Panel 6: The Importance of Dung Beetles in Grassland Ecosystems
Dung beetles play an important role in grassland ecology. They feed and breed in dung. Dung beetles dig holes and tunnels to feed, they their eggs and raise their young. They bring out sub-soil and take the dung down into their tunnels. This prevents the grasslands from bring covered in marsupial dung. Dung beetles are essential nutrient recyclers. When cattle were brought to the plains, the native dung beetles could not keep up with the amount of dung therefore exotic species were introduced.
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