DIVERSITY, COMPOSITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF DUNG BEETLE FAUNA IN CROPLANDS AND PASTURES OF JHELUM, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Dung beetles as key biological indicators of habitat disturbance need to be explored from different locale with different topographical and vegetation characteristics. Species composition and abundance of dung beetle fauna in subtropical climatic conditions of cropland and pastures was explored during 2015-2016 from Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan. The sampling was conducted fortnightly by hand picking and homogenized method from nine randomly selected sites within croplands and pastures. A total of 551 specimens were recorded which belonged to 15 species, 8 genera and 6 tribes. The data indicated that species belonging to two genera, Onthophagus and Onitis were more common (41.66 and 28.57 %) in pastures and croplands (35.71 and 27.78 %), respectively. Among the reported species, Onitis excavatus and Onthophagus gazella have shown greater abundance both in pastures (28.57 and 19.84 %) and croplands (27.78 and 15.87 %), respectively. The results indicated that both species richness and abundance was greater in the pastures (H′= 5.04) than croplands (H′= 4.44). The data depicted that relatively higher proportion (54.26 %) of the specimens were collected from pastures belonging to 15 species whereas lower proportion (45.74 %) of the specimens belonging to 12 species were recorded from croplands. The study indicated that pastures in the study area presented greater diversity and richness of species as compared to croplands.