The impact of veterinary medical products (VMPs) on dung beetles has been thoroughly investigated. However, less is known about the ecological consequences for the ecosystem processes performed by this fauna, especially in relation to functional diversity. We explored the impacts of the long-term use of VMPs on dung beetles from a functional standpoint. We compared two areas with a different kinds of pasture management (long-standing use of VMPs vs. no use of VMPs) over two seasons (autumn and spring). We analyzed the impacts of VMPs on dung beetle functional diversity (using 23 traits) and the ecological process of dung removal. We also examined the relationships between species richness and functional diversity indices. Moreover, we investigated which community attribute was the most important in terms of efficiently sustaining the ecological process of dung removal. Long-standing use of VMPs led to a loss of functional richness, but other functional indices were less affected. A strong correlation between functional richness and species richness showed a low level of dung beetle redundancy, suggesting a low level of resilience in the ecosystem under study. The impact of the long term use of VMPs on dung beetle community attributes in turn had negative effects on the ecological process under study, with a reduction in dung removal capacity of 70%. Interestingly, this ecological process was not driven by functional diversity as many studies have shown, but rather by functional identity, such as the richness in paracoprids, telecoprids and the biomass of large dung beetles. These results raise concerns because large dung beetles, paracoprid and telecoprid beetles are the most functionally efficient in terms of dung removal capacity. At the same time, they are the most vulnerable and the most prone to extinction. Hence, our findings underscore the need to closely restrict the use of VMPs in order to maintain viable and ecologically efficient dung beetle communities.

中文翻译：

---

粪甲虫：功能特性，而不是功能多样性，解释了使用兽药产品造成的生态过程破坏

兽药产品 (VMP) 对蜣螂的影响已经过彻底调查。然而，人们对这种动物群所进行的生态系统过程的生态后果知之甚少，尤其是在功能多样性方面。我们从功能的角度探讨了长期使用 VMP 对蜣螂的影响。我们比较了两个季节（秋季和春季）采用不同牧场管理方式（长期使用 VMP 与不使用 VMP）的两个地区。我们分析了 VMPs 对蜣螂功能多样性（使用 23 个性状）和除粪生态过程的影响。我们还研究了物种丰富度和功能多样性指数之间的关系。而且，我们调查了在有效维持粪便清除生态过程方面哪个社区属性最重要。长期使用 VMP 导致功能丰富性的丧失，但其他功能指标受到的影响较小。功能丰富度和物种丰富度之间的强相关性表明蜣螂冗余度较低，表明所研究的生态系统的恢复力水平较低。长期使用 VMP 对蜣螂群落属性的影响反过来对所研究的生态过程产生负面影响，粪便去除能力降低 70%。有趣的是，这一生态过程并不是由许多研究表明的功能多样性驱动的，而是由功能特性驱动的，例如副科动物、远程科动物和大型蜣螂的生物量的丰富性。这些结果引起了人们的关注，因为就粪便去除能力而言，大型蜣螂、副蜈蚣和 Telecoprid 甲虫在功能上是最有效的。同时，它们是最脆弱的，也是最容易灭绝的。因此，我们的研究结果强调需要严格限制 VMP 的使用，以维持可行且生态高效的粪甲虫群落。