Abstract
This thesis project aims to better understand the effect of pastoral practices on coprophagous insect communities and, consequently, on ecosystem functioning. The first objective is to analyze the functional responses of dung beetles along to gradients of grazing pressure. The intensity of grazing may be influences several factors (soil disturbance, resource availability) that can constrain the local presence of species via diverse effects on particular biological and ecological traits. Secondly, we want to understand the effects of grazing pressure on ecological roles provided by dung beetle communities (dung degradation, soil nutrients availability, etc.). Our hypotheses are 1) the local heterogeneity of grazing pressure may be influence the structure of dung beetle assemblages, 2) these changes are correlated with changes in ecosytem functioning, 3) community structure varaitions are the same (similarity of the effects on biolobical traits) whatever the bioclimatic conditions. This research will allow to understand the underlying ecological processes, and particularly the roles of dung beetles in grazed ecosystems. Our results will aim to highlight the importance of dung beetles in grazed ecosystems. We will work in distinct bioclimatic conditions, in collaboration with three protected areas (the Crau Natural National Reserve, the Cevennes and Vanoise National Parks), to integrate these insects in grazed habitats management.