Dung beetles roll to the rescue

Around 60 ball-rolling dung beetles have been released into the Etang de Cousseau, a wetland nature reserve on the coast of south-west France. Their job is to help restore the area’s ecosystem (community of living things). In fact, dung beetles are a keystone species. This means that they are so important to an ecosystem that it couldn’t exist without them. The insects will eat the cowpats of the free-roaming cattle that live there, helping to recycle important nutrients into the soil. Dung beetles used to live all over the Landes de Gascogne region but they disappeared in the 1960s when the number of wild cattle fell. Marine Landaise cows are a breed suited to living in the wetlands but their population dropped when people began planting pine trees for wood.…

You're reading a preview of

The Week Junior (UK) (Digital) - 1 Issue, 387

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.