Aphodius brevis
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Scarab beetle or ally |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered/Possibly Extinct (Not Relevant) [CR(PE)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Ammoecius brevis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Erichson, 1848) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Lane and Mann, 2016 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Recently (2017) re-discovered at Ainsdale Dunes. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | As a coprovore of coastal dunes it requires a continual supply of herbivore dung. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Only known to be extant at a single site so it is hard to say further until more sites are found. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Combination or other (detail in comments) |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | High risk of climate driven sea-level rise, and extreme storm events destroying the only British population. Dependant on having a source of herbivore dung to complete its life-cycle |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Implement year round low intensity cattle grazing to ensure a reliable source of dung as a supplement to rabbit dung which may be prone to population fluctuations. Rotate grazing using compartments
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Sefton Coast SAC
Comments: Action 1 and 2 to run concurrently
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Monitor population density and distribution with a view to establishing a re-introduction program on its other former South Lancashire sites where conditions are suitable
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Sefton Coast SSSI
Comments: Action 1 and 2 to run concurrently
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Field study to establish exact habitat requirements for A. arenarius to breed successfully and understand its dispersal capability.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Sefton Coast SSSI
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.