Dung-insect community composition in arid zones of south-eastern Spain

Dung-insect community composition was studied at three sites for 1 year, and for a further 8 months at one site, in an arid region of Spain. The insect community was dominated by ants, dung flies and beetles. Ants were abundant and flies relatively scarce at all three sites, whereas beetle diversity and abundance differed among sites and between years. Community composition varied along the year in species richness, abundance and biomass. Although dung-insect communities of arid Spain share some traits with dung-insect assemblages in other deserts, diversity and trophic structure of these communities are highly variable, a common but underappreciated feature of communities in arid regions.