Old News

October 2010

Trials on gastrointestinal parasite control treatments and their impact on dung beetles

My 2010 fieldwork season is now drawing to a close (which means it's as busy as ever!) I currently have a number of field trials out including:

*Mesocosm trial: the impact of ivermectin on 26 species of British dung beetle: are some species more sensitive than others?

*Mesocosm trial: the impact of alternative parasite control therapies (Verm-X, Diatomaceous Earth and Copper) on dung beetle survival and reproduction

*Field trial: the the impact of alternative parasite control therapies (Verm-X, Diatomaceous Earth and Copper) on the attractiveness of dung to early summer dung beetles

*Field / emergence trial: the the impact of alternative parasite control therapies (Verm-X, Diatomaceous Earth and Copper) on early summer dung beetle survival and reproduction

*Field trial: the impact of alternative parasite control therapies (Verm-X, Diatomaceous Earth and Copper) on dung decomposition

*Mesocosm trial: the impact of moxidectin residues on Geotrupes spiniger and the rate of dung decomposition

Field trial: the impact of grazing chicory on attractiveness of dung to dung beetles (IBERS collaboration)

Field / emergence trial: the impact of grazing chicory on dung beetle survival and reproduction (IBERS collaboration)

Field trial: the impact of grazing chicory on dung decomposition (IBERS collaboration)

Trials on dung beetle ecosystem functioning

*Mesocosm trial: the importance of species richness in the ecosystem function of dung decomposition

*Mesocosm trial: the effect on dung decomposition of losing our rare species of dung beetle

 I'm finding some really exciting results this year, which I will share when the data is analysed!

L: Cattle eating the Diatomaceous Earth supplement   R: Cattle eating a chicory/rye grass mix at IBERS

Trial mesocosms - there are now over 400 out!

September 2010

Transfer of Status completed

I have now completed my transfer of status: the official half-way point of my DPhil where is was decided that I could continue from PRS to DPhil status. It was superb to be able to receive feedback from my transfer panel: Oxford University scientists Dr Mike Bonsall and Dr Becky Morris as well as Ruth Layton (Director of Food Animal Initiative (FAI)).

September 2010

Filming with the BBC for Countryfile

In September 2010, the Countryfile crew descended on Pembrokeshire and came to film my research in St Davids. It was a great opportunity to communicate my provisional results to a large audience. Pleas follow this link to the Countryfile website for more information on the programme.

September 2010

BBC Radio Wales interview with Jamie Owen

I was interviewed for the 'Jamie and Louise' BBC Radio Wales breakfast show, live from the Royal Welsh Show at Builth Wells. It was great to be able to chat about my work with dung beetles, their importance to farmers and my general fascination with everything with six legs!

September 2010

DPhil 2010 Fieldwork Season progressing well

One of the 2010 Dung Beetle Trials looking at how different species are affected by chemical cattle wormers: does this account for their National distribution and rarity? Is this what is causing extinctions at a global scale? We'll have to see!

My 2010 fieldwork season Kicked off to a hectic start in April and I haven't really caught my breath since! I now have a number of fieldwork trials running looking at the impact of cattle wormers and alternative products marketed for parasite control on dung invertebrates and dung decomposition.

Other trials look at how important it is to maintain species diversity of dung beetles in order to ensure maximum dung decomposition. If some of our dung beetle species became extinct (many are well on their way), would we see mounds of un-decomposed dung, or would other more common species componsate? Please follow this link for more information on my doctoral research.

October 2009

Poster presentation at the University of Oxford Department of Zoology

August 2009

Field trip with the Pembrokeshire Organic Group and FWAG

Luckily the sun was shining for the first field trip to see my trials in action. About thirty people from FWAG and POG came to St Davids to have the grand tour. It started with a trip to the trial site to see the experiments and a talk to explain the importance of keeping a healthy dung invertebrate community. Atendees were shown trials looking at the impact of worming products and feed supplements on dung invertebrates and rates of dung breakdown. It was clear that dung treated with ivermectin appeared to be breaking down more slowly than all other dung. They were also shown covered buckets containing individual species of dung inveretbrates together with a dung pat placed on soil, and were able to observe how the invertebrates go about breaking down the dung.

It was then off to the barn at Emlych Farm where the emergence traps are stored. Everyone saw the dung invertebrates that had emerged from the dung.

Finally, we all headed back to the lab to see the products that were being trialled. The FECPAK faecal egg counting system was also on display and I demonstrated the procedure to interested farmers.

2009

Platform presentation at the Royal Entomological Society Postgraduate Forum

April 2009

Talk to the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society

July 2008

The University of Oxford have awarded me the Professor Sir Richard Southwood Scholarship in Insect Ecology, starting October 2008 to study the impact of anthelmintic treatments on Dung Beetles.

I am currently planning my project, and liaising with farmers who have kindly offered to trial the different anthelmintic products on their cattle. I plan to carry out a series of preliminary experiments during the summer of 2008 in order to test my methods and generate a data set before the project begins in earnest.

I also have a large stack of papers on the subject, which I am slowly working my way through. When I go to Oxford in October, I hope to have read everything that has been published on the topic so I can begin a comprehensive literature review during the winter of 2008 before the next fieldwork season.

October 2008

As well as designing my project to the best of my ability, I am putting together a comprehensive literature review on the topic. At the moment, I am considering what to include and what not to include in the review, as the topic of the impact of anthelmintics on dung insects is vast to say the least! I hope to collaborate with other experts in the field on this in order to create a document of high quality to be published in a renowned journal.

In November, I will be returning to Pembrokeshire in order to individually meet all the farmers that have provisionally agreed to take part in trials to finalise details. I then hope to arrange a group meeting for all interested parties in Pembrokeshire during December and present my ideas as well as discuss any issues that individuals may have.