Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 4.1. Biodiversity and paddock productivity - the success story of
the dung beetle
The development of large numbers of sheep and cattle in Australia brought with it a
problem - large quantities of dung. The dung provided favourable conditions for
large numbers of pest flies including those responsible for fly strike in sheep. Con-
centrations of dung also were thought to contribute to dieback in trees and in some
cases reduced the area suitable for livestock grazing within paddocks. Australian
native dung beetles (Figure 4.1) are adapted to woodlands, not open pastures, and
are better suited to using the fibrous pellets produced by native marsupials.
5
Although
native dung beetles can occasionally be found in cattle and horse dung, they are not
effective at breaking down the large volumes of dung produced by domestic live-
stock. Between 1968 and 1982, the CSIRO imported 55 species of dung beetles,
mostly from South Africa.
6
Many of these beetles successfully established around
Australia, with 17 known to have established in New South Wales.
5
Dung beetles
can improve pastures by breaking down dung and burying it underground for their
larvae to eat when they hatch. This has the dual effect of cycling nutrients from the
dung into the soil, as well as removing dung from the surface and reducing the area
of otherwise fouled grazing land. An additional benefit is the reduction of pest fly
populations that lay their eggs in dung. Introduced dung beetles complement our
native dung beetles and are a good example of the link between biodiversity and
ecological function, with the end result being improved paddock productivity.
of production landscapes and therefore represent an important opportunity for
biodiversity conservation. Government and non-government organisations in
many countries around the world, including Australia, are increasingly recognising
this. They are establishing programs that provide payments to farmers to manage
paddocks in ways that are sympathetic to the needs of biodiversity (e.g.
1-4
).
Figure 4.1:
Native dung beetle (
Onthophagus
sp.). (Photo by Philip Barton)
