What’s the deal with scat? When animals…well you know…poop, they release organic matter which can contain diseases, phosphorus, and even fragments of DNA. Scientifically, animal poop is referred to as scat. Once on the ground, scat is broken down by soil microbes including fungi, archaea, bacteria, and viruses. Scat is used by humans as a research tool to collect information on an animal’s health, species distribution, genetic similarities between animals living in a given habitat, and ecological importance. Scat can provide information about a particular animal's position in the food chain or web. For example, scat studies reveal that snakes help control the population of smaller animals, with bone fragments being found in snake scat.
The dung beetle will tunnel through scat, lay eggs and, famously, roll poop into balls.
Now we know why scat might be examined and studied. Let’s look at the decomposition process. During the first week, the scat will not change much in color or texture during the initial breakdown process. It is running rampant with infectious pathogens, such as microbes that can pose a threat to humans, should they come in contact with them. By week three scatophagous insects are present, which include a wide array of beetles and flies. These creatures survive off of decaying material such as scat. Color and texture of the scat is changing at this stage and likely accompanied by some early mold growth. The insects who came around during week three have made themselves a bit more comfortable by week five and begin laying their eggs in the scat. This allows their offspring to have a share of this scat-tastic supper (Yuck!). By week seven decomposition is almost complete. Insects and microbes are hard at work. The dung beetle, for instance, will tunnel through scat, lay eggs and, famously, roll poop into balls. These are the dung beetles’ main food source as well as grounds for breeding. Between microbes, heat of the sun, and bugs, the scat should be almost or completely broken down where it is then returned back into the soil making it incredibly nutrient dense.
The moral of the story is, don’t touch scat (unless you are safely picking up dog poop with a bag!). It can pose serious health threats to humans and other animals during every stage of the decomposition process. Let’s leave it to the microbes and bugs to handle the decomposition process. Afterall, they are the experts.
Quinn Stewart is a Sustainability Intern at Walking Mountains interested in the bugs responsible for the decomposition of scat.