(NEW GRANT) JSPS - Building capacity for biodiversity identification and monitoring an ecologically important insect taxa in Southeast Asian Ecosystems

The Tropical Ecology & Entomology (TEE Lab) is pleased to announce that we have kicked-off a new research project titled: 'Building capacity for biodiversity identification and monitoring an ecologically important insect taxa in Southeast Asian ecosystems'.

Funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through the Government of Japan, Associate Prof. Dr. Eleanor Slade of the TEE Lab at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) was awarded the 'Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research'. This grant is in joint collaboration with Prof. Dr. Tetsuro Hosaka from the Lab of Tropical Ecology and Ecosystem Management at Hiroshima University (Japan).

A pair of Paragymopleurus sp. rolling a dung ball. Photo 2023 Marx Yim.

With a strong emphasis on promoting taxonomy and natural history, this project aims to address the lack of accurate information about dung beetle species in Southeast Asia, hindering monitoring and conservation efforts. This project also seeks to enhance the use of dung beetles as biodiversity indicators and to build capacity for identifying and monitoring dung beetles species to inform and track their responses to land use and climate change. Ultimately, this project will help to overcome the taxonomic impediments that currently exist for dung beetle research in the region, and in turn facilitate their future use as bioindicators of environmental change. This will involve:

1. Curation Curate current species and morphospecies collections of dung beetles for Singapore and Malaysia
   

2. Databasing Collate data into open-access databases (i.e. GBIF, Zenodo), to serve as repositories for species occurrences, functional traits, DNA-derived data, high-resolution images, and literature.
   

3. Documentation Document species distribution of key insect taxa for Southeast Asia.
   

4. Species Identification and Description Collaborate with taxonomists to describe unidentified species and standardize the nomenclature of morphospecies of dung beetles across studies.
   

5. DNA Barcoding Generate molecular DNA barcodes for each species and deposit them in GenBank, linking to the database and new species description
   

6. Imaging Produce high-resolution images of key specimens using a Macro Digitising Imaging System (MDIS).
   

7. Resource Creation Contribute to knowledge exchange and capacity building in taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity for the region by developing open-access keys, photographic guides, high-resolution images, and natural history information.
   

8. Regional Capacity Building Train staff and students in Singapore, Japan, and Malaysia in species identification and curation, databasing, preparation of keys, and the use of state-of-the-art specimen digitization equipment.

With the support of this grant, both Dr. Eleanor and Dr. Hosaka's Team will engage in multiple knowledge exchange workshops in Hiroshima, Kyoto and Singapore. The Japanese team are leading experts in taxonomy and identification skills and can provide training on publishing new species descriptions. Meanwhile, the Singapore team will impart knowledge on molecular techniques and high-resolution macro imaging.

Our first knowledge exchange will be held in Kyoto this August, 2024. This project is expected to last till 2026.