Dung Removal Increases Under Higher Dung Beetle Functional Diversity Regardless of Grazing Intensification

Jorge Ari Noriega, Joaquín Hortal, Indradatta deCastro-Arrazola, Fernanda Alves-Martins, Jean C. G. Ortega, Luis Mauricio Bini, Nigel R. Andrew, Lucrecia Arellano, Sarah Beynon, Adrian L. V. Davis, Mario E. Favila, Kevin D. Floate, Finbarr G. Horgan, Rosa Menéndez, Tanja Milotic, Beatrice Nervo, Claudia Palestrini, Antonio Rolando, Clarke H. Scholtz, Yakup Senyüz, Thomas Wassmer, Réka Ádam, Cristina de O. Araújo, José Luis Barragan-Ramírez, Gergely Boros, Edgar Camero-Rubio, Melvin Cruz, Eva Cuesta, Miryam Pieri Damborsky, Christian M. Deschodt, Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, …

Nature Communications | December 6, 2024

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.