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Negative effects of urbanisation on the physical condition of an endemic dung beetle from a neotropical hotspot
Author(s) -
Salomão Renato Portela,
Alvarado Fredy,
BaenaDíaz Fernanda,
Favila Mario Enrique,
Iannuzzi Luciana,
Liberal Caroliunes,
Santos Bráulio A.,
VillegasGuzmán Gabriel Alfredo,
GonzálezTokman Daniel
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ecological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.865
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2311
pISSN - 0307-6946
DOI - 10.1111/een.12865
Subject(s) - urbanization , biology , mite , abundance (ecology) , ecology , biodiversity , dung beetle , population , relative species abundance , population size , ecosystem , zoology , scarabaeidae , demography , sociology
1. Urbanisation causes important losses in biodiversity and ecosystem of animals. To test whether these negative effects are preceded by unhealthy individuals in urban populations, we evaluated the effects of urbanisation on the abundance and physical condition of the dung beetle Dichotomius guaribensis , an endemic species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. 2. We sampled beetles in nine forest fragments with different urbanisation degrees, embedded in the urban matrix of the city of João Pessoa. Besides testing the abundance in each fragment, we quantified four indicators of physical condition in males and females: body size, body mass, energetic condition, and mite load. 3. Females tended to be larger, and to have less lipid mass and more mites than males. Urbanisation had no effect on beetle abundance, but it negatively affected body mass and lipid content in males, but not females, revealing different sensitivities for both sexes. Body size and mite load were not affected by urbanisation in males or females. Fragment size had no effect on beetle abundance and physical condition in both sexes, suggesting that urbanisation has a greater impact than fragment size on beetle individual condition. 4. In this study, we show that individual deterioration precedes population declines in disturbed environments, and our study opens new insights into the proximate causes that leads to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in urbanised regions.

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