Background

Dr. Roisin Stanbrook is a UCF post-doctoral scholar conducting nationally and internationally funded research on dung beetle ecology and conservation. Her current research focuses on two primary areas: investigating the relationship between decreased dung beetle diversity and ecosystem functioning in the Afromontane forests of Tanzania’s UNESCO-protected Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and examining the effects of ranch management and climate instability on dung beetle populations and associated ecosystem functioning in the southeastern United States through a USDA-funded project at the Archbold Biological Station in South Florida.

As a conservation biologist specializing in insect conservation, Stanbrook collaborates with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), where she provides scientific expertise on ground beetle sampling protocols across 81 collection sites spanning 20 eco-climate zones throughout the United States. Working alongside UCF Associate Professor of Biology Joshua King, her research contributes to understanding how dung beetles—critical ecosystem engineers that improve soil quality through their feeding and burrowing behaviors—respond to environmental changes and management practices, with direct implications for agricultural sustainability and biodiversity conservation.