Elizabeth Nichols

TL;DR: Prediction of the functional consequences of dung beetle decline demands functional studies conducted with naturally assembled beetle communities, which broaden the geographic scope of existing work, assess the spatio-temporal distribution of multiple functions, and link these ecosystem processes more clearly to ecosystem services.

TL;DR: Across both habitat modification and fragmentation studies, geographic location and landscape context appeared to modify dung beetle response by influencing the available pool of colonists, and potential underlying mechanisms are discussed.

TL;DR: Across an 11,660-kilometer latitudinal gradient spanning six continents, increasing predation toward the equator is found, with a parallel pattern of increasingpredation toward lower elevations, suggesting consistent drivers of biotic interaction strength.

TL;DR: Multiple lines of evidence from temperate and tropical systems indicate that the regional-scale decline or extirpation of medium and large bodied mammal faunas can severely disrupt the diversity and abundance of dung beetle communities through alterations in the composition and availability of dunk resources.

TL;DR: Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanisms leverage economic and social incentives to shape how people influence natural processes and achieve conservation and sustainability goals as mentioned in this paper. But many projects are based on weak scientific foundations, and effectiveness is rarely evaluated with the rigor necessary for scaling up and understanding the importance of these approaches as policy instruments and conservation tools.