Hello everyone! I am Nethmi, a PhD student at the Tropical Ecology and Entomology (TEE) Lab, Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. My research focuses on understanding the diversity, distribution, and ecology of dung beetles in Sri Lanka, particularly how their communities respond to differences in climate and habitat conditions. From July to mid-September 2026, I embarked on my first field season, exploring dung beetle communitie

How do we know whether a tropical forest is truly functioning? Is monitoring biodiversity and forest cover enough, or should we also be measuring the ecological processes that keep forests alive? These were among the important questions explored at the SCIENCE+ Meeting, “Safeguarding Anthropocene Tropical Forests,” held on 5–6 October 2026 at the Royal Society, London, UK. Our lab member, Dr Li Yuen, had the opportunity to present her research and contribute to discussions al

On 1 and 3 October 2026, TEE Lab's Associate Professor Eleanor Slade and Dr Ong Xin Rui visited renowned Southeast Asian taxonomists Dr Teruo Ochi and Dr Masahiro Kon in Osaka, Japan. We had productive discussions in Dr Ochi's home and were fascinated by his extensive and incredible private collection of dung beetles and other insect groups. Group photo with Dr Ochi and Dr Kon, with Eleanor holding a putative new species to science! Photo 2026 Xin Rui. Dr Ochi showing us his

The Tropical Ecology and Entomology (TEE) Lab from Asian School of the Environment, College of Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore recently joined the BioBlitz at Gardens by the Bay, bringing together field surveys, community engagement, and new technologies to explore and showcase Singapore’s fascinating invertebrate biodiversity. As part of the BioBlitz, our team led dragonfly and damselfly surveys around the Gardens. Participants joined our survey leads t

Hi, I am Bertram, a Year 3 undergraduate studying Environmental Earth Systems Science in ASE. At the end of my Year 2 undergraduate studies, it was finally time for my credit-bearing internship. And as someone who enjoys research and insects, there was no better place for me to intern than the TEE Lab (thank you Prof Eleanor!). Being an intern in the TEE Lab meant that I got to help out with multiple different projects, from DNA extraction and photographing tiny beetles to cu

Southeast Asia is a hyper-diverse and rapidly urbanizing region. However, the impacts of urbanization on the region's insect communities are still greatly understudied. In our recent publication in Biotropica's Special Issue: Urban Ecosystems, Ecology, and Evolution in the Tropics 2026, we investigated the impacts of urbanization on Singapore's dung beetle communities - an ecologically important and ideal bioindicator group. Deployed flight-interception trap and baited pitfal

Hello! I’m Gladys and I have recently completed my Final Year Project (FYP) on insect portrayals in children’s books in Singapore libraries. With recent research discoveries and reviews highlighting the alarming rate of global insect biodiversity decline, the portrayal of insects in media such as children’s books has become more crucial than ever to shape children’s perceptions of insects, raise awareness of its ecological importance, and encourage insect conservation. Thus,

We are proud to see TEE Lab's Dr Ong Xin Rui featured in Singapore's largest Chinese-language newspaper, 联合早报 Lianhe Zaobao! Lianhe Zaobao article. Published on 4 September 2026. In this recent 街访街坊 (Street Interview with Locals), Xin Rui reminisced about how she first ventured into the world of dung beetles after losing a game of rock-paper-scissors as an undergraduate. She also shared about our recent study "Using Metabarcoding Techniques to Map Multiple Dung Beetle-Vertebr

In late August 2026, the TEE Lab was honoured to host Associate Professor Benoit Guénard for a very fruitful visit. Benoit is an Associate Professor in The University of Hong Kong and the founding director of the Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum. He also founded the impressive Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) Project, which has led to multiple high-impact publications that exemplify the importance of having baseline taxonomy and natural history data to advance biodiver

I'm Charmaine Ng, a Year 1 student at ASE. From June to July 2026, I had the opportunity to join the TEE Lab and work on my project titled "Effects of Habitat Disturbance on Mammal Diversity and Community Composition in Sabah, Borneo". My project is about analysing mammal camera trap data to find out how mammal species richness, species diversity, and community composition differs across a disturbance gradient of Sabah forests. It is part of the Stability of Altered Forest Ec

