Doctorate
Title: Decomposer biodiversity and decomposition processes: the functional consequences of conventional anthelmintics and alternaive cattle feed supplements
Funding: Professor Sir Richard Southwood Scholarsip in Insect Ecology
Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
University: Jesus College, University of Oxford
Supervisor: Dr Owen Lewis
Research Group: Oxford University Ecology Research Group
Additional Contributors: Paddocks Farm Ltd (product), Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society Student Bursary 2008, Animax Veterinary Technology (product), Natural Feeds and Fertilisers (product), Ellen Collinson Herbal Products (product), International Animal Health Products (product), Blue Merle (product), FECPAK International (loaning FECPAK faecal egg counting kit), Innovis Ltd (FECPAK training).
Background:
"Without dung beetles, we would be up to our necks in dung."
"The dung from 12 cows will cover an acre of pasture in one year if it were not for dung beetles."
We all produce dung. Not just cattle, sheep and horses, but all animals. Luckily, to some organisms, dung provides a warm, moist food-rich home and by making it their home they also do the planet a great service: they break it down.
We often forget the importance of these organisms, because most are so tiny that we do not see them. Also, most people (apart from keen entomologists) don't tend to go digging around in dung hunting for these creatures. If you did, you would realise that dung is a vibrant habitat.
In Britain, dung beetles, ranging in size from a few millimetres to more than 2cm feed on the bacteria that grows on dung, at the same time sifting the dung and breaking it down. Others bury the dung deep in the soil and lay their eggs in it. They range in colour from metallic blue to green, yellow and pillar-box red. Fungi that have passed through the animals digestive system germinate and produce multi-coloured fruiting bodies, whilst numerous species of fly lay their eggs deep in the pat. Predatory beetles patrol through the dung feasting on any stray parasite eggs and larvae, while water beetles swim through, their legs acting like paddles. All this activity aerates the dung, allowing earthworms to enter and break it down further. On a damp night, even slugs come and join the fun, munching through any un-digested plant fibres.
However, we are slowly killing off this community. We worm our animals to remove internal nematode parasites, but these products can also be highly toxic to non-target insects in dung. Thus we see dung form hard crusts and remain on the surface, without these invertebrates to break it down. This, along with problems of parasite resistance to wormers, and the fact that organic farmers are unable to use chemical products has lead to increased research on alternative wormers. However, just because a product is natural, there is no reason for it to be less toxic to non-target invertebrates. Therefore, this must be studied.
Project Overview:
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News Updates:
The Ecology of Livestock Dung: Meeting co-ordinated by Professor Richard Wall (University of Bristol), Darren Mann (Oxford University Museum of Natural History) and Sarah Beynon (University of Oxford). To be held at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on December 17th-18th 2009. Open to all. Please follow this link for more information.
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Relevant Links:
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References:
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