Inventory Completeness of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in the Ecoregion of Eje Cafetero,Colombia

Abstract

The inventory of dung beetles in Colombia has a relatively long sampling history, represented in local checklist and occasional survey records. However, there is no diagnosis on the completeness and environmental representativeness of Scarabaeinae samplings both at regional and national levels. A study like this is essential to address questions related with the distribution of species as well as their responses to different disturbance scenarios. In this regards and based on the available taxonomic records of Scarabaeinae for the Ecoregion of the Eje Cafetero (Central Western Andes) the present study aims to estimate the reliability and thoroughness of the taxonomic inventories for this group, suggesting additionally potential areas where future samplings should be focused. Scarabaeinae surveys in the Ecoregion comprise 36 years of discontinuous samplings and the number of species increases linearly since 1990s. Nevertheless, the historical sampling covers only 4% of the ecoregion due to the marked spatial and altitudinal aggregation of the records. In addition, it has been detected a high level of uncertainty and taxonomic inconsistency between the local checklists, which reduces the reliability of the regional inventories. It is recommended that future surveys should be focused on inter-Andean valleys and on the eastern slope of Western and Central Cordillera. On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen the protocols for the proper storage of data, also focusing efforts towards the taxonomic unification of local species checklists.