Getting up close and personal with dung beetles, the unsung heroes of the insect world, is not where Daniel Anderson thought he would be in his mid-30s.
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The University of Western Australia (UWA) School of Biological Sciences PhD candidate is investigating how the activities of this humble bug influence pasture plant growth.
It is a long way from his initial research interest into dryland rice production.
Mr Anderson, who grew up in Australind, near Bunbury, and spent a lot of his childhood visiting relatives in the Wheatbelt, completed an environmental science degree at the University of Brisbane, Queensland, before heading to the United Kingdom to undertake research into rice.
"The rice was being engineered to grow as a dryland crop, such as wheat, and grown in glasshouses," Mr Anderson said.
"This was my first introduction to agricultural research and development."
Unfortunately for the UK research team, they were pipped at the post for making any big discoveries and changed their focus to chickpea and barley genetics.
Mr Anderson decided to instead return to Perth to pursue ecological studies and was offered the PhD opportunity for the dung beetle project.
He said the dung beetle was already well known for its ability to break down cattle dung, with some species able to bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night.
What his research has shown is this process also has potential to improve pasture plant growth by about 17 per cent.
It appears the nutrients from buried dung are incorporated into plant shoots, allowing for thicker leaves with more photosynthetic capability to convert light into chemical energy to fuel growth.
The recycled nutrients from the dung may cause a proliferation of root hairs, which would allow for greater nutrient uptake and remove the need for investment into breeding for longer plant roots.
Mr Anderson said he and his team of dung beetle researchers reviewed 24 studies from 14 countries with 350 different measurements in their quest to assess the impacts of dung beetle activity.
He said the final findings would be released in June-July this year on the back of four years of study.
"It is very weird to know that the end is in sight," Mr Anderson said.
"Doing a PhD is a very intense time, but I have loved it.
"It is problem-solving and projects such as the dung beetles are pretty cool as you can show their value in nature and natural processes."
Mr Anderson said the dung beetle was a very beneficial insect.
"It has been imported by many countries to break down cattle dung that, left unburied, provides a habitat for nuisance flies and creates areas of rank pasture that livestock avoid," he said.
Mr Anderson said he valued being able to participate in research that would help Western Australia's livestock and cropping sectors.
"It shows them the importance of dung beetles and practices that promote dung beetle activity," he said.
"There are farm management practices that are harmful to the beetles, such as some tillage systems and drenching programs.
"The adult dung beetles are pretty tough but their young are vulnerable.
"Selective drenching may be needed to help preserve beetle activity."
Mr Anderson said his research into dung beetles laid the foundations for more in-depth studies into beetle communities and their impact on pasture production.
He said the findings not only highlighted the ecological significance of dung beetles, but also underscored the importance of incorporating natural capital into resource and land use decisions.
"By recognising the invaluable contributions of organisms such as dung beetles, policy-makers can better steward our ecosystems for future generations," Mr Anderson said.
