Dung beetles offer insights into biodiversity in Singapore
Dung beetles could provide scientists with a new way to uncover the animals living in Singapore's forests, including elusive species that are difficult to spot with conventional wildlife surveys. NTU researchers found that DNA preserved in the insects' guts can reveal the mammals, birds and other vertebrates whose waste they have fed on.
Scientists in Singapore have discovered a novel method to study animal biodiversity in the country's forests using dung beetles. By examining the DNA found in the insects' guts, researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) were able to identify 18 vertebrate species, including elusive animals like the sambar deer, Sunda pangolin, and Sunda slow loris.
This technique could complement traditional wildlife surveys, such as camera traps, which may miss animals living in higher canopy areas or struggle to distinguish closely related species. The study, published in Molecular Ecology Resources, also provides insights into the ecological relationships between dung beetles and other vertebrates, which could help assess ecosystem resilience when individual species disappear or monitor the recovery of degraded forests after conservation efforts.
The researchers are now working on a less invasive method that requires only swabbing the insects' bodies and mouths for traces of wildlife DNA.
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