article Open Access (hybrid) EN 2026-03-25

Temperature boosts and constrains dung beetle diversity along an Andean–Amazonian elevation gradient

Kim L. Holzmann, Pedro Alonso-Alonso, Yenny Correa-Carmona, Andrea Pinos-Leon, Felipe Yon, Mabel Alvarado, Adrian Forsyth, Friederike Gebert, Alejandro Lopera-Toro, Andreas Kolter, Gunnar Brehm, Alexander Keller, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Marcell K. Peters

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Vol. 293, Issue 2067 (2026)

University of Würzburg, Schiller International University, Universidad de Antioquia, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, LMU Klinikum, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, National University of San Marcos, Amazon (United States), CONAPAC, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M, University of Guelph, Zimmer Biomet (Netherlands), Applied BioMath (United States), Zimmer Biomet (United States)

DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.2792 PMID: 41875990

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Abstract

In the light of a warming climate, understanding factors shaping tropical biodiversity becomes increasingly urgent. Temperature can enhance diversity by increasing diversification and ecological rates but may also restrict diversity when exceeding organisms' thermal limits. Changes in diversity can subsequently influence community specialization patterns. We tested the influence of temperature, moisture and food availability on the diversity of dung beetles (Scarabaeinae), food specialization and the mechanism of thermal limits along an Andean-Amazonian gradient from 250 to 3500 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.). Beetles were sampled with dung, carrion and fruit-baited pitfall traps to test specialization; mammal activity was recorded as a proxy for food availability. Diversity showed no significant relationship with mammal biomass but increased with higher temperatures to 500 m.a.s.l., with a sharp drop at lower elevations. Lowland diversity was restricted by upper thermal limits, with small or negative thermal safety margins. Resource specialization increased towards the lowlands, potentially a product of greater diversity. Our findings highlight temperature as a primary driver of diversity, with upper thermal limits acting as a key constraint in lowland areas. Our data suggest that additional warming of the Amazonian lowlands may have detrimental consequences for dung beetles and their ecosystem functions, even in intact rainforests.

Topics

Physiological and biochemical adaptations 0.41 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies 0.27 Scarabaeidae Beetle Taxonomy and Biogeography 0.09

Field: Environmental Science · Subfield: Ecology

Keywords

Dung beetle,Carrion,Biodiversity,Biomass (ecology),Ecosystem,Scarabaeinae,Ectotherm,Global warming,Climate change

MeSH Terms

AltitudeAltitudeAltitudeAltitudeAnimalsAnimalsAnimalsAnimals

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Life below water (0.41)

All Available Versions

Landing page — Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences publishedVersion cc-by
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Citations by Year

2026
2

APA

Kim L. Holzmann, Pedro Alonso-Alonso, Yenny Correa-Carmona, Andrea Pinos-Leon, Felipe Yon, Mabel Alvarado, Adrian Forsyth, Friederike Gebert, Alejandro Lopera-Toro, Andreas Kolter, Gunnar Brehm, Alexander Keller, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Marcell K. Peters (2026). Temperature boosts and constrains dung beetle diversity along an Andean–Amazonian elevation gradient. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 293(2067). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2792

MLA

Kim L. Holzmann, et al. "Temperature boosts and constrains dung beetle diversity along an Andean–Amazonian elevation gradient." Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, vol. 293, no. 2067, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2792

Chicago

Kim L. Holzmann, Pedro Alonso-Alonso, Yenny Correa-Carmona, Andrea Pinos-Leon, Felipe Yon, Mabel Alvarado, Adrian Forsyth, Friederike Gebert, Alejandro Lopera-Toro, Andreas Kolter, Gunnar Brehm, Alexander Keller, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Marcell K. Peters. "Temperature boosts and constrains dung beetle diversity along an Andean–Amazonian elevation gradient." Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences 293, no. 2067 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2792

BibTeX

@article{holzmann2026,
  title = { Temperature boosts and constrains dung beetle diversity along an Andean–Amazonian elevation gradient },
  author = { Kim L. Holzmann and Pedro Alonso-Alonso and Yenny Correa-Carmona and Andrea Pinos-Leon and Felipe Yon and Mabel Alvarado and Adrian Forsyth and Friederike Gebert and Alejandro Lopera-Toro and Andreas Kolter and Gunnar Brehm and Alexander Keller and Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter and Marcell K. Peters },
  journal = { Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences },
  year = { 2026 },
  volume = { 293 },
  number = { 2067 },
  doi = { 10.1098/rspb.2025.2792 }
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Temperature boosts and constrains dung beetle diversity along an Andean–Amazonian elevation gradient
AU  - Kim L. Holzmann
AU  - Pedro Alonso-Alonso
AU  - Yenny Correa-Carmona
AU  - Andrea Pinos-Leon
AU  - Felipe Yon
AU  - Mabel Alvarado
AU  - Adrian Forsyth
AU  - Friederike Gebert
AU  - Alejandro Lopera-Toro
AU  - Andreas Kolter
AU  - Gunnar Brehm
AU  - Alexander Keller
AU  - Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
AU  - Marcell K. Peters
JO  - Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
PY  - 2026
VL  - 293
IS  - 2067
DO  - 10.1098/rspb.2025.2792
ER  -

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