Altitudinal Turnover and Species Richness Variation in European Montane Dung Beetle Assemblages

Abstract

The dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) are divided into several guilds, particularly dwellers and small tunnelers. We analyzed and compared the faunistic composition and the organization of these guilds from several mountain systems in Western Europe. Variation in species richness with altitude, altitudinal turnover, and the taxonomical and biogeographical characteristics of beetles were analyzed. A global analysis enabled an estimation of the importance of the local speciation mechanisms and historical processes, respectively, in the formation of the assemblages in each mountain system. The roles played by each mountain system in the historical perspective of the early Quaternary and in the biogeographical context of the Western Palaearctic are discussed.