In this episode of ATTRA’s Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Nina Prater talks with Sneha Haridas, a 4th year PhD candidate and Graduate Research Assistant at West Virginia University about her research on dung beetles.

Dung beetles are important for nutrient cycling and improving soil, pasture, and livestock health, but in some regions their populations have declined. Sneha has been researching ways to help livestock producers in West Virginia figure out how to increase the numbers and diversity of dung beetles on their farms – including looking at the best ways to make a dung beetle nursery.

*Correction on a fact stated in the episode: Northeast India is part of two* world biodiversity hotspots, not three, as Sneha accidentally stated.

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Episode Webpage: https://www.ncat.org/?post_type=podcast&p=17115&preview=true

Additional Resources:

Project Description for “Enhancing Regenerative Agriculture: Implementing Low-Cost Dung Beetle Nurseries for West Virginia Farms”:

Rowen Insect Agroecology Lab

Recent research on the toxicity of different livestock treatments on dung beetles in West Virginia: https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/54/4/865/8198110?guestAccessKey=

Contact Sneha Haridas with questions: sh00087@mix.wvu.edu