A first step to evaluate the impact of ecotourism on biodiversity in El Salvador: a case study using dung beetles in a National Park José D. Pablo-Cea a , Maryory A. Velado-Cano a and Jorge Ari Noriega b a Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemática, Universidad de El Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador; b Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, España ABSTRACT Ecotourism involves visiting natural areas without adversely affecting biodiversity, an objective that is often not reached. Although ecotourism in El Salvador is currently under-developed, it has been proposed for the conservation of forests that remain within the territory. To this respect, National Park El Imposible is the largest natural protected area in the nation, with 23% of its extension designated for ecotourism. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of ecological disturbances produced by ecotourism, using dung beetles as biological indicators in the park. Three zones differing in tourism intensity: conservation, extensive, and intensive, were evaluated. Six samplings using pitfall traps were carried out from June–November, 2013 in each zone. We recorded a significantly lower beetle abundance in the intensive-use zone, even though biomass tended to increase with ecotourism intensity due to proportional increase in large-sized species. There were differences in composition, diversity, and evenness of the dung beetle assemblage, evidencing ecological disturbances in the intensive-use zone. Ecotourism in the park has caused a negative impact on the dung beetle assemblage structure due to the loss of habitat specialists in favor of widespread generalists. Consequently, ecotourism should be regulated to minimize its effects in the site. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 8 March 2019 Accepted 19 May 2020 KEYWORDS Conservation; protected areas; indicator species; Scarabaeidae; National Park El Imposible Introduction Ecotourism pursues the economic exploitation of wildlife and natural environments, focusing mainly on protected areas with conserved habitats (Lira & Naranjo, 2003). The precise definition of this activity is ambiguous, but terms like: ‘nature based’, ‘preser- vation’, ‘ethics’, and ‘education’ are commonly associated (Donohoe & Needham, 2008). According to an idealized notion, it is: ‘an environmentally responsible journey, where relatively undisturbed areas are visited for the purpose of enjoying and appreciating nature, promoting conservation’ (Ceballos-Lascuráin, 1996). It is considered to be an activity with a low impact on nature, representing a balance between conservation © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group CONTACT José D. Pablo-Cea jose.pablo@ues.edu.sv Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Mate- mática, Universidad de El Salvador, Final 25 Avenida Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador JOURNAL OF ECOTOURISM https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2020.1772798