Multimedia Release

Increased CO2 in the atmosphere makes dung beetles smaller

A new study headed by a team of biologists at Wits University has found surprising results that show that increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air can negatively affect the survival and size of dung beetles.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of the Witwatersrand

Graph showing how increased CO2 levels affect dung beetle body size

image: Graph showing how increased CO2 levels affect dung beetle body size view more 

Credit: Claudia Tocco

Journal

Global Change Biology

DOI

10.1111/gcb.15804

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Elevated atmospheric CO2 adversely affects a dung beetle’s development: Another potential driver of decline in insect numbers?

Article Publication Date

15-Jul-2021

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