Hi, I’m Shannon, a Year 1 student studying Environmental Earth System Science at ASE. From June to July 2026, I had the opportunity to take part in the Summer Research programme, where I had my first foray into environmental science research. This is me with my friends at the TEE lab! My project was about investigating the composition of below-ground invertebrate communities in different plot types around Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Soil samples were extracted from diff

On 18 June 2026, the Tropical Ecology and Entomology (TEE Lab) held the second run of CoS Science Discovery Camp Ecology Day lab tour. This event shed insights to the world of ecology and conservation for a group of 50 pre-university student participants. The morning started with an introduction by Project Officer Wan Lin to the students on what is ecology and why do we study ecology. This gives the student an understanding of the importance of ecological studies and the kin

From 3-5 June 2026, our research fellow, Dr Ong Xin Rui, participated in the 6th Conservation Asia Congress (CAC Nepal 2026) that was held in the bustling city of Kathmandau, Nepal. As part of the Asian chapter of the Society of Conservation Biology (SCB), this year's congress is considered a homecoming, where the first SCB Asia regional conference was held in the same venue more than two decades ago. Under the theme “Harmonising Biodiversity and Human Well-being in Asia,” th

Recently, our PhD student Nethmi from the TEE Lab, NTU, had the opportunity to deliver a public talk to undergraduate students from the Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Applied Sciences, at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. This opportunity was kindly given by Prof. Enoka P. Kudavidange. During the session, she shared her research journey and introduced the fascinating world of dung beetles, highlighting their ecological importance, distribution patterns, and f

On 6 May 2026, we conducted a focused mini workshop with local communities in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to gather input on the Riparian Decision Tree (RiTREE), a planning tool designed to guide decisions on riparian buffer widths. This session marked an important step in ensuring that community perspectives are meaningfully integrated into the tool. Between 2016 and 2021, a series of meetings, multi-stakeholder workshops, and collaborative discussions brought together scientists,

From 28–30 April 2026, over 80 participants from various agencies gathered in Sabah for the Tropical Insect Workshop. Organised by the Sabah Forestry Department through its Forest Research Centre (FRC) in Sepilok, the workshop—titled “Small Wonders of the Rainforests: Understanding Tropical Insects” brought together researchers, practitioners, and government officers with a shared interest in tropical biodiversity. Top: Group photo with all the guests, speakers, and participa

We are super proud of our PhD student, Jasmine Ong, who has successfully passed her qualifying examinations recently! Jasmine is supervised by Associate Professor Kim Hie Lim and Associate Professor Eleanor Slade and is studying the climate resilience of tropical dung beetles. Jasmine with her PhD supervisors, Associate Professor Kim Hie Lim and Associate Professor Eleanor Slade. Photo: Shuna Maekawa, 2026. For her qualifying exam, she presented a phylogenetic study on Cathar

The Tropical Ecology & Entomology Lab ( TEE Lab ) from the Asian School of the Environment, College of Science, Nanyang Technological University, had the privilege of showcasing our research at the ArtScience Museum's exhibition Insects: Microsculptures Magnified . TEE Lab outing at Insects: Microsculptures Magnified. Photo 2026 Marx Yim. This exhibition features stunning portraits of insect specimens from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History captured by photogra

In January 2026, the TEE Lab spent an amazing and fruitful two weeks at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France. Marx, Xin Rui, Zann & Eleanor at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the MNHN. Photos 2026 Marx. The Naturalis Biodiversity Center is home to over 40 million specimens from all over the world, including many important specimens from Southeast Asia. Here, we were hosted by Dr

As 2025 draws to a close, the Tropical Ecology and Entomology (TEE) Lab came together for a relaxed year-end barbeque to reflect on an eventful and meaningful year. Beyond good food and laughter, the gathering was a moment to celebrate our collective achievements, acknowledge the people behind the work, and look ahead with excitement to what lies ahead. Super nice foods by our little chefs. Photo 2025, Chiew Li Yuen One of the highlights of the evening was a beautifully cura