Nationality Australian citizen Name George Bornemissza | ||
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Institutions University of Western Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, University of Tasmania Fields | ||
George Francis Bornemissza (born György Ferenc Bornemissza; 11 February 1924 – 10 April 2014) was a Hungarian-born entomologist and ecologist. He studied science at the University of Budapest before obtaining his PhD in zoology at the University of Innsbruck in Austria in 1950. At the end of that year he emigrated to Australia. There he first worked in the Department of Zoology at the University of Western Australia for 3 years, before pursuing a career with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Bornemissza is most noted for his work on the Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965–1985) while working with CSIRO’s Division of Entomology. In 2001 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to Australian entomology. Bornemissza has written several papers published in notable journals and books (see Publications) and has contributed an extensive collection of mounted beetle specimens to the Australian public.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Early career
- The Australian Dung Beetle Project 1965 1985
- Project Outcomes and Impact
- Retirement and further work
- Awards and honours
- Eponymy
- Publications
- Selected publications
- References
Early life and education
Bornemissza was born in Baja, Hungary, to Katalin Bornemissza and Ferenc Bornemissza, an engineer. He began collecting and studying beetles in the forests around his hometown during his mid-teens and also dedicated much of his spare time to volunteering in museums and scientific institutions in Budapest.
Early career
After receiving his doctorate from the University of Innsbrück in Austria, Bornemissza fled central Europe to escape the post-World War II Soviet regimes and travelled to Western Australia, where he arrived on 31 December 1950. Six months after arriving on Australian shores, while working with the Department of Zoology at the University of Western Australia, he remarked upon the large number of old, dry cow dung pads that covered cattle grazing fields near Wooroloo, Western Australia and compared this to the relatively dung-free cattle fields of his native Hungary. In Hungary and elsewhere in the world, dung beetles have adapted to be able to roll and bury large, moist cattle dung pads but native Australian beetles, which co-evolved alongside the marsupials, were not able to utilise bovine dung, since cattle were only relatively recently introduced to Australia in the 1880s. Bornemissza hypothesised that the introduction of foreign dung beetle species that were able to roll and bury cattle dung pads would aid not only Australia’s soil fertility by recycling the dung nutrients back into the ground, but would also reduce the number of pestilent flies and parasitic worms which use the dung pads as a breeding ground. Bornemissza joined CSIRO in 1955 and continued to advocate his plan whilst he worked on a number of other projects and studies (see Publications). The Australian Dung Beetle Project finally secured funding from the Australian Meat Research Committee and commenced in 1965.
Beyond his work in entomology, during the 1950s and 1960s Dr Bornemissza was also a keen amateur filmmaker. In 1962 he won the Kodak Trophy for the 8mm Best Australian Entry at the Australian Amateur Cine Society 23rd International Gold Cup Competition for his entry "The Burning Bush", a documentary on the effect of bushfires on Australian ecosystems which made extensive use of time lapse photography.
The Australian Dung Beetle Project 1965-1985
Bornemissza travelled to 32 countries in search of suitable dung beetles to introduce to Australia. The first dung beetles to be introduced to Australia came from Hawaii, where beetles had already been introduced from Africa in order to biologically control (see biological control) populations of the pestilent horn fly. Samples of the species Onthophagus gazella were transported to Australia where they were bred in sterile conditions before being released in Queensland in 1968. They soon became established across a large area of tropical Australia.
It was realised that due to periods of seasonal inactivity by O. gazella, further beetle species were needed to fill in the gaps in climatic and habitat preference and peak time of beetle activity. To this end, Bornemissza travelled to Pretoria in 1970 where he established a South African branch of the Australian Dung Beetle Research Unit. For 9 years, he carried out extensive research in order to find species of dung beetle that would not only be able to remove the bovine dung pads in Australia, but also those that would thrive in the varying climates found all over the continent. It was also important that the beetles chosen, and the tiny parasites that the beetles carry, would not themselves become pests and so strict quarantining procedures were devised and developed. In total, 43 species of beetle from Africa and Europe were introduced to Australia by CSIRO between 1968 and 1984 under Bornemissza’s direction.
