Dung, soil, beetles and life - with Clive Turner
I’m always optimistic. Nature’s very resilient.
I think you have to give it a chance. That’s the most important thing - to start working with it, not against it.
“The beauty is that resilient ecosystems can be productive, both for biodiversity and for our agriculture. Ideally, you have a varied landscape, with lots of people doing different things in their own way. Different species like different things in different places. Nature is complex.”
Clive Turner: Entomologist, Ecologist, Natural Philosopher
I’ve never met anyone before who confesses to have been born to study beetles. But here’s Clive, a dung beetle specialist with over three decades of experience around the world.
‘As soon as I could crawl, I was doing fieldwork,’ says Clive, smiling. ‘I was turning rocks over and looking at stuff. My mum and dad both encouraged me, and I was lucky enough to have a mentor up the road who started me off on moth trapping and looking at butterflies.’ And it all started from there … leading to this moment when Clive, Rob and I are huddled over a mound of horse manure inspecting hundreds of tiny beetles that scurry around, most with a tiny bit of dung in their care.
As Clive talks about his early life he recalls the Chalkhill Blue butterflies that used to live around his primary school – the day council contractors cut the verges. ‘Overnight, that Chalkhill blue went extinct at that site.’ Clive acknowledges that change happens in nature, but that particular extinction, ‘was purely down to management.’ Since then, Clive’s passion for invertebrates and careful land management has continued, and it’s infectious. With frequent smiles, he draws us into his passion and tells us why these tiny creatures are so valuable. The communities of tiny beetles who gather up, eat, and process dung, are integral to the entire web of life.
Clive with minotaur beetles
Digging for life
‘Dung beetles are what’s called a keystone community, because they're making the link between the land, biodiversity and farms: if you look at their position in the livestock farming world, they're central to everything.’
As grazing animals – sheep, cows, ponies, deer – leave dung behind them, dung beetles pull it into the earth: this speeds up the dung’s decomposition, increases organic matter in the soil, to boost its fertility and the growth of new grass. This also helps to bring carbon into the soil, preventing its release into the atmosphere. But the value is not only about carbon storage: the beetles’ role in supporting a range and abundance of different species is crucial.
“Dung beetles are what’s called a keystone community, because they’re making the link between the land, biodiversity and farms: if you look at their position in the livestock farming world, they’re central to everything.”
‘The more you look at it, the more you realise how important the beetles are to plant growth, plant diversity and seed dispersal, even in forests – something that’s been seen in parts of Europe, now grazing has been removed from forests. There's evidence to show that the there's an increased germination rate in oak, from dung being dropped on acorns and then being dug into the ground by dung beetles: so not only is the acorn protected from predation, it's also being fertilised, and pulled down into the ground. That's just one example of how they can affect seed dispersal.’
Other benefits the beetles bring include encouraging deep rooting of grasses and other vegetation; aeration of soil which can improve absorption of water and reduce flooding; disrupting parasites and boosting grazing animal’s resistance to illness.
The Dartmoor dung beetle survey - recognising Dartmoor’s international importance
I begin to think that these beetles are less ‘humble’ than ‘heroes’. And in Dartmoor, there’s much to celebrate, shown through a recent survey that grew from Clive’s concern that people making decisions about landscape change needed to know about the importance of site-specific beetle populations. The survey was supported by the Our Upland Commons project, and steered by Clive, with David Atwell from the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project. It focused on sites on Holne Moor and on Harford and Ugborough commons, together with the associated inbye land of the commoners. Clive talked to farmers and land managers about beetles, and together they headed out onto the commons to check out the dung. ‘Working with the commoners was a really great experience, they were all really engaged and it was wonderful to see three generations getting involved.’
“Working with the commoners was a really great experience. The team went through over 7500 litres of dung, identified over 86,000 beetles of 31 different species.”
The team went through over 7500 litres of dung, identified over 86,000 beetles of 31 different species. Given that there are only 58 known species in the whole of England, this result puts Dartmoor firmly on the map as a nationally and internationally important site – Dartmoor holds one of the most diverse populations of dung beetles in northern Europe. This is the first study of its kind, and the baseline record will be invaluable in the future to assist understanding about beetles and about land management practices in different areas.
