PROJECT

Quantifying ecosystem services of Dung beetles across Australia

What benefits do dung beetles provide our farmers?

By burying cattle dung, dung beetles can enrich our soils and protect us from pest species. 50 years ago one of the most famous biocontrol experiments in the world began with the release of exotic dung beetles into Australia to bury cattle dung. They were an immediate success, reducing dung in fields, and nuisance bush fly populations. However, the ecosystem services were not quantified in either ecological or economic terms, or over large temporal or spatial scales. Furthermore, the success is patchy, as dung beetle populations vary across Australia, likely due to a combination of differing ecophysiological requirements, dispersal and farm management.

PhD projects are offered as part of a large-scale initiative funded by Meat and Livestock Australia and the Australian Federal Government to quantify dung beetle activity, and identify factors that influence it, quantify spatial and temporal gaps in activity with models based on survey and experimental data, and so inform new species introductions.

Project partners include CSIRO, UNE, CSU, Landcare Research NZ, grower and community groups.

Specific PhD topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Ecological functions of dung beetles: effects on soils and plant growth
  • Interspecific interactions between dung eating animals, including beetles, flies, worms, termites, and nematodes
  • Economic value of dung beetle ecosystem services
  • Effects of farm management, such as tillage and drenches, on dung beetles
  • Population genetics of widespread vs restricted congeneric dung beetles

For more background information, see the suggested readings below.

Suggested readings

Research team leaders: Associate Professor Theo Evans & Professor Leigh Simmons

 We are entomologists interested studying the behaviour, ecology and evolution of insects. We have been studying dung beetles, ants and termites, and how their activities can impact our lives, both in beneficial and harmful ways. Much of our work focuses on the evolution of insects, and what determines their distributions. 

How to apply

Interested in becoming part of this project? Complete the following steps to submit your expression of interest:

Step 1 - Check criteria

General UWA PhD entrance requirements can be found on the Future Students website.

Step 2 - Submit enquiry to research team leader

Submit Expression of Interest

Step 3 - Lodge application

After you have discussed your project with the research team leader, you should be in a position to proceed to the next step of the UWA application process: Lodge an application. Different application procedures apply to domestic and international students.

Scholarships

Domestic students

All domestic students may apply for Research Training Program and University Postgraduate Awards (UPA) scholarships

International students

A range of scholarships are available from international organisations and governments. The full list, organised by country, is available on the Future Students website.

In addition, all international students may apply for International Research Training Program scholarships.

Indigenous students
Indigenous students are encouraged to apply for Indigenous Postgraduate Research Supplementary Scholarships.
Forrest Foundation scholarships
All international and Australian students who wish to study towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at The University of Western Australia may apply for Forrest Scholarships.

Centre for Evolutionary Biology

 

Our research addresses evolutionary questions in diverse organisms, from plants to insects, fishes, frogs, and humans, generating new knowledge that feeds into conservation and natural resource outcomes. We offer excellence in research training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including master's and PhD scholarships, with many opportunities available.

Find out more

Similar projects you may be interested in

microscope view of seagrass

Improving seagrass restoration from the ground up

This project will determine how seagrass-sediment feedbacks can be harnessed to improve success of seagrass restoration.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Seagrass

Saving seagrass from climate change

This project will test whether enhancing genetic connectivity in range edge seagrass meadows increases their resilience to climate change.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More

Ecosystem resilience of Shark Bay under changing ocean climate

Understanding the ways marine ecosystems respond to changes in climate is critical to the future of our oceans. This UWA project studies the consequences of climate-driven changes in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.
Coral Reef. Aerial photo of Ningaloo Reef in Australia.

Going with the flow: population genetic connectivity of coral-associated reef fishes

This project will explore patterns of dispersal and connectivity in coral-associated fishes along the World Heritage Ningaloo Reef. It will apply cutting-edge genetic sequencing techniques to unravel patterns of genetic connectivity among discrete habitat patches using a spatially nested sampling design that explores both fine- and broad-scale patterns of dispersal across the seascape.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Industry collaboration
  • Read More
Computational genomics graph

Computational genomics: Understanding the genome

This UWA research project collects and analyses plant genome data and how these adapt to pests, pathogens and environmental change.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
person swimming in ocean with boat in background

Monitoring and measuring cumulative impacts on marine biodiversity

Coastal ecosystems in Western Australia are facing a time of rapid and unprecedented pressures from a combination of population growth and climate change. In particular, marine habitats have been greatly impacted by climate change in our marine World Heritage Sites, including at iconic sites like Shark Bay and Ningaloo Reef. This project will deliver impactful and innovative research with the fundamental aim of improving our ability to detect, mitigate, and set baselines for cumulative impacts on coastal marine habitats. This project will involve a combination of field and laboratory-based work to address this central aim. Flexibility exists for techniques to be applied to this project (e.g. ecology, physiologic, molecular biology, modelling), and applicants are encouraged to discuss with project leaders.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Whale shark

