Dung beetle communities in coal mining areas in the process of recovery

• Autor(a) principal: Zamprônio Bett, Joana
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Menegaz de Farias, Patrícia, da Silva, Pedro Giovâni, Medina Hernández, Malva Isabel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Biotemas (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/biotemas/article/view/2175-7925.2014v27n3p197

Dung beetles that are sensitive to environmental alterations may be used as indicator species to mark the recovery of degraded areas. This work aimed at registering and comparing the communities of Scarabaeinae located in areas with different periods of environmental recovery after being used for coal mining. This study was developed in Lauro Müller, Santa Catarina, and consisted of two areas in the process of recovery, one for one year and one for five years. Fifteen pitfall traps baited with human feces were placed in each area in order to attract the dung beetles. The counting, identification and measurement of body size and biomass of the specimens captured were carried out in the laboratory. Sampling sufficiency was verified and variables from both areas were compared using a t test. The recorded species were Canthon aff. chalybaeus, Canthon angularis, Canthon rutilans cyanescens, Deltochilum multicolor, Dichotomius sericeus, Eurysternus parallelus and Ontherus sulcator. A total of 35 individuals were captured, three in the one-year recovery area and 32 in the area under recovery for five years, C. rutilans cyanescens being the most abundant species (40.6%). All species collected were found in the five-years recovery area, whereas only C. aff. chalybaeus and D. multicolor were found in the one-year recovery area. Individuals sampled in the area with one year of recovery had an average size of 11.03 mm and average biomass of 0.051 g, whereas in the five-years recovery area the average size and the biomass of the dung beetles sampled was 12.25 mm and 0.093 g, respectively.