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Dung Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) diversity of the highest elevation in West Africa:  the Nimba Mountain Range 

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Abstract

The Nimba Mountain Range located in the West African countries of Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Liberia is part of the Upper Guinean Forest ecosystem, a critical biodiversity hotspot highly threatened by human activities. Dung beetle sampling on the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Preserve and in the nearby Bossou Forest or Hills Reserve in Guinea was done to document the dung beetle species diversity of the area in both different habitats and elevations ranging from about 600 to 1600 m and to assess, via this surrogate fauna, the biotic integrity of this World Heritage Site. As expected, evidence revealed a trend of lower diversity and abundances at the highest elevations but sometimes high variability even between similar habitats and at similar elevations. While a total of 50 species and 955 individuals were collected from all sites, the highest diversity and abundances were found in a high elevation forested savanna at ~1200 m where a total of 24 species and 402 individuals were collected. At the highest elevation sampled at ~1600 m, a total of only eight species and 20 individuals were collected and all of these taxa were also found at lower elevations. Forests sampled at moderate elevations had similar faunas in some but not in all cases and always a unique pattern of species abundances. A high elevation savannah had the highest species diversity and abundance and may still have a relatively intact dung beetle fauna. Comparatively lower diversity and abundances than what was expected at some sites may reflect a declining ecosystem due to low mammal populations brought on either by small habitat size in Bossou or bush meat hunting in the Nimba Range. Preservation of this truly unique West African ecosystem will require continued protection from or careful regulation of human activities.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely appreciate the support and permits given by the Institut de Recherche Environmental de Bossou, Direction Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (IREB/DNRST), Republic de Guinee and the Direction Nationale de la Recherche en Primatologie de l’Université de Kyoto (KUPRI), Japan and especially Tetsuro Matsuzawa, who helped facilitate our research and accommodation at the institution in Bossou. Tatyana Humle helped us in making initial contacts and gave a lot of helpful advice on field work in the area. Iba Conde, Gbian Pierre Guemy, and Sakho Djemory assisted us during our stay in Bossou and Kassié Dore helped in the field in the Seringbara area. We also appreciate the generous in-kind assistance from the Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG) and the many individuals there during our stay at the mine, including Phil Davies, Jamison Suter, and C. Halpin. Field work done by TKP was completed with William Lanier in 2010 and 2011 and with Alan Mudge in 2011 and the companionship and assistance of both is greatly appreciated. Scientific permits from the Ministere de L’enseignment Superieur et de la Rechercher Scientifique, Conakry, Republic de Guinee, are gratefully acknowledged. Our appreciation to Albert Meier and Cheryl Kirby-Stokes who read and edited early versions of this manuscript which was presented as an honors thesis for the second author. The comments from Frank Krell and one anonymous reviewer are greatly appreciated. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Center for Biodiversity Surveys at WKU, the WKU Office of Sponsored Programs through the Research & Creative Activities Program, and an NSF Biological Surveys and Inventories grant (DEB 0430132) that helped support the two expeditions to the Nimba Range region in Guinea as well as research in Liberia.

Funding

Partial financial support was received from the Western Kentucky University Honors College and the National Science Foundation (DEB-04301320). The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Systematics and Evolution Laboratory, Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd, Bowling Green, KY, 42101-3576, USA

    T. Keith Philips & Jacob G. Bowen

  2. Institut de Recherche Environnementale de Bossou (IREB), Lola, Guinea

    A. Gaspar Soumah

  3. 2 Rue Marcel Sembat, Toulon, 83200, France

    Philippe Moretto

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  1. T. Keith Philips
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Correspondence to T. Keith Philips or Jacob G. Bowen.

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Philips, T.K., Bowen, J.G., Soumah, A.G. et al. Dung Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) diversity of the highest elevation in West Africa:  the Nimba Mountain Range . Int J Trop Insect Sci 43, 1097–1109 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-01017-3

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