1
Supplementary Figure 1 Diagrammatic depiction of the study design for surveying dung beetles across an 1170 km environmental gradient in the Botswana Kalahari (results for carrion-associated beetles were not presented in the present paper as their distribution patterns diverged from those for dung-associated beetles)
Supplementary Table 1Density of larger-bodied terrestrial mammals in sampled reserves of the Botswana Kalahari (Ministry of Wildlife, Environment & Tourism, 2004; Botswana Central Statistics Organisation, 2005).
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Indigenous mammalsDensity / km2Dung typeMass kg
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Chobe NPCKGRTransfrontier
10 589 km255 300 km228 000 km2
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Herbivores
Elephant (Loxodonta africana)^ 3.047 0 0 Coarse-fibred* 1725
Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga) 0.109 0 0 Coarse-fibred* 313
Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) 0.016 0.002 0 Coarse-fibred79
Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) 1.001 0 0 Pads** 450
Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) 0.099 0.042 0 Pellets 1192
Eland (Taurotragus oryx) 0.021 0.890 0.148 Pellets** 840
Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) 0.020 0 0 Pellets** 270
Common waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) 0.017 0 0 Pellets**260
Gemsbok (Oryx gazella) 0 0.419 1.092 Pellets** 240
Sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) 0.011 0 0 Pellets** 230
Greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) 0.041 0.086 0.012 Pellets**228
Lechwe (Kobus leche) 0.019 0 0 Pellets** 192
Red hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) 0 0.203 0.281 Pellets**165
Blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) 0.014 0.054 0.090 Pellets**134
Impala (Aepyceros melampus) 0.155 0 0 Pellets** 55
Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) 0 0.058 0.088 Pellets** 41
Common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) 0 0.015 0.003 Pellets**21
Steenbok (Raphicerus campestris) 0.009 0.044 0.152 Pellets**11
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Chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) 0.027 0.029 0 Omnivore 31.8
Lion (Panthera leo) 0.009 0.012 0.002 Carnivore 190
Spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) 0.001 0.012 0.007 Carnivore59
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) 0.009 0.033 0.006 Carnivore 54
Brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) 0.007 0.221 0.039 Carnivore47
Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) 0 0.001 0.005 Carnivore8
Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) 0 0 0.005 Carnivore 4
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Domestic livestock Herbivores
Cattle (Bos primagenius taurus) 0 0.062 0.029 Pads** 270
Goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) 0 0 0.075 Pellets** 27.5
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*Monogastric herbivore, **Ruminant herbivore. ^Underestimated by 3.5 times according to recent census figures.
Supplementary Table 2Classification of local dung beetle assemblage structure according to spatial variation between three study sites and association with four dung types (P = Pig, C = Cattle, E = Elephant, S = Sheep dung) with results for factorial GLM ANOVA.
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ChobeClassification (number of traps) (2 unclassified)Influences on factor loadings
