Dung beetles are important actors in the self-regulation of ecosystems by driving nutrient cycling, bioturbation, and pest suppression. Urbanization and the sprawl of agricultural areas, however, destroy natural habitats and may threaten dung beetle diversity. In addition, climate change may cause shifts in geographical distribution and community composition. We used a space-for-time approach to test the effects of land use and climate on α-diversity, local community specialization (H 2') on dung resources, and γ-diversity of dung-visiting beetles. For this, we used pitfall traps baited with four different dung types at 115 study sites, distributed over a spatial extent of 300 km × 300 km and 1000 m in elevation. Study sites were established in four local land-use types: forests, grasslands, arable sites, and settlements, embedded in near-natural, agricultural, or urban landscapes. Our results show that abundance and species density of dung-visiting beetles were negatively affected by agricultural land use at both spatial scales, whereas γ-diversity at the local scale was negatively affected by settlements and on a landscape scale equally by agricultural and urban land use. Increasing precipitation diminished dung-visiting beetle abundance, and higher temperatures reduced community specialization on dung types and γ-diversity. These results indicate that intensive land use and high temperatures may cause a loss in dung-visiting beetle diversity and alter community networks. A decrease in dung-visiting beetle diversity may disturb decomposition processes at both local and landscape scales and alter ecosystem functioning, which may lead to drastic ecological and economic damage.

AgBioResearch and Ecology Evolution and Behavior Program Department of Entomology Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA

AgBioResearch and Ecology Evolution and Behavior Program Department of Osteopathic Specialties Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA

Chair of Restoration Ecology School of Life Sciences Technical University of Munich Freising Germany

Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Biocenter Julius Maximilians University Würzburg Würzburg Germany

Department of Conservation and Research Bavarian Forest National Park Grafenau Germany

Department of Conservation Biology Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany

Department of Ecology Faculty of Environmental Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Praha Suchdol Czech Republic

Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University Praha 2 Czech Republic

Field Station Fabrikschleichach Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Julius Maximilians University Würzburg Rauhenebrach Germany

Institute of Ecology and Evolution and Field Station Schapen University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Hannover Germany

Institute of Ecology and Landscape Weihenstephan Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences Freising Germany

Institute of Geography University of Augsburg Augsburg Germany

Professorship of Ecological Services Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany

TUM School of Life Sciences Ecoclimatology Technical University of Munich Freising Germany

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Dryad
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