Into the Understories of Sepilok, Sandakan, Malaysia

The TEE Lab is featured in the Merdeka Daily News, local Sandakan paper. Photo 2025, Arthur Chung

The TEE Lab returned to the rainforests of Sepilok-Kabili Forest Reserve in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, for a resurvey of dung beetle communities. Our team (Prof. Eleanor Slade, Dr. Ong Xin Rui, and Dr. Chiew Li Yuen) spent two weeks sampling across a variety of habitats, including the trails of the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC), the alluvial forest, and areas bordering the mangrove forest.

Top: Group photo with our local collaborators: Dr. Arthur Chung, Mr. Razy Japir, and Ms. Dayang Fazrinah. Photo 2025, Dr. Arthur Chung; Bottom: Team members in the field. Photo 2025, Ms Dayang Fazrinah

This resampling effort builds on our ongoing commitment to the long-term ecological monitoring of dung beetle communities in Borneo, a functionally important group that plays a critical role in nutrient cycling and forest health.

We have deployed flight interception traps and ground pitfall traps to collect the dung beetles. Photos 2025, Ms. Dayang Fazrinah

We’re deeply grateful to our local collaborators from the Sabah Forestry Department—Dr. Arthur Chung, Mr. Razy Japir, and Ms. Dayang Fazrinah, for their tireless field and logistical support. Their guidance and assistance on the ground made it possible for us to cover a wide range of forest trails.

Special thanks to the DFO Sandakan, Rosli Siki, Tn Hj Asran and the boatman (left 1), under the jurisdiction of District Forestry Office of Sandakan, who arranged the boat ride to Sepilok Laut Mangrove Visitor Centre. Their help allowed us to access and sample in the unique mangrove-edge forest. Photo 2025, Staff of mangrove centre

Apart from working in the field, we also spent days in the insect collection room at the Forest Research Centre (FRC) in Sepilok. We helped to organize the dung beetle specimens housed in the reference collection and to digitize these records to improve accessibility for future research.

Team members working on FRC's collection of dung beetle specimen. Photo 2025, Arthur Chung

This trip has provided multiple opportunities for capacity building, learning, and knowledge exchange. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Sabah Forestry Department on the dung beetles in the region.

Stay tuned for more updates from the TEE Lab!