Project Outcomes and Impact
The funding for the Australian Dung Beetle Project was withdrawn in 1985 after the restructuring of the Australian Meat Research Committee, but Bornemissza believed that the full potential of the project had yet to be realised. He said, "The introduction of exotic dung beetles and their subsequent establishment in Australia is now history, and a very successful one at that. However, it fell short in filling all the climatic areas with their vast variety of habitats". This last statement was made in a report by Penny Edwards in 2007, which summarised investigations made by Landcare Australia to evaluate the distribution and abundance of introduced species of dung beetle across Australia. The investigation found that 23 of the 43 species of dung beetle introduced by Bornemissza and his team were still established and thriving all over Australia, and it recommended that further research be carried out in order to fill the empty ecological niches with new species of introduced dung beetle. Bornemissza’s work is credited with being the reason why Australians today can enjoy a terrace café culture, since the success of the project in reducing the number of bush flies by 90% has meant that outside dining is no longer illegal, as it once was in the 1950s. The "Australian Salute", a flick of the hand recognised by older generations of Australians as the only solution to rid oneself of flies at that time, is now a dwindling gesture. The Australian Dung Beetle Project is also said to have affected soil, water and pasture health that is "undoubtedly worth many millions of dollars a year".
Retirement and further work
Bornemissza moved to Tasmania in 1979 and formally retired in 1983 but continues to work privately to foster awareness of beetles and conservation issues. His first major work post retirement was to compile a collection of beetles for public display, which he donated to the Australian National Insect Collection in Canberra. Following this 3-year project he commenced in 1993 a 20-year private project to assemble the largest collection of beetles ever presented for public display. Entitled George Bornemissza's Forest Beauties of the Beetle World: A Tribute to Biodiversity and an Appeal for its Preservation, the collection is structured into five sections focussed on size range, allometry, colour, secondary sexual dimorphism and zoogeography. As the sections have been completed they have been donated to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and have received considerable public acclaim. The final section is currently being compiled, and when complete it is anticipated that the full collection will comprise over 5,000 specimens in 125 display cases. The Bornemissza Collection of beetles was the subject of an episode of the TV show "Collectors" shown on the Australian television channel ABC in 2005.
Bornemissza has also contributed to habitat conservation initiatives in Tasmania. A key area of this work, with Karyl Michaels, has been to assess the effect of clearfelling and slash-burning of forest on lucanid beetles in Tasmania. These beetles feed on and reproduce in decaying wood and it was found that forest clearing practices have led to a significant decrease in the distribution and abundance of several species. Some, most relevantly Bornemissza’s Stag Beetle (Hoplogonus bornemisszai), are now considered endangered species and improved forest management strategies in Tasmania are recommended.
Bornemissza died in Australia on 10 April 2014 at age 90.
Awards and honours
Bornemissza’s has received several notable accolades and honours including:
Eponymy
Several species of beetle and other insects have been named after Bornemissza, including:
1. Carbrunneria bornemisszai Princis, 1954
2. Osa bornemisszai Paramonov 1958
3. Polypauropus bornemisszai Remy, 1961
4. Symphylella bornemisszai Scheller, 1961
5. Ipomyia bornemisszai Colless, 1965
6. Beierolpium bornemisszai Beier, 1966
7. Pseudotyrannochthonius bornemisszai Beier, 1966
8. Eosentomon bornemisszai Tuxon, 1967
9. Copris bornemisszai Ferreira, 1968 (synonym of Copris bootes Klug, 1855)
10. Neosisyphus bornemisszai Ferreira, 1968 (synonym of Neosisyphus infuscatus Klug, 1855)
11. Onthophagus bornemisszai Matthews, 1972
12. Onthophagus bornemisszanus, Matthews, 1972
13. Temnoplectron bornemisszai Matthews, 1974
14. Setoppia bornemisszai Balogh, 1982
15. Sisyphus bornemisszanus Endrödi, 1983
16. Acutozetes bornemisszai J. & P. Balogh, 1986
17. Clambus bornemisszai Endrödy-Younga, 1990
18. Hoplogonus bornemisszai Bartolozzi, 1996
19. Viracochiella bornemisszai, Balogh & Mahunka, 1996
20. Lissotes bornemisszai, Bartolozzi, 2003
Publications
Bornemissza is the author or co-author of a number of articles in the field of entomology. His work has appeared in a range of journals and books including Nature and the Australian Journal of Zoology and was published between the years 1956 - 1999.