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Savannas are recognized as one of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems. However, these environments have the highest rates of habitat loss due to land use and climate-induced alterations in fire regimes. The combination of these threats, along with knowledge gaps in biodiversity, represents formidable challenges to conservation efforts in these regions. Dung beetles, vital for comprehending the impact of land use on savannas, have yet to undergo comprehensive study. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review of the current state of knowledge regarding dung beetles distributed in savannas within Neotropical, Afrotropical, and Australasia zoogeographic regions. We describe the encompassing geographical distribution, research topics, studied habitats, and key metrics assessed in existing studies. Our results reveal a pronounced focus on Neotropical savannas highlighting a substantial deficit in dung beetle ecology knowledge within Afro-tropical and Australasian savannas. Most articles focused on savanna grasslands, woodlands, and human-introduced habitats such as pastures. The predominant articles focused on community patterns, habitat replacement, and degradation. Noteworthy metrics included abundance, richness, and species composition. Diversity indexes and functional diversity were also relatively well-explored metrics. However, across all zoogeographic regions, aspects of dung beetle behavior, reproductive biology, and physiology remain inadequately explored. In conclusion, urgent research efforts are imperative, emphasizing the need for comprehensive metrics, including biomass, morphometrics, and ecological functions of dung beetles, to advance our understanding of their significance and roles within savannas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation state of an environment can be a key factor in maintaining the existence of some interactions between species. The relationship between the dung beetle Dichotomius schiffleri, a habitat‐specific species endemic to the Restinga ecosystem, and endangered, and its symbiont mites can serve as a model to improve knowledge about this issue. In this study, we investigated whether the conservation state of Brazilian Restingas, a native ecosystem of the coastal zone that has suffered from anthropic pressure and impacts due to irregular occupation by humans, affects the abundance of mites present on D. schiffleri. Beetles and their associated mites were collected using pitfall traps in Conserved and Degraded Restingas at nine locations in the Brazilian states of Espírito Santo, Bahia, Sergipe, and Pernambuco. The abundance of mites associated with beetles was significantly higher in conserved sites than in degraded sites. Our findings provide evidence that Restinga degradation can affect not only abundance of dung beetle species, as previously reported, but also the ecological relationships that can be established between dung beetles and mites. The habitat quality and hosts availability are some mechanisms that may explain the maintenance of the interactions between dung beetles and mites. Finally, imbalance in ecological relationships is one more factor capable of signalling as human modified habitats impact fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]