Data science behind broad-scale animal movement analyses

As data streams continue to increase and expanding the amount of data available to understand movement of marine animals, it becomes important to develop methods for data storage, and near-real-time analyses. Marine megafauna movement data are increasing at a fast pace and new data science methods are needed.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
onthophagus working

Quantifying ecosystem services of Dung beetles across Australia

PhD projects are offered as part of a large-scale initiative funded by Meat and Livestock Australia and the Australian Federal Government to quantify dung beetle activity.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Ornate Dragon

Choosing to persist: sexual selection and conservation in the wild | UWA | PhD Project

Sexual selection appears to have solved one of the central questions of evolutionary biology: how living organisms remove deleterious mutations. We will determine the capacity and role of sexual selection in removing damaging mutations in the wild.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Kelp forest

Using strong genotypes to boost resistance and restore threatened kelp forests

This project will use cutting edge genetic analyses to identify strong genotypes in natural ‘bright spots’ where surviving kelps have resisted or adapted to degraded conditions

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Computational genomics graph

Application of machine learning to plant genomics

The project aims to apply the latest machine learning methods to understand plant genome structure and function.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More

Kelp forests of Australias Great Southern Reef

PhD candidates can develop their research using a suite of different tools and approaches, including scientific diving, field and aquarium experiments, broad-scale surveys, genetic tools, and novel restoration techniques. Candidates will join the Wernberg Lab – a highly dynamic and exciting team of graduate and postgraduate researchers that are working at the forefront of global kelp ecology and restoration science. The project is part of two research initiatives funded by the Australian Research Council, with the broader goal to understand ecosystem services from the Great Southern Reef and to develop innovative solutions to and protect and restore threatened kelp forests in Western Australia.

Aname spider

The role of sexual selection in the evolution of Australias most diverse mygalomorph spider genus (Aname)

This project aims to investigate sexual selection in Aname – a remarkably diverse genus of mygalomorph spiders (funnel-webs, tarantulas and their relatives) that has radiated across the Australian continent.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More

Metabolic physiology of dormant and resting seeds

Little is known of the metabolic rate of seeds of various plant species and how much it is depressed during dormancy. This UWA project will explore the diversity in metabolic rate for a variety of species of plant seeds.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Colourful bird, very cute

Regulation of insensible evaporative water loss in birds and mammals

We know that birds and mammals can regulate insensible evaporative water loss, but we do not understand how or why. This UWA project investigates the regulation and control capacity of insensible water loss in Australian birds and marsupials.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
field of yellow flowering canola plants

Understanding the evolution of plant disease resistance genes for crop improvement

Climate change will have an, as yet, unknown impact on pathogen populations, with the potential for disease pressure to increase/change, however in this project analysis of gene diversity and evolution provides a valuable resource for the identification of genes for enhanced crop protection.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Pebble Mouse

Climate-driven behavioural flexibility in the Pilbara pebble-mound mouse (Western Australia)

Recent research has indicated that as Australia’s great landmass continues to dry on an evolutionary timescale, behavioural adaptations – such as sociality – may be key to survival for some species. However, the quickening pace of contemporary climate change demands that there is an urgent need to understand how species will respond on an ecological timescale. At this scale, immediately observable behavioural shifts are likely to provide early signals of climate stress prior to any detectable changes in demography or distribution. Despite the value of monitoring behaviour(s) as a management tool for quickly detecting species responses to changing climates, research to date has focused on a limited suite of traits, ecological contexts and climatic stimuli. This project, which studies the enigmatic pebble mound mouse (Pseudomys chapmani) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (a biodiversity hotspot known for its climatic variability), aims to uncover whether changes in behaviour are effective for dealing with environmental extremes and unpredictable climatic conditions. It will integrate laboratory- and field-based investigations to examine behavioural responses to climatic variability and establish how these responses influence individual fitness and future population resilience. This research will advance knowledge on climate-driven behavioural adaptation and improve understanding of how species will cope with Australia’s changing climate.

Application of machine learning to plant image data

The project aims to apply the latest machine learning methods to understand plant growth and performance from image data.

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
scuba diver

Conservation of WAs marine benthic habitats using environmental genomics

This project will explore novel methods in environmental genomics for assessing marine health of critical coastal habitat across Western Australia

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More
Insect eating a canola plant

Modifying Plant Sterol Metabolism to Combat Insect Pests for Crop Protection

A novel biotechnological approach to protect agricultural crops from insect pests

  • PhD opportunities
  • Read More

Related links