DOI: 10.5061/dryad.fbg79cp5r
title: Data from: Evidence of greater dung beetle abundance in a rewilded area compared to nearby organic farms

description: Organic farms have been shown to harbor larger and more diverse
 invertebrate populations, and associated ecosystem services, compared to
 other conventional farming methods. However, data on the impacts of
 rewilding on invertebrates remains scarce. Dung beetles contribute
 significantly to ecosystem function and are considered reliable indicators
 of ecological integrity. They have undergone serious population declines,
 largely due to changing agricultural practices. Dung beetles were
 sampled simultaneously at each of the four sites for a total of 120
 trapping days at each site. Two of the sites had been rewilded using
 large, free-roaming herbivores and two were nearby organic
 farms. The rewilding sites yielded greater species richness and
 abundance compared to organic farms. The abundance of dung beetles was
 more than twenty times greater at the rewilded sites compared to organic
 sites. One paracoprid (dung-burying) species, Onthophagus
 similis, was particularly abundant, comprising 95% of all individuals at
 the rewilded sites. Nonetheless, captures at the rewilding sites remained
 significantly higher even after this species was omitted from the
 analysis. Practical implication: While additional research is necessary to
 ascertain whether our findings signify an atypical occurrence, the
 evidence from this case study suggests that rewilding with large
 herbivores may provide an effective strategy to combat dung beetle
 declines, restore ecological function, and enhance ecosystem services.
description: # Dung beetle capture data
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fbg79cp5r](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fbg79cp5r) ## Description of the methods and file structure Ten pitfall traps were placed along transects in each of four randomly selected fields at each site (total 160 traps), with each trap a minimum of 10 metres apart. Each trap consisted of a plastic bucket (20 cm diameter x 30 cm deep) buried flush with the ground and part-filled with a euthanising solution of polyethylene glycol. Traps were baited with 100 g of fresh cow dung suspended over the buckets on a mesh platform. Dung was collected from the same site and frozen for at least 24 hours before the survey to ensure that any dung beetles already inhabiting the dung when it was collected did not enter the traps. Traps were deployed on 31st July 2018 and collected on 2nd Aug. Specimens were stored in isopropyl alcohol prior to identification under a binocular microscope with x10 magnification. All dung beetles were identified to a species level following Jessop (1986) and Skidmore (1991). ### Files and variables #### File: Table\_S2\_RawData.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * Unique trap number: Unique identifier * Site: KS = Knepp South; KN = Knepp North; R = Rudgwick Farm; LH = Lee House Farm * Field: Location within site * Trap: trap number * Onthophagus similis: number of individuals caught of this species * Acrossus rufipes: number of individuals caught of this species * Coloboterus erraticus: number of individuals caught of this species * Violinus sticticus: number of individuals caught of this species * Bodilopsis rufa: number of individuals caught of this species * Aphodius fimerarius: number of individuals caught of this species * Esymus pusillus: number of individuals caught of this species * Teuchestes fossor: number of individuals caught of this species * Bodiloides ictericus: number of individuals caught of this species * Otophorus haemorrhoidalis: number of individuals caught of this species * Planolinus borealis: number of individuals caught of this species * Geotrupes stercorarius: number of individuals caught of this species * Geotrupes spiniger: number of individuals caught of this species