Ordination factors______
(Variance 85.4%)Site 1 (57 spp.)Site 2 (43 spp.)Site 3 (44 spp.)Site F2, 36Dung F3, 36Site*dung F6, 36
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Factor 1P, C, E, S (15) 134.708*** 1.888 1.448
Factor 2C, S (7)C, S (8) 45.920*** 56.588*** 5.499***
Factor 3P (1)E (4)E, P (6) 14.919*** 38.345*** 5.528***
Factor 4P (3)P (2) 20.687*** 14.001*** 8.529***
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SavutiClassification (number of traps) (1 unclassified)Influences on factor loadings
Ordination factors______
(Variance 80.6%)Site 1 (59 spp.)Site 2 (56 spp.)Site 3 (43 spp.)Site F2, 36Dung F3, 36Site*dung F6, 36
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Factor 1C, S (8)C, S (8)C, S (4) 21.856*** 82.450*** 0.669
Factor 2E (4)E (4)E (3) 25.210*** 83.219*** 1.608
Factor 3P, C, E, S (5) 82.133*** 10.960*** 0.221
Factor 4P (4)P (4)P (3) 12.625*** 81.716*** 1.370
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North CKGRClassification (number of traps) (2 unclassified)Influences on factor loadings
Ordination factors______
(Variance 87.7%)Site 1 (27 spp.)Site 2 (30 spp.)Site 3 (26 spp.)Site F2, 36Dung F3, 36Site*dung F6, 36
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Factor 1P, C, E, S (14)P, C, E, S (14)C (1) 71.578*** 17.510*** 1.859
Factor 2P, C, E, S (12) 78.725*** 3.467* 1.712
Factor 3S (2) 0.481 17.545*** 2.854*
Factor 4S (1) 13.522*** 8.190*** 2.985*
Factor 5E, S (2) 22.498*** 16.020*** 0.853
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KhutseClassification (number of traps) (1 unclassified)Influences on factor loadings
Ordination factors______
(Variance 82.8%)Site 1 (45 spp.)Site 2 (42 spp.)Site 3 (46 spp.)Site F2, 36Dung F3, 36Site*dung F6, 36
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Factor 1C, S (6)C, S, P (4) 26.049*** 7.849*** 1.946
Factor 2C (2)C, S (6) 48.928*** 22.863*** 1.324
Factor 3P, E (8)P, E (7)P, E (8) 3.895* 51.535*** 1.047
Factor 4S (2)S (3)S (2) 2.487 46.426*** 0.513
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MabuasehubeClassification (number of traps)Influences on factor loadings
Ordination factors______
(Variance 89.3%)Site 1 (38 spp.)Site 2 (32 spp.)Site 3 (30 spp.)Site F2, 36Dung F3, 36Site*dung F6, 36
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Factor 1S, C (6)S (4)S, C, E (9) 22.872*** 53.103*** 3.640**
Factor 2P (4) P (4) P (4) 6.485** 342.632*** 8.977***
Factor 3C (1)C (4)C (1) 5.211* 51.637*** 3.144*
Factor 4E, C (5)E (4) E (2) 22.514*** 53.289*** 1.907
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TransfrontierClassification (number of traps) (4 unclassified)Influences on factor loadings
Ordination factors______
(Variance 89.4%)Site 1 (33 spp.)Site 2 (32 spp.)Site 3 (27 spp.)Site F2, 36Dung F3, 36Site*dung F6, 36
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Factor 1S, C (4)S (2)P, C, E, S (14) 113.645*** 37.413*** 2.233
Factor 2P, C, E (8) 102.715*** 20.539*** 4.496**
Factor 3P (4) P (1) 37.915*** 44.949*** 3.276*
Factor 4E (2)E (4) 3.006 44.609*** 3.534**
Factor 5S (1) 18.978*** 43.641*** 1.338
Factor 6C (1)C (3) 10.177*** 30.407*** 1.759
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*P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001
Supplementary Table 3 Total abundance of 132 species of dung beetles recorded in six study areas across the Botswana Kalahari.
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Species Chobe Savuti N CKGR Khutse Mabua. Transf.
