Effects of forest management on dung beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) abundance, richness, diversity, and community composition in a Missouri Ozark forest

This study is the first to quantify the impact of forest clear-cutting on dung beetle community attributes for a temperate North American deciduous forest. I sampled dung beetles using baited pitfall traps along 120 m linear transects from the clear-cut edge, 60 m into the clear-cut and 60 m into adjacent forest of three replicate sites associated with the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP). A total 14 species of dung beetles were captured during the August 2003 sampling. Dung beetle community composition and structure in the clear-cuts differed from that of adjacent uncut forest. Trends of lower abundance and diversity (Simpson Index) were also found along the distance classes sampled in the clear-cuts. Responses of individual species also occurred: abundance of Canthon viridis was greater in clear-cuts than in forest, while abundances of Deltochilum gibbosum, Onthophagus taurus, Canthon chalcites and Dialytes truncatus were lower in clear cuts than in surrounding forest. This study demonstrates that dung beetle community composition changes in response to complete removal of the forest canopy in the Missouri Ozark region.