The establishment of cattle ranches throughout the world has prompted the release of dung beetles as biological control agents that reduce pasture fouling and control dung‐breeding flies. One of these beetles, Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), that is native to southeast Africa, has been introduced into the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. Distribution records for this species have been used to develop climate models of potential future establishment. Recent studies, however, identify D. gazella as a complex of seven species. Taking into account this revision, and the clear identification of the records belonging to the actual D. gazella, we developed environmental models to identify factors that have contributed to the establishment of this species across regions and habitats. We compared the environmental conditions of D. gazella in its native range against those in the regions where the species has or has not established. Our results indicate that D. gazella is still absent in certain parts of Central and South America and parts of Africa where it could potentially establish. We speculate that its distribution in Africa is limited by competitive exclusion. The introduction of D. gazella in America is relatively recent, such that the full extent of its distribution has probably yet to be realized. In Australia and North America, D. gazella is present in regions not predicted according to its native environmental conditions. This discrepancy may reflect a lack of competitive exclusion, phenotypic plasticity, and/or genetic adaptation. Our analyses suggest that the species has the ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions that are extremely different from those in their native region. The species represents a useful case study to indicate that an introduced species may expand its realized niche beyond what is expected based on apparent environmental limits in the species native range.

中文翻译：

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全球分布模式提供了引入的非洲粪甲虫 Digitonthophagus Gagella 的生态位转移的证据

世界各地养牛场的建立促进了蜣螂作为生物防治剂的释放，以减少牧场污染和控制粪便繁殖的苍蝇。其中一种甲虫 Digitonthophagus Gagella (Fabricius)（鞘翅目：Scarabaeidae）原产于非洲东南部，已被引入美洲、澳大利亚和新西兰。该物种的分布记录已被用于开发未来可能建立的气候模型。然而，最近的研究将 D.gagella 确定为一个由七种物种组成的复合体。考虑到这次修订以及对属于实际 D.gagella 的记录的明确识别，我们开发了环境模型来确定有助于跨地区和栖息地建立该物种的因素。我们将 D.gagella 在其原生范围内的环境条件与该物种已建立或尚未建立的地区的环境条件进行了比较。我们的研究结果表明，在中美洲和南美洲的某些地区以及非洲的部分地区，D.gagella 仍然不存在，在那里它可能会建立。我们推测其在非洲的分布受到竞争排斥的限制。D.gagella 在美国的引入相对较新，因此其分布的全部范围可能尚未实现。在澳大利亚和北美，瞪羚存在于根据其原生环境条件无法预测的地区。这种差异可能反映了缺乏竞争排斥、表型可塑性和/或遗传适应性。我们的分析表明，该物种有能力适应与原生地区截然不同的各种环境条件。该物种代表了一个有用的案例研究，表明引入的物种可能会扩大其已实现的生态位，超出基于物种原生范围内明显环境限制的预期。