Seasonal Variation in the Organization of Dung Beetle Communities in the Moroccan Middle Atlas (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea)
Hasnae Hajji,
Abdellatif Janati-Idrissi,
Abdelkhaleq Fouzi Taybi,
Valérie Caron,
Jean-Pierre Lumaret,
Youness Mabrouki
Affiliations
Hasnae Hajji
Laboratoire de Biotechnologie, Conservation et Valorisation des Ressources Naturelles, Faculté des Sciences de Dhar El Mehraz, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, B.P. 1796 Fès-Atlas, Fez 30000, Morocco
Abdellatif Janati-Idrissi
Laboratoire de Biotechnologie, Conservation et Valorisation des Ressources Naturelles, Faculté des Sciences de Dhar El Mehraz, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, B.P. 1796 Fès-Atlas, Fez 30000, Morocco
Abdelkhaleq Fouzi Taybi
Faculté Pluridisciplinaire de Nador, Équipe de Recherche en Biologie et Biotechnologie Appliquées, Université Mohammed Premier, Selouane, Nador 62700, Morocco
Valérie Caron
Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Health & Biosecurity, Black Mountain, Clunies Ross St., Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
Jean-Pierre Lumaret
Laboratoire de Zoogéographie, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Route de Mende, CEDEX 5, 34199 Montpellier, France
Youness Mabrouki
Laboratoire de Biotechnologie, Conservation et Valorisation des Ressources Naturelles, Faculté des Sciences de Dhar El Mehraz, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, B.P. 1796 Fès-Atlas, Fez 30000, Morocco
Dung beetles feed on and bury animal droppings, and their role is crucial in reducing the accumulation of manure, which diminishes the useful surface area of pastures. The aim of this research was to characterize the seasonal organization of dung beetle communities (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco in terms of core and satellite species. The beetles were collected using standard dung-baited traps. Four sites along a gradient of elevation were surveyed for one year every 7 to 10 days, depending on the season and local weather conditions. A total of 24,397 beetles were collected, belonging to 51 species. In most dung beetle communities, two to three species were found to be predominant, representing between 70 and 95% of all the individuals active at the same time but constituting only 10 to 30% of species diversity. The rapid succession of species at the same site limits the competition between species, allowing for the efficient use of available trophic resources.
