Now why didn't I think of this one? Over the past two years, Dr Colin Lee and Professor Richard Wall of Bristol University have been studying the way in which insects colonise cattle dung. To minimise the variation between poos, they constructed artificial pats, each weighing exactly 1.5 kilograms.
Of course, understanding the role of insects in dung decomposition is important. Furthermore, antihelminthic drugs administered to cattle may have a serious effect on those detritivores down the track. But I'm simply captivated by the home-made poo. I must read the paper.
Read more
Lee, C. & Wall, R. (2006). Distribution and abundance of insects colonizing cattle dung in South West England. Journal of Natural History 40: 1167-1177.