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Pachylomera femoralis (Kirby) 1029 1 1 6768 0 1
Pachylomera opaca van Lansberge 0 0 0 1 0 37
Scarabaeus (Kheper) cupreus (Castelnau) 0 0 2 0 0 0
Scarabaeus (Kheper) kalaharicus
Davis, Deschodt, Scholtz 0 0 0 0 0 43
Scarabaeus (Kheper) lamarcki Macleay 5211 84 0 23 0 0
Scarabaeus (Kheper) prodigiosus (Erichson) 184 58 0 1 1 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) ambiguus (Boheman) 0 0 1 0 0 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) costatus (Wiedemann) 0 0 0 0 0 65
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) ebenus Klug 0 4 0 0 0 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) galenus Westwood 0 0 0 2 0 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) goryi (Castelnau) 1 6 0 14 0 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) proboscideus Guérin 0 0 0 219 604 886
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) satyrus (Boheman) 0 0 3 1 0 4
Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) zambesianus Péringuey 1072 80 18 0 0 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) anderseni Waterhouse 1 0 1 44 23 1
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) sp. nr anderseni 0 0 0 0 2 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) bohemani Harold 0 0 10 0 0 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) damarensis Janssens 0 21 0 138 670 1
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) flavicornis (Boheman) 42 2 0 234 1455 245
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) sp. nr flavicornis 0 0 0 11 1 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) inopportunus Ferreira 0 0 0 0 301 134
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) inquisitus Péringuey 0 0 4 0 0 0
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) kochi Ferreira 0 0 0 105 38 4
Scarabaeus (Scarabeolus) parvulus (Boheman) 0 0 0 0 0 6
Anachalcos convexus Boheman 232 4 0 0 0 0
Pycnopanelus krikkeni Cambefort 0 0 0 0 6 10
Allogymnopleurus thalassinus (Klug) 1 119 24 13 0 0
Gymnopleurus aenescens Wiedemann 0 306 257 285 548 0
Gymnopleurus asperrimus Felsche 0 0 0 0 0 131
Gymnopleurus ignitus Klug 1 0 0 0 0 0
Sisyphus goryi Harold 0 3 0 0 0 0
Heliocopris atropos Boheman 4 2 1 4 1 0
Heliocopris japetus Klug 51 16 0 9 0 0
Pedaria picea Fahraeus 0 0 0 21 0 0
Pedaria sp. a- sensu Davis et al. (2008) 4 0 0 125 190 72
Pedaria sp. A 1 1 0 0 0 0
Pedaria sp. B 17 1 0 0 0 0
Pedaria sp. C 0 37 0 0 0 0
Copris bootes Klug 0 17 0 0 0 0
Copris cassius Péringuey 0 0 0 28 0 0
Copris cornifrons Boheman 0 0 0 0 0 1
Copris elphenor Klug 1 55 0 2 0 0
Copris evanidus Klug 1 0 5 3 0 0
Copris vilhenai Ferreira 0 11 0 0 0 0
Catharsius calaharicus Kolbe 44 5 9 61 19 15
Catharsius heros Boheman 16 0 4 0 0 0
Catharsius melancholicus Boheman 6 0 0 37 8 0
Catharsius tricornutus (DeGeer) 0 6 0 0 0 0
Metacatharsius dentinum Ferreira 161 7 34 164 36 21
Metacatharsius exiguiformis Ferreira 0 0 0 2149 1132 1253
Metacatharsius exiguus (Boheman) 1 0 0 2 1 0
Metacatharsius latifrons (Harold) 0 0 0 1 2 4
Metacatharsius marani Balthasar 0 0 0 0 0 6
Metacatharsius opacus (Waterhouse) 512 305 3 5 5 0
Metacatharsius pumilioniformis Ferreira 0 0 0 0 1 5
Metacatharsius troglodytes (Boheman) 679 231 717 154 0 0
Metacatharsius sp. A - sensu Davis et al. (2008) 0 0 0 26 165 7
Metacatharsius sp. 7 2 1 83 0 0
Cheironitis hoplosternus Harold 0 0 1 1 0 0
Cheironitis indicus van Lansberge 0 24 0 0 0 0
Onitis alexis Klug 0 0 4 0 2 0
Onitis deceptor Péringuey 7 0 0 0 0 0
Onitis granulisetosus Ferreira 25 0 0 0 0 0
Onitis inversidens van Lansberge 5 0 0 0 0 0
Onitis orthopus van Lansberge 92 4 0 0 0 0
Onitis viridulus Boheman 1 0 0 0 0 0
Caccobius cavatus d’Orbigny 3099 468 0 199 0 0
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Supplementary Table 3 cont.
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Species Chobe Savuti N CKGR Khutse Mabua. Transf.
