George Bornemissza

OAM
George Bornemissza
Born
György Ferenc Bornemissza

(1924-01-11)11 January 1924
Baja, Hungary
Died10 April 2014(2014-04-10) (aged 90)
Australia
NationalityAustralian citizen
Alma materUniversity of Innsbruck
Known forThe Australian Dung Beetle Project
AwardsMedal of the Order of Australia 2001
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology, Biology, Ecology, Agricultural Science
InstitutionsUniversity of Western Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, University of Tasmania

George Francis Bornemissza OAM (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 Ph.D. 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 was known for his work on the Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965–1985) while working at CSIRO's Division of Entomology. He wrote scientific papers and books based on his research and contributed a collection of mounted beetle specimens to the Australian National Insect Collection and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. In 2001 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to Australian entomology.

Early life and education

Bornemissza was born in Baja, Hungary, to Katalin Bornemissza and Ferenc Bornemissza, an engineer.[1] He began collecting and studying beetles in the forests around his hometown during his mid-teens and also volunteered in museums and scientific institutions in Budapest.[2]

Career and research

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 traveled to Western Australia, where he arrived on 31 December 1950.[1] Six months after arriving on Australian shores, while working with the Department of Zoology at the University of Western Australia,[3] he remarked upon a large number of old, dry cow dung pads that covered cattle grazing fields near Wooroloo, Western Australia[4] 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 utilize bovine dung since cattle were only relatively recently introduced to Australia in the 1880s. Bornemissza hypothesized 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.[1] Bornemissza joined CSIRO in 1955[3] and continued to advocate for the introduction of bovine dung beetles to Australia whilst working on several other projects and studies.[1] The Australian Dung Beetle Project subsequently secured funding from the Australian Meat Research Committee and commenced in 1965.[5]

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 that made extensive use of time lapse photography.[citation needed]

The Australian Dung Beetle Project 1965-1985

From 1965, Bornemissza traveled extensively in search of suitable dung beetles to introduce to Australia.[6] The first dung beetles to be introduced to Australia came from Hawaii, where beetles had already been introduced from Africa to biologically 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. After the introduction, they became established across a large area of tropical Australia.[5]

It was realized 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 the peak time of beetle activity. To this end, Bornemissza traveled to Pretoria in 1970 where he helped establish a South African branch of the Australian Dung Beetle Research Unit. For 9 years,[7] he carried out research 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 chose, and the tiny parasites that the beetles carry, would not themselves become pests and so strict quarantining procedures were devised and developed.[8] In total, 43 species of beetle from Africa and Europe were introduced to Australia by CSIRO between 1968 and 1984.[7]

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 realized.[citation needed] 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".[citation needed] 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 to fill the empty ecological niches with new species of introduced dung beetle.[citation needed] The work Bornemissza and his team undertook with the Australian Dung Beetle Project is credited with being the reason why Australians today can enjoy a terrace café culture.[3] 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.[3] The "Australian Salute", a flick of the hand recognized by older generations of Australians as the only solution to rid oneself of flies at that time, is now a dwindling gesture.[3][9][10] 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".[11]

Retirement and further work

Bornemissza moved to Tasmania in 1979 and formally retired in 1983 but continued to work privately to foster awareness of beetles and conservation issues.[2][1] In retirement he compiled a collection of beetles for public display, which he donated to the Australian National Insect Collection in Canberra.[12] 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, color, secondary sexual dimorphism and zoogeography. As the sections were completed they were donated to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.[2][13] 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.[14]

Bornemissza also contributed to habitat conservation initiatives in Tasmania. He assessed, with Karyl Michaels, the effect of clear-felling 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.[citation needed] Some, including Bornemissza's Stag Beetle (Hoplogonus bornemisszai), are now considered endangered species, and improved forest management strategies in Tasmania are recommended.[15]

Bornemissza died in Australia on 10 April 2014 at age 90.[16][17]

Awards and honours

Bornemissza received several awards including:

Eponymy

Several species of beetle and other insects have been named after Bornemissza, including:[21]

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 several 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.

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Urmenyhazi, Attila. "Obituary - George Francis Bornemissza". oa.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Baker, Matthew; Mordaunt, Caroline; Cuthbert, Simon (2007). Collection: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Hobart: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. ISBN 978-0-9775334-2-8. OCLC 181913854.((cite book)): CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e Collis, B (2002) Fields of Discovery: Australia’s CSIRO, pub. Allen & Unwin, Australia, ch. 2, p 46, ISBN 1-86508-602-9
  4. ^ [1] Archived 6 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine - Riley, Kathy (July 2009), Beetle Mania, Australian Geographic
  5. ^ a b Bornemissza, G. F. (1976), The Australian dung beetle project 1965-1975, Australian Meat Research Committee Review 30:1-30
  6. ^ a b [2] Archived 3 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine - George Bornemissza OAM, Winner of the Inaugural Australian Geographic Society Conservationist of the Year Award (2008)
  7. ^ a b Edwards, P (2007), Introduced Dung Beetles in Australia 1967-2007: current status and future directions, Landcare Australia
  8. ^ Bornemissza, G. F. (1979), The Australian Dung Beetle Research Unit in Pretoria, South African Journal of Science 75 (6): 257-260
  9. ^ Cribb, J (11 October 2006) Fly times when the dry comes, The Australian
  10. ^ a b c Discovering the beetles that let Australians dine outdoors, For Enterprise: The Rolex Awards Journal 21 (2007) pp 44-45, pub. Rolex SA, Geneva
  11. ^ The Queensland Dung Beetle Project (2002), Improving sustainable land management systems in Queensland using Beetles: Final report of the 2001-2002 Queensland Dung Beetle Project, page 3
  12. ^ a b "Australian National Insect Collection Volunteers Scheme: achievements & awards". Csiro.au. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  13. ^ a b Jarvis, Peter; McIntyre, Jo (2009). "George Bornemissza, Humboldtianer Extraordinaire" (PDF). people.physics.anu.Edu.au. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  14. ^ Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery Annual Report 2005–2006 (PDF). Hobart: Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery. 2006. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2020.
  15. ^ Michaels, K. and Bornemissza, G. F. (1999), Effects of clear-fell harvesting on lucanid beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in wet and dry sclerophyll forests in Tasmania, Journal of Insect Conservation (3) 85-95
  16. ^ "Passing of Dr. George Bornemissza OAM". Landcare North East. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  17. ^ "George Bornemissza / Notice". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  18. ^ Stone, Gregory B. (1981), Spirit of Enterprise: The 1981 Rolex Awards, pub. W.H. Freeman, ISBN 978-0-7167-1317-3
  19. ^ "Dr George Francis BORNEMISSZA". It's An Honour. 11 June 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Whats on in Sydney and Melbourne at MiSociety Australian Geographic Society 2008 Awards, Powerhouse Museum » What's on in Sydney and Melbourne at MiSociety". Misociety.com.au. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  21. ^ "Universal Chalcidoidea Database". Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008. - Encyclopaedia of Life
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