Studying scat may help identify a shoelace thief, but it is also a vital part of species conservation. Let\u2019s unpack why.<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/file-20260915-50-nu2kp7.jpg\")
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Scat can contain curious items, including a researchers\u2019 bootlaces!
\n Carolyn Hogg<\/p>\n
Searching for scat<\/p>\n
While conducting research into the diet of Tasmanian devils<\/a>, we have spent countless hours searching for scat, in order to pull it apart and study its contents.<\/p>\n Traditionally, researchers find scat by conducting systematic grid searches<\/a>. This involves setting up transects, a type of narrow path, that stretch across a study area and allow scientists to pick up any scat they see.<\/p>\n More recently, researchers have enlisted the help of scat detection dogs<\/a>. With their millions of olfactory receptors \u2013 the reason for dogs\u2019 superior sense of smell \u2013 these dogs are trained to sniff out scat. In one study, these dogs found about 53%<\/a> more koala scat than their human counterparts.<\/p>\n Why scat matters<\/p>\n But why are researchers searching for scat in the first place?<\/p>\n Scat is a waste product that most people would steer clear of. But for scientists, scat is a rich reservoir of information, particularly about our most vulnerable animals.<\/p>\n Population size<\/p>\n Threatened species exist in low numbers and can be quite elusive. This makes them difficult to find<\/a>, let alone monitor.<\/p>\n However, studying scat allows scientists to not only determine if a species lives in a certain area<\/a>, but estimate how many<\/a> of them are present. <\/p>\n Gut health<\/p>\n Scat also gives us clues about what animals are eating<\/a> and how healthy their gut microbiome<\/a> is. <\/p>\n The gut microbiome is the collection of bacteria and viruses living inside an animal\u2019s digestive system that supports digestion and immunity<\/a>. An animal\u2019s gut microbiome can change depending on where they live. For example, captive Tasmanian devils have significantly fewer bacteria in their scat than wild devils. But when released, these captive animals are able to gain new bacteria<\/a> quickly and adjust to living in a wild environment.<\/p>\n An animal\u2019s gut microbiome is largely shaped by what it eats<\/a>. In the case of Tasmanian devils, that includes just about everything. From shoelaces and wetsuit zippers to frogs, fish and even sheep, devil scats are practically their own ecosystem<\/a>. By tracking what devils eat, scientists can meet the nutritional needs of captive animals. They can also identify which species devils most commonly eat, including wallabies and birds<\/a>, and take measures to protect these prey species, such as setting up exclusion fences.<\/p>\n A Tasmanian devil scat specimen that is about the size of a permanent marker. Disease risk<\/p>\n Scientists most commonly monitor the spread of disease by trapping individual animals and taking blood or swab<\/a> samples, similar to COVID tests for humans. But this type of testing can be uncomfortable<\/a> for animals.<\/p>\n Studying scat is an easy way to detect infectious diseases<\/a>. Scat collection is an alternative, non-invasive way of detecting any harmful bacteria<\/a>, viruses and parasites. That\u2019s because, like humans, animals\u2019 bodies shed infectious material<\/a> in multiple ways, including by producing scat. For instance, researchers can identify koalas with chlamydia<\/a> just by examining their scat. The results are just as accurate as invasive swab samples.<\/p>\n Genetic health<\/p>\n As scat moves through an animal\u2019s body, it collects cells<\/a> that line its gut. Researchers can extract DNA<\/a> from these cells to see how diverse that animal\u2019s genes are. This variation is known as genetic diversity<\/a> and is why no two animals \u2013 or humans \u2013 look and behave exactly the same.<\/p>\n In general, the more genetic diversity an animal or species has, the better. That\u2019s because genetic variation allows animals to adapt<\/a> to threats, such as disease and climate change, and ultimately survive. <\/p>\n Using scat DNA, researchers have successfully assessed the genetic diversity of the greater bilby<\/a>, studied the breeding and movement patterns of ghost bats<\/a> across remote northern Australia and identified that snow leopards<\/a> do not travel across breeding sites in the Tibetan plateau.<\/p>\n The power of poo<\/p>\n Scat is a powerful, and perhaps unlikely, conservation tool. There is no other substance that can tell you so much about an animal you may never actually see.<\/p>\n However, studying scat does have limitations. When exposed to the elements, the DNA in scat can quickly degrade, making it harder to extract reliable data from it. Researchers are investigating ways<\/a> to keep scat fresh out in the field<\/a>. However, more work is needed before scientists can rely on scat collection alone, instead of blood and tissue samples.<\/p>\n Studying scat may not appeal to everyone. But for researchers like us, it is a fascinating and uniquely hands-on way of protecting our precious wildlife.<\/p>\n Elspeth works alongside her then PhD supervisor Carolyn Hogg to conduct scat research.![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/file-20260915-50-ubbbhd.jpg\")
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\n Elspeth McLennan<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/file-20260915-50-a7do75.JPG\")
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\n Carolyn Hogg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I never thought my shoelaces would get stolen. As a wildlife researcher, I\u2019m used to early alarms and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-941249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}