2.1. Study areas

This study was carried out in two different regions of Brazil: the Itajaí Valley (Santa Catarina) and the surroundings of Goiânia (Goiás) (Figure 1). The Itajaí Valley is part of the Atlantic Forest biome, an evergreen tropical rainforest that has a constantly humid condition. This biome comprises different vegetation types, such as seasonally semideciduous and deciduous forests, mixed ombrophilpus Araucaria forests, and ombrophilous dense forests (IBGE, 2012). In this study, we selected all fragments in ombrophilous dense forests, a formation characterized by large trees with dense crowns, which can reach 35 m in height, giving rise to a continuous canopy structure, and by a dense shrub understory, formed mainly by shrubs, herbs, and seedlings. There is also a wide variety of epiphytes, consisting of bromeliads, orchids, ferns, mosses, and lichens, resting on the branches of trees and shrubs (Vibrans & Sevegnani, 2013).

Location of the regions and areas of the dung beetle surveys. (a) Goiânia region—Cerrado. (b) Itajaí Valley region—Atlantic Forest.

Goiânia region is located in the Brazilian Cerrado. This biome is subject to a regular and long drought period, which can last around 6 months. It is characterized by highly heterogeneous vegetation, composed of a continuum of areas of savanna, ranging from open grasslands, with no trees or shrubs (“campo limpo”), to forests (locally known as “cerradão”) (IBGE, 2012). We selected all forest sites in fragments of “cerradão”. This formation is characterized by the predominance of tree species, which can reach from 8 to 15 m or taller, giving rise to a continuous canopy. Many species are deciduous, so the crown cover can vary from 50% to 90% throughout the year. The understory is formed by small shrubs, herbs, and a few types of grass (Sano, 2008). Trees’ crowns cast a considerable shadow, which makes the shrub and herbaceous layer smaller when compared to the other types of formations in the Cerrado.