Realm: Terrestrial
Climate: Temperate
Biome: Deserts and xeric shrublands
Central latitude: 33.420990
Central longitude: -1.844550
Duration: 2 years, from 2013 to 2014

405 records

63 distinct species

Across the time series Bodilus beduinus is the most frequently occurring species

Methods

We surveyed a linear transect spanning approximately 400 km in east Morocco, parallel to the Algerian border (Fig. 1).” Dung beetles were sampled during four campaigns held in two consecutive years: two in the wet season (April 2013 and 2014) and two in the dry season (September 2013 and 2014). These months were chosen to include the two peaks of dung beetle species richness and abundance in the Mediterranean region (as recommended by Hortal & Lobo, 2005). In each campaign we surveyed 10 sampling sites along the Moroccan road N17 from the Sahara towards the Mediterranean, separated by an interval of around 40 km (Fig. 1). Sampling and beetle collection were carried out under research permits Reference Numbers 01/2013 HCEFLCD/DLCDPN/DPRN/CFF and 01/2014 HCEFLCD/DLCDPN/DPRN/CFF issued by the Haut Commisariat aux Eaux et Forêts et à Lutte Contre la Désertification (Morocco). All sampling sites were placed at least 100 m away from the road margin. Annual precipitation was similar in both years at the three places with available meteorological stations (Saïdia and Oujda in the north and Figuig in the south; www.worldweatheronline.com), although it was about 20% higher in 20122013 than in 20132014 in all three stations. Each sampling site was replicated twice. Replicates were placed one km apart, and consisted of five baited pitfall traps (thus, 100 traps per sampling campaign) separated 20 m one from another following a straight line (thus, 80 m from trap 1 to trap 5). Each pitfall trap consisted of a one l plastic cup (11.5 cm diameter, 14 cm depth) covered by a 2 x 2 cm mesh on top of which 300 g fresh cow dung was laid as bait (see Lobo, Martín-Piera & Veiga, 1988). To avoid any spurious effects due to differences in dung composition, fresh organic-farming cow dung was harvested from a single farm (Colmenar Viejo, central Spain) and well-mixed to obtain a homogeneous dung mass, adding water and mixing right before placing the traps to ensure adequate dung moisture levels. All traps were filled with 300 ml of a soapy preservative water solution with chloral hydrate (10 g/l) to prevent quick insect degradation due to high temperatures and fungi proliferation. Traps were active for a standard period of 72 h (Labidi, Errouissi & Nouira, 2012; Amraoui et al., 2016). All captures were immediately transferred to 96% ethanol in the field and transported to the laboratory where individuals were sorted and identified to species level.” [ Extracted from deCastro-Arrazola et al., 2018]. Additional: the units are individual counts.

Citation(s)

@Article{BioTIME_cit637, Study_id = {777}, Citation_id = {637}, Author = {deCastro-Arrazola, Indradatta and Hortal, Joaqu{\'\i}n and Moretti, Marco and S{\'a}nchez-Pi{\~n}ero, Francisco}, Journal = {PeerJ}, Pages = {e5210}, Title = {Spatial and temporal variations of aridity shape dung beetle assemblages towards the Sahara desert}, Volume = {6}, Year = {2018}, Doi = {10.7717/peerj.5210}, Language = {English} }