Andrew, Nigel R.
Arellano, Lucrecia
Beynon, Sarah
Davis, Adrian L.V.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Nature Research

Abstract

Dung removal by macrofauna such as dung beetles is an important process for nutrient cycling in pasturelands. Intensification of farming practices generally reduces species and functional diversity of terrestrial invertebrates, which may negatively affect ecosystem services. Here, we investigate the effects of cattle-grazing intensification on dung removal by dung beetles in field experiments replicated in 38 pastures around the world. Within each study site, we measured dung removal in pastures managed with low- and high-intensity regimes to assess between-regime differences in dung beetle diversity and dung removal, whilst also considering climate and regional variations. The impacts of intensification were heterogeneous, either diminishing or increasing dung beetle species richness, functional diversity, and dung removal rates. The effects of beetle diversity on dung removal were more variable across sites than within sites. Dung removal increased with species richness across sites, while functional diversity consistently enhanced dung removal within sites, independently of cattle grazing intensity or climate. Our findings indicate that, despite intensified cattle stocking rates, ecosystem services related to decomposition and nutrient cycling can be maintained when a functionally diverse dung beetle community inhabits the human-modified landscape.

Description

DATA AVAILABILITY : All the data generated in this study are provided in the Supplementary Information, as Supplementary Data S1 to S7.

Keywords

Dung, Farming, Cattle, Climate, Dung removal, Dung beetles, SDG-15: Life on land, SDG-02: Zero hunger, SDG-13: Climate action

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-02:Zero Hunger
SDG-13:Climate action
SDG-15:Life on land

Citation

Noriega, J.A., Hortal, J., DeCastro-Arrazola, I. et al. 2023, 'Dung removal increases under higher dung beetle functional diversity regardless of grazing intensification', Nature Communications, vol. 14, art. 8070, pp. 1-11. https://DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43760-8