One of the many interesting results of the survey was the importance of sheep for supporting populations of dung beetles. Per litre of dung, 358 beetles were found in sheep dung, compared to 6 in cow pats, and 186 in horse manure. The beetles are discerning bugs – they’ll head for the dung that they prefer: a variety of dung all year round is essential.
For research Clive and the survey team place dung on a griddle: hundreds of beetles gather in the tray below
The bigger picture: challenges for dung beetles
The survey does bring good news, but it’s relative. Emerging evidence shows that dung beetle numbers are in decline. This reflects a general decline in many other species of invertebrates, as well as the birds that rely on them, across the British Isles and around the world.
They are up against many challenges as the world around them changes. Where numbers of grazing animals have reduced, there is less food for the beetles. The absence of wandering herbivores in some areas, and particularly across all four seasons in locations where stock are excluded from grazing in the winter, may be a significant factor in the decline of insects and birds. Another factor is that dung often contains traces of chemicals from medications that are used to protect animals from parasites and illness, and are considered necessary for animal welfare. The suite of medications is broad, with some remaining toxic for longer than others. A dung beetle will not eat dung that contains doses of toxicity. Take a look at dung from an animal that has recently been treated with chemical medication and you won’t see the tell-tale holes of burrowing. The dung will stay where it is, untouched, and may take months to decompose, and this smothers rather than nurtures the vegetation beneath it. ‘There's clear evidence that if you don't have dung being removed, you end up with about 16% loss of grazing area: that’s really significant. You're losing pasture.’
“There’s clear evidence that if you don’t have dung being removed, you end up with about 16% loss of grazing area: that’s really significant. You’re losing pasture.”
The study showed that the commoners use a variety of approaches to their treatment regimes, and this is one factor that is supporting the current communities of beetles. That’s a positive thing, but there may be scope for change, and advice that supports this. In the context of Dartmoor and other areas as well, Clive’s view is that the problem isn’t that humans are involved in land use (something that’s been going on for millennia). What’s problematic is a homogeny of management: when the same and often prescriptive form of management applied in all areas. ‘We're managing on a macro scale, on a national basis, when we've got to think about managing locally, because everywhere is different.’
‘Nature needs different things, in different places. And everything's got its place. It's just that when we work in an agricultural landscape, we manipulate it to be productive for us.’ Clive believes there can be a balance. ‘The beauty is that resilient ecosystems can be productive, both for biodiversity and for our agriculture.’
‘Ideally, you have a varied landscape, with lots of people doing different things in their own way. You need what's called heterogeneity, or diversity of action, because different species like different things in different places. Nature is complex.’
Clive is certain that it’s not a case of choosing between this or that – farming or no farming, medication or no medication, etc. – but that there’s a win-win situation based on variety of practice, and close observation of what works in each place: with beetles as part of an ecology and a cycle that can be productive for biodiversity and for agriculture if well planned.
Cattle on Holne Common
Community involvement, and sharing knowledge
During the survey work, with lots of counting, learning about dung and plenty of humour (who doesn’t like a good dung joke?) there were many opportunities for people to share their own experiences and knowledge and compare their own practices and aspirations going forwards. ‘Actually,’ says Clive, ‘everyone wants the same thing. Farming here is about working with the land. We've got to take care of the livestock, because that's an essential element, and we've got to really understand where we are. How can we think differently, hopefully save money along the way, and make the ecosystems more resilient and more productive?’
“Farming here is about working with the land. We’ve got to take care of the livestock and we’ve got to really understand where we are. How can we think differently, hopefully save money along the way, and make the ecosystems more resilient and more productive? I think the message is that we can do things smarter.”
‘I think the message is that we can do things a bit smarter, rather than follow prescriptions.’ Clive applies this thinking to the way animals might be encouraged to move around the land (imagine the sheep grazing, the beetles are like a wave that follows them), and to the regimes for treating animals with medicines. These are important for animal welfare but their application need not be a one-dose-fits-all. While certain medications come through in animal dung, options to reduce the impact on beetles might include choosing an alternative medicine, or leaving a portion of the animals untreated, or staggering treatments so there is always ‘clean’ dung. That’s not a perfect solution as the presence of chemicals persists, but while treatments for animals continue, rethinking the regime is one way to think ‘smarter’. It comes back to variety and abundance: nature needs and thrives from difference. ‘Where people have changed the regime on individual farms, and treated the animals less, there's been an immediate financial saving, which is great, and there's an ecological advantage, as well. I think it's about trying to work out how to be a little bit smarter in what we do, rather than follow prescriptions.’
