Chasing Dung Beetles across Sri Lanka
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 across the dry and intermediate climatic zones of Sri Lanka. This fieldwork marked an exciting milestone in my PhD research, which aims to understand how dung beetle diversity and community composition vary across climatic zones and habitat types, particularly between dense forests and grasslands.
Five flavours of dung
Dung beetles may be small, but they play an important role in ecosystems by breaking down animal dung, recycling nutrients, and maintaining soil health. Interestingly, not all dung beetles are attracted to the same type of dung, making dung choice an important consideration when studying their diversity.
To investigate dung beetle communities, I worked in two climatic zones, the dry zone and the intermediate zone, with four locations in each. At every location I installed traps in two contrasting habitats: grassland and dense forest. In each habitat, I deployed five pitfall traps, each containing a different type of dung: elephant, cattle, sambar, pig and human. Yes, five different flavours of dung! By using different dung types, I hope to better understand which dung beetle species are attracted to different resources and how their communities vary across habitats and climatic zones.
Collecting fresh elephant dung is exactly as glamorous as it sounds! Things became even more interesting when the elephants seemed to realise that we were following them for their dung. Unsurprisingly, they did not seem particularly pleased with our unusual interest in their droppings! Their reactions quickly reminded us that fieldwork does not always go according to plan. It was a funny but humbling reminder that, when studying wildlife, we are working on the animals’ terms not ours!
From the field to the laboratory
After collecting the beetles, the next challenge was identifying them! Back in the laboratory, I sorted and examined the specimens based on their morphological characteristics However, identifying dung beetles is not always straightforward, especially when closely related species look remarkably similar. This is where molecular approaches can complement traditional identification methods and help us better understand species diversity.
This fieldwork would not have been possible without the invaluable support and dedication of everyone involved. I am particularly grateful to our field team, Oshada, Vihaga, Dinuka and Lahiru, for their hard work and dedication throughout the fieldwork. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Eleanor Slade, and Dr. Li Yuen, for their encouragement, guidance, and support throughout this field season. I also extend our sincere thanks to supervision of, Prof. Enoka Kudavidanage for her guidance and support, and to Dr. Sarath Bandara from the Faculty of Technology, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, for facilitating access to laboratory facilities and providing valuable assistance during the laboratory work.
With my first field season completed, the next exciting chapter begins: identifying the collected specimens and analysing the patterns of dung beetle diversity across Sri Lanka.
There is still much to discover, and I cannot wait to see what these fascinating little recyclers will reveal about the biodiversity of my home country!
Stay tuned for more dung beetle discoveries from Sri Lanka!
Written by: Nethmi Wickramarathna
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