Re: Did Dung Beetles Kill The Mushroom?

Damien Broderick (damien@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au)
Mon, 28 Jul 1997 11:03:37 +0000


At 02:26 PM 7/25/97 +1000, Patrick wrote in reply to my comment:

>> *Macrocopris symbioticus*, according to the E.B., `lives in the anus of
>>the wallaby'. *That's* specialisation for you

>dung beetles were released in Australia by CSIRO to deal
>with the millions of cow pats.

Ah, of course, that was stupid of me. If one dung bettle is specialised by
natural selection for wallaby poo, a different one must be at home in cow
pats, and never the twain shall meet. So if you bring cows into a new
ecology, you need to fetch their little helpers with them. Thanks, Patrick.

Damien Broderick