Call for collaboration: collecting fresh herbivore faecal samples

Herbivores are important drivers of nutrient dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. By consuming plants and releasing nutrient-rich resources to the soil, herbivores affect nutrient cycling. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) represents an effective, low-cost method to assess the nutrient contents of herbivore dung, alternative to more expensive traditional chemical laboratory analyses, but it requires calibration with samples of known chemical content.

Here is where we need your help! We need to collect fresh faecal samples from accurately identified herbivore species. If you are going to the field this summer and you have the chance to collect very fresh faecal matter that you can unequivocally ascribe to a species of herbivore (for example, if you are working with live trapping, culled animals, enclosure experiments, or visiting colonies and nests), we would be very happy to receive samples from you!

The sample collection protocol is very simple (more detailed guidelines are available here). Samples will be shipped to the Agricultural University of Iceland, where all analysis will be conducted. In addition to NIRS calibration curves, the data obtained from these samples will contribute to an open database on nutrient content of herbivore dung. Data contributors will be invited as co-authors of relevant outcomes of this project.

Developing NIRS calibration curves for faecal nutrient content of Arctic herbivores will allow analysing a much larger number of samples needed to address questions at finer temporal and spatial scales, for example, to assess seasonal variation of faecal nutrient contents over the growing season, or to assess herbivore diet quality at different sites. This project will provide a significant methodological advance in the field and will increase our understanding of how herbivores contribute to nutrient cycling in tundra ecosystems.

Relevant documents

• Sample collection protocol
• Data collection template