‘I think this brings us on to a really important point, actually,’ says Clive. ‘In the modern landscape of livestock farming it's sort of accepted that you just move stock from place to place. But in marginal areas, local strains are vital, because they've developed a resistance to local pests. That means you don't need to treat so much. And I think there's an underestimation of the value of local stock – not by the farmers, who know this, but by the wider system, with a view that all land is the same, but it’s not. Everywhere is different, and your stock in your local area is one of the most important things you've got, because they've adapted.’
“I think there’s an underestimation of the value of local stock – not by the farmers, who know this, but by the wider system, with a view that all land is the same, but it’s not. Everywhere is different, and your stock in your local area is one of the most important things you’ve got, because they’ve adapted.
”
Maintaining ‘refugia’ for the beetles
Back to beetles, we talk again about their numbers falling, and Clive tells us about refugia, a term that’s used to describe sites where species survive. As change happens, animals and insects withdraw to refugia, and then expand their populations again when conditions improve. The problem is that as refugia reduce in number, and become more widely spaced, for any species, their resilience falls. ‘The refugia are getting smaller and smaller. And the pressures are getting harder and harder. But it's credit to the commoners here: they, and the farming community, do their best against the odds - it's because of them that species are still surviving in these areas.’
“It’s credit to the commoners here: they, and the farming community, do their best against the odds - it’s because of them that species are still surviving in these areas.”
The task now is to improve conditions across Dartmoor for the beetles, and kickstart a rise in their population and in the populations of birds and other animals for whom the beetles and their larvae are vital food. The recommendations of the survey report suggest four-season grazing on the commons, continuing variety of grazing animals and land management regimes to support a mosaic of habitats, exploring different treatment regimes, and working to connect dung beetles’ community refugia - all supported by collective commons health plans. And there’s an appetite for further research.
Behind every action … is a lot of thought. Clive mimics ‘The Thinker’ conceived by sculptor Auguste Rodin
Thinking holistically - from the tiny beetle to the bigger ecosystem
“Just because something small, doesn’t mean it won’t have a significant influence on the world around it.”
Throughout our conversation, it’s clear to me that Clive loves his small beetles, but always comes back to the bigger picture. He describes himself, after all, as a natural philosopher. So I wonder, how does he marry those two scales, the tiny and the vast? He begins by countering my suggestion that dung beetles are small. ‘I would dispute that,’ he says. ‘They're tiny individuals, but a massive biomass, absolutely massive. I mean, trillions and trillions and trillions. Just because something small, doesn't mean it won’t have a significant influence on the world around it. And I think that's what we forget. Sometimes we focus on big stuff, obvious stuff, because we can associate with that. But actually, we need to think more holistically. I think that's where the challenge lies, because in ecosystem terms, dung beetles are really big.’
I can’t disagree with Clive’s thinking. Dung beetles aren’t just a keystone species, they’re an indicator species: what we learn about them shines a light on what’s happening to other insects and animals. ‘We know that as a group, they're really struggling. 30% of Britain’s species of dung beetles are threatened. But if we talk about conservation, agricultural productivity, land productivity and all the interactions, there's a whole story to be uncovered. That's the bigger picture that matters.’
Clive comes back to reflecting on the importance of livestock farmers in Dartmoor, keeping animals on the moors, and increasing an understanding about how things interact. And he’s hopeful for the future. He smiles. ‘I'm always optimistic, nature's very resilient. I think you have to give it a chance. That's the most important thing - to start working with it, not against it.’
“We know that as a group, they’re really struggling. 30% of Britain’s species of dung beetles are threatened. But if we talk about conservation, agricultural productivity, land productivity and all the interactions, there’s a whole story to be uncovered. That’s the bigger picture that matters.”
For more about Dung Beetles …
If you’d like to read the report about the survey, and recommendations, head to the Dartmoor Hill Farm website here: https://www.dartmoorhillfarmproject.co.uk/current-projects
Find out more about Clive’s recent find of a locally rare dung beetle in Bittaford here: https://foundationforcommonland.org.uk/news/locally-rare-dung-beetle-found-bittaford
And follow Clive Turner’s work through ResearchGate: