Slide 1
Dung remains food for another set of animals
Dung beetles use animal droppings as food and breeding material. Another animal's waste retains organic matter that supports a new set of consumers.
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Dung also attracts other invertebrates and microbes. Beetles participate in a wider decomposition community rather than performing all nutrient recycling by themselves in isolation.
Slide 2
Beetles roll, bury or live within the resource
Some dung beetles roll material away, others bury it underneath, and others live within dung. Different behaviours move the resource differently.
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A rolling beetle is the most familiar image, but tunnellers and dwellers may be equally important locally. Behavioural diversity helps explain why beetle communities affect soils in different ways.
Slide 3
A dung supply can feed a developing larva
A beetle can place an egg with a supply of dung. The developing larva then has food close at hand.
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Competition for fresh dung can be intense. Moving or burying a portion helps secure a resource, linking the conspicuous adult behaviour to the less visible needs of its offspring.
Slide 4
Burial moves organic matter into the soil
When beetles carry dung into soil, they redistribute organic matter. Their tunnels also change the physical pathways through the ground.
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The effect depends on the beetles present and the dung supplied. Smithsonian research compares grazed grasslands because different herbivores can support different recycling communities and outcomes.
Slide 5
Recycling links grazers, soil and future plant growth
Dung beetles connect grazing animals, soil and future plant growth. Their role illustrates how ecosystem functions can depend on easily overlooked organisms.
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Losing the large animals that produce dung can alter the beetles' food supply. Conversely, changes in beetle activity can affect how quickly those animals' waste returns to the soil.
Sources
- Dung Beetle
San Diego Zoo
- Investigating the Role of Invertebrates in Nutrient Cycling
Smithsonian National Zoo