Dung Beetle Trap Type Matters

Dung beetles are most often surveyed using baited pitfall traps (BPTs) and flight interception traps (FITs). Quantitative comparisons of the sampling efficacy of both methods have not been conducted for Southeast Asia, especially in terms of the taxonomic and functional diversity of captured communities.

In our recent publication in Austral Ecology, titled “Trap type affects dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity in Bornean tropical forests”, we present the first quantitative comparison of the community composition, taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles caught in human dung BPTs and FITs in Bornean tropical forests.

We demonstrated that both trap types captured complementary communities with different functional traits. FITs captured more taxonomically diverse communities, while BPTs captured more functional diverse communities that included the functionally important group of large nocturnal tunnellers. To increase the effectiveness of FITs in capturing larger-bodied beetles, we also suggest modifications based on the design of harp traps.

A large nocturnal tunneller species, Catharsius renaudpauliani. Photo by Chien C. Lee

Our study recommends the use of both BPTs and FITs when assessing the composition of dung beetles across habitat types, such as in rapid biodiversity assessment and to prioritise the use of BPTs for studies that aim to relate the functional traits of dung beetle communities to ecosystem functioning.

For more information, you can read our paper at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aec.13124