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Caccobius ferrugineus Fahraeus 2440 1317 171 68 8 0
Caccobius nigritulus klug 14013 995 2 4 8 0
Caccobius sp. 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
Cleptocaccobius convexifrons (Raffray) 3170 0 0 0 1 0
Cleptocaccobius viridicollis (Fahraeus) 2 0 4 5 0 0
Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius) 1 90 6 1 1 0
Euonthophagus carbonarius (Klug) 444 27 0 0 0 0
Euonthophagus flavimargo (d’Orbigny) 0 0 0 16 1 146
Hyalonthophagus alcyon (Klug) 1 2 0 0 0 0
Milichus apicalis (Fahraeus) 1 17 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus anomalus (Klug) 1435 4 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus bicavifrons d’Orbigny 0 0 0 1 0 0
Onthophagus flavolimbatus Klug 0 2 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus impressicollis Boheman 0 0 0 9 0 0
Onthophagus juvencus Klug 2 0 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus leroyi d’Orbigny 0 6 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus pallidipennis Fahraeus 1 0 0 11 1 10
Onthophagus plebejus Klug 107 2 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus probus Péringuey 0 0 0 0 134 1176
Onthophagus sp. nr probus 430 1 13 3721 4060 13
Onthophagus sp. nr pullus (a) - Davis et al. (2008) 2240 2685 3501 877 956 749
Onthophagus sp. nr pullus 21 0 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus quadraticeps Harold 27 3 3 760 39 440
Onthophagus quadrinodosus Fahraeus 0 2 0 3 1 7
Onthophagus rugulipennis Fairmaire 0 0 1 0 0 0
Onthophagus semiflavus Boheman 0 0 0 0 395 5073
Onthophagus signatus Fahraeus 1544 494 855 2632 2389 641
Onthophagus suffusus Klug 8 1055 6 0 0 0
Onthophagus sugillatus Klug 238 0 297 0 0 0
Onthophagus sp. nr variegatus 36 329 19 265 1 152
Onthophagus verticalis Fahraeus 180 19 0 3 0 0
Onthophagus vinctus Erichson 3506 63 4 3 0 0
Onthophagus virescens Harold 555 67 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus sp. A - sensu Davis et al. (2008) 0 0 0 119 72 0
Onthophagus sp. B - sensu Davis et al. (2008) 0 6 2 566 585 26
Onthophagus sp. g - sensu Davis et al. (2008) 0 0 0 1 0 0
Onthophagus sp. k - sensu Davis et al. (2008) 218 0 730 2266 4272 658
Onthophagus sp. 1 0 14 1 2 9 0
Onthophagus sp. 2 0 0 0 5 0 0
Onthophagus sp. 4 0 0 1 0 0 0
Onthophagus sp. 6 1 0 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus sp. 7 0 0 0 1 1 0
Onthophagus sp. 8 0 0 1 0 0 0
Onthophagus sp. 10 3 0 0 0 0 0
Onthophagus sp. 11 65 6 0 0 0 0
Phalops boschas Klug 0 22 0 0 0 0
Phalops dregei Harold 0 0 2 0 0 0
Phalops rufosignatus van Lansberge 0 0 8 0 2 209
Phalops wittei Harold 0 0 3 1 10 364
Proagoderus bicallosus Klug 12 21 0 0 0 0
Proagoderus loricatus Klug 0 19 0 0 0 0
Proagoderus sappharinus Fahraeus 0 6 0 45 25 0
?Tomogonus sp. 1 0 1 0 0 0
Drepanocerus kirbyi Kirby 1 2 0 0 0 0
Eodrepanus fastiditus (Péringuey) 4 0 0 0 0 0
Ixodina sp. nr freyi (Janssens) 17 10 0 0 0 0
Latodrepanus laticollis (Fahraeus) 203 515 0 0 0 0
Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche) 3 7 1 0 0 1
Euoniticellus kawanus Janssens 0 3 0 0 0 0
Euoniticellus sp. 6 12 0 0 0 0
Liatongus militaris (Castelnau) 0 1 0 0 0 0
Oniticellus egregius Klug 0 0 4 0 0 0
Oniticellus formosus Chevrolat 0 21 0 0 0 0
Oniticellus planatus Castelnau 0 5 0 0 0 0
Tragiscus dimidiatus Klug 0 1 0 0 0 0
Total abundance (overall: 113 030) 43446 9731 6736 22318 18182 12617
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Davis ALV, Scholtz CH, Deschodt C (2008) Multi-scale determinants of dung beetle assemblage structure across abiotic gradients of the Kalahari-Nama Karoo ecotone, South Africa. J Biogeogr 35:1465–1480