Elephant dung beetle diversity in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Abstract

Dung beetles are important part of terrestrial ecosystem. The diversity and abundance of dung beetle is affected by the presence of various dung producing animals. They provide several key ecological functions by manipulating the dung during the feeding process. This study is aimed to find out the diversity and abundance of elephant dung beetles in Chitwan National Park,Nepal. It also compares the diversity and abundance in three different blocks namely the Kasara block, the Sauraha block and the Ram-Laxman block within the national park. A total of 193 sample specimen of Elephant dung beetles were collected by using purposive sampling representing 24 morphospecies. The Ram-Laxman block was the most diverse and abundant block. It represented 18 morphospecies from 91 sample specimens collected from this block which represented 47.15% of the total. The Sauraha block was the least diverse and abundant with 13 morphospecies from 27 sample specimen representing 13.98% of the total sample collected. The Kasara block had 15 morphospecies from 75 sample specimen which represented 38.86% of the total. Most of the sample species collected were relatively larger in size (more than 1 cm) but there were a few medium and small sized species as well. The samples collected from each block had beetles of all sizes and color. The difference in species diversity and abundance may be due to the human influence, habitat condition and other environmental factors like sunlight and moisture in the soil.