Ecosystem Engineers

Certain organisms make major alterations to their physical environment that influence the habitats of many other organisms in the ecosystem. These organisms are sometimes referred to as ecosystem engineers. For example, some of these engineer species are micro organisms that create an impermeable surface crust that spatially concentrates scarce water supplies in certain desert soils.

Burrowing animals

Others are burrowing animals that create opportunities and challenges for other organisms by digging channels that greatly alter air and water movement in soils.
Termites and Ants, for example may literally invert the soil profile in local areas. Earthworms literally eat their way through soil as they incorporate plant residues into the mineral soil by passing them from their bodies along with mineral soil particles. Larger animals such as gophers, moles, rats also burrow into the soil and bring about considerable soil mixing.

Ants - soil engineers - loosing soil particles

Earthworms - soil engineers

Dung Beetles

Certain beetles greatly enhance nutrient cycling by burying animal dung in tiny tunnels that they excavate into the upper soil horizons. Many of these dung beetles cut round balls from large mammal feces, enabling them to roll the dung balls to a new location. The female dung beetle then lay  her eggs in the ball of dung and buries in the soil. Dispersal and burial of the dung not only provides a food source for the beetle larvae, it also protects the nutrients in the manure from easy loss by runoff. Dung beetle thus play an important role in nutrient cycling and conservation in many grazed ecosystem.
Rapid burial of dung by beetles also prevents the reproduction of carnivorous flies and other pests of large dung producing mammals. If native dung burying engineer species are lacking in a grazed ecosystem, scientists have found that the introduction of appropriate species of dung beetles or earthworms can greatly increase the amount of vegetation produced and the number of grazing animals supported.

Dung Beetles - Soil Biology - Rolling the balls