Diversity and abundance of Onthophagus sp. and their relationship with abiotic parameters / Nurfarahin Zaidi

The diversity and abundance of Onthophagus sp. which is commonly known as dung beetle have been investigate. This research aims to identify the diversity and abundance of Onthophagus sp. at oil palm plantation and UiTM forest and to determine the relationship between Onthophagus sp. with the air and soil parameters. The sampling activities were conducted twice for three days a week in two weeks. About 15 pitfall traps were buried randomly at each station with minimum distance of 5 meters from each bucket. Rotten fishes were used as a bait and the baited pitfall traps were leaved overnight. The samples with the air and soil parameters was recorded during the samples collection. Then, all the samples were bring to the laboratory for species identification. As the results, a total of 302 individuals was collected at both stations. The highest abundance of dung beetles recorded at both sampling sites is Onthophagus rugicollis with a total of 116 individuals and the lowest are Onthophagus peninsularis, Onthophagus cervus, Onthophagus sp. 1, Onthophagus sp. 2 and Onthophagus sp. 3 with only one number of individual for each species. This research can be improved by extending the time to do research to get a quality and accuracy results. However, this research will help to increase the data collections on abundance and diversity of dung beetles and increase the understanding on their relationship with abiotic parameters especially in Malaysia. Whereas, it also might helps in increasing the agricultural production by improving nutrient of the soil, with associated benefits to plants.