Since late 2022, the TEE Lab has been surveying and documenting dung beetle communities across the forests of Central Catchment Nature Reserve in Singapore. This endeavor is part of the National Parks Board's biodiversity surveys and will provide us with updated information on the diversity and distribution of dung beetle species in Singapore. So far, we (Samuel & Xin Rui) have been to just a few sites and we've already come across some amazing and ecologically important species!
Samuel (left) & Xin Rui (right)
In these surveys, we set up both ground and canopy dung-baited pitfall traps, which allows us to document both ground and canopy dung beetle communities.
Canopy (left) and ground (right) dung-baited traps.
First up is Singapore's largest dung beetle species, Catharsius renaudpauliani. These are large, nocturnal, tunnellers and are able to remove large amounts of dung at a given time. As the species requires significant amount of dung to sustain their populations, their presence is indicative of healthy mammal populations.
A big and handsome male Catharsius renaudpauliani. Bigger-sized beetles also suggests healthy mammal populations. More poop = more food = bigger beetle.
Next, this unique roller species, Paragymnopleurus maurus, has been seen occasionally in our surveys. This is also Singapore's only existing roller dung beetle species (another roller genus Sisyphus was last recorded by Alfred Russell Wallace in the 1800s and has not been found since). Based on past survey data, we notice that this species is often restricted to certain forest sites, which suggests that they might be less tolerant to forest disturbances. Hence, locating this species is definitely indicative of good and healthy forests.
Paragymnopleurus maurus! A super exciting find!
We have been finding beetles in our canopy traps too! These canopy beetles are often much smaller than their ground counterparts and have adaptations (e.g. modified hind legs to better grasp dung balls) that make them most suited for "living the high life".
3 small canopy dung beetles. Likely to be Onthophagus deliensis.
In the few sites that we've been to, we have already recorded at least 10 dung beetle species and we expect to find more. These gathered data will contribute to a Singapore dung beetle checklist and conservation status assessment. The presence of these ecologically important species also highlights the need to have healthy and well-connected forests, and good mammal populations to sustain our local dung beetle communities.
Stay tuned for more exciting finds as we continue on in these surveys!
P.S. We also saw a pangolin! Wonder what kind of dung beetle feeds on pangolin poop...
Look at that chonker..