Data for: Trap type affects dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity in Bornean tropical forests

Dung beetle community composition data. Data was collected using either dung-baited pitfall traps or flight interception traps. Each row represents one trap, with the author/study information, name of study site, sampling period, trap type and habitat type. Dung beetle species and their abundances are listed. See "metadata" tab for more details.

Paper abstract: Baited pitfall traps (BPTs) and flight intercept traps (FITs) are the most common methods employed for sampling dung beetle communities. These methods vary in their efficacy and are affected by factors such as the bait types used and the dispersal abilities of different dung beetle species. We present the first quantitative comparison of the taxonomic and functional diversity, and community composition of dung beetles caught in BPTs and FITs in Bornean tropical forests. We show that BPTs and FITs captured complementary communities with different functional traits, and that BPTs captured more functionally diverse communities. We therefore recommend using a combination of both baited BPTs and FITs for studies assessing the composition of dung beetles across habitat types. Our results also highlight that it is important to consider how trap type affects the trait composition of communities when relating dung beetle communities and functional traits to ecological functioning. We suggest modifications to FITs based on the design of harp traps to increase their effectiveness in capturing larger-bodied beetles.