Dung beetle declines merit global attention

Abstract Global insect declines are unfolding at a pace and scale that calls for direct, collective action. Among the bioindicator taxa signalling the need for prompt intervention, dung beetles play a critical role in several sectors of agriculture and face regionally unique, multifaceted stressors in temperate and tropical ecosystems. Despite the essential ecosystem services dung beetles provide, most species remain largely invisible to the public, whereas the plight of pollinators (i.e., bees and butterflies) is widely known. Monitored populations in temperate and tropical ecosystems are facing threats from habitat destruction and degradation, climate change, industrial livestock pharmaceuticals and pesticides, invasive species and artificial light at night. Global decreases in dung beetle diversity and abundance were initially documented in the 1990s, with many of the same factors contributing to continued losses today. Field data collected from France, Italy and Spain document some of the first accounts of dung beetle declines and range reductions. Similar conservation assessments from the tropics mirror this pattern. Tackling the uphill battle to protect these remarkable insects begins by convincing government agencies, agricultural industries (i.e., field crop cultivation, forestry and livestock production), nonprofit organizations and the public that dung beetle declines merit global attention. This multistakeholder call to action responds to a specific biodiversity crisis with six action items that can make an immediate difference.