Species composition and community structure of dung beetles attracted to dung of gaur and elephant in the moist forests of South Western Ghats.

The community structure of dung beetles attracted to dung of gaur, Bos gaurus (H. Smith) (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) and Asian elephant, Elephas maximus Linnaeus (Proboscidea: Elephantidae), is reported from the moist forests of Western Ghats, in South India. The dominance of dwellers over rollers, presence of many endemic species, predominance of regional species and higher incidence of the old world roller, Ochicanthon laetum, make the dung beetle community in the moist forests of the region unusual. The dominance of dwellers and the lower presence of rollers make the functional guild structure of the dung beetle community of the region different from assemblages in the moist forests of south East Asia and Neotropics, and more similar to the community found in Ivory Coast forests. The ability of taxonomic diversity indices to relate variation in dung physical quality with phylogenetic structure of dung beetle assemblage is highlighted. Comparatively higher taxonomic diversity and evenness of dung beetle assemblage attracted to elephant dung rather than to gaur dung is attributed to the heterogeneous nature of elephant dung. Further analyses of community structure of dung beetles across the moist forests of Western Ghats are needed to ascertain whether the abundance of dwellers is a regional pattern specific to the transitional Wayanad forests of south Western Ghats.