This project was commissioned by Natural England to evaluate the effectiveness of using a DNA metabarcoding approach to assess the presence/absence of dung beetles, and to evaluate species diversity and community composition within livestock faeces. Samples were collected from pastoral land on the National Trust’s Woolbeding estate.
Each faecal deposit was sampled using a standardised method, collecting replicates to assess DNA variation in subsampling. In total, 33 faecal kits were deployed, returned, and analysed. Each sample was analysed with three assays designed for invertebrate metabarcoding. The assays detected 34, 55, and 82 taxa including 23 arthropod taxa and three nematode species, no dung beetles were detected.
Differences were observed in invertebrate community composition between sheep and cow faeces but not all samples produced data for target taxa. Results from this work will contribute to the evidence base for using livestock faeces for DNA metabarcoding to assess local biodiversity and highlights the potential for citizen scientist to assist with sample collection.