It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, November 01, 2021
This squirrel watches its neighbor's back
Barbary ground squirrels look for predators together as a survival strategy
IMAGE: UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER ANNEMARIE VAN DER MAREL STUDIES THE BEHAVIOR OF BARBARY GROUND SQUIRRELS IN THE CANARY ISLANDS.view more
CREDIT: ANNEMARIE VAN DER MAREL
Just because you’re paranoid, that doesn’t mean everything isn’t actually trying to kill you.
Ground squirrels have few natural defenses against predators, so they rely on an early warning system to identify threats and alert others to run for cover.
But unlike meerkats that take individual turns standing watch while the rest forage, ground squirrels found off the coast of Africa keep watch together — a behavior called synchronous vigilance, according to a new study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
Lead author Annemarie van der Marel, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cincinnati, spent three winters studying Barbary ground squirrels, an invasive species introduced to the Canary Islands from Morocco on Africa’s mainland. The almond-eyed, striped rodents with bushy tails live in colonies and take shelter underground in a network of burrows like other ground squirrels.
“They’re pretty cute. People had them as pets and that’s how they were introduced to the Canary Islands in 1965,” she said.
“I looked at whether and why they were social. I began studying the strategies for how they evade predation and increase survival. That’s how I got to the question of the synchronous vigilance of the species,” she said.
Prey animals such as kangaroos and wild boar also use synchronous vigilance to stay safe, van der Marel said.
Co-author Marta López Darias, a researcher with the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology in Spain, said the synchronized behavior increased with the size of the group, similar to observations made in other species that use this defense mechanism.
Unusual for ground squirrels, the populations found in the Canary Islands are as comfortable in the trees as on the ground, she said. They seem to prefer high vantage points such as the old rock walls above the fields and ravines where they can scan all angles of their surroundings. On the Canary Islands’ Fuerteventura, the squirrels face daily threats from domestic cats and birds of prey like buzzards and common kestrels.
“When they forage, they’re most vulnerable,” van der Marel said. “So the squirrels have to balance the time spent foraging and being vigilant. Their main defense mechanism is being watchful and alerting other group members to escape predation.”
To find food, the squirrels set out daily from their underground dens to forage for roots, seeds and fruit. Active in the day, they rely on their keen vision to detect threats from the air and land. The alarm call of a nearby squirrel will alert others and may send some running for the safety of rock piles or the nearest burrow. Often, other squirrels will join in the watchful vigil.
The animals can’t look for food and be on high alert for predators at the same time. So throughout the day they stop what they’re doing to scan the environment together, often from a higher vantage point, van der Marel said.
Virtually all the squirrels spend time standing watch during the day. About one-third of the time, they do so alone. But 40% of the time, they have company. And when a predator is observed, multiple squirrels stop to stand watch 60% of the time, the study found.
Researchers found that squirrels that spent more time watching still found enough food to remain in good physical condition. Likewise, their extended vigilance did not affect their overall survival rates.
“There are plentiful resources and less predation pressure, so they don’t have to forage as much,” she said.
CAPTION
Barbary ground squirrels were introduced to the Canary Islands in 1965.
“It’s a place of limitless imagination,” says uOttawa professor Burak Kantarci about the Faculty of Engineering’s new Smart Connected Vehicles Innovation Centre, which opened its doors in October. Located in uOttawa’s Kanata North campus, in the heart of Canada’s largest technology park, the centre will help the tech industry accelerate the autonomous vehicle innovation.
The term “autonomous vehicle,” or “smart vehicle,” refers to any vehicle equipped with decision-making systems and sensors that allow it to perceive its surroundings. Self-driving cars typically come to mind, but drones and bots are also part of this ecosystem.
“What excites me most is that we’re essentially envisioning the future of this technology, which will soon be ubiquitous and indispensable to society,” says Kantarci. “We’re working with industry on different topics simultaneously and finding solutions to problems that the tech world is facing. It’s never just a single problem or a single solution, so it requires a lot of imagination.”
The centre offers rapid, low-cost experimentation for connected and autonomous vehicles, including self-driving car prototypes, drones and certain types of ground bots. Its research will focus primarily on problem-solving issues related to the connectivity, physical and cyber security, decision making and sustainability of vehicles and networks.
“In other words, we design experiments to assess how these vehicles talk to each other and their connected units, making sure they maintain healthy communication, making sure sensors aren’t compromised, so they don’t break down,” Kantarci says. “We try to anticipate where anomalies can occur in the platforms and find ways to reconfigure networks to avoid these anomalies happening in the first place, so there is no service disruption for the end user.”
What makes the centre unique is that it’s an open access research facility. Not only is it embedded in one of Canada’s largest technology development hubs, but it is also positioned to bring together experts from various fields — social scientists, economists, ethics and compliance specialists, and decision-makers, alongside engineers and computer scientists — to maximize innovation.
“The Smart Connected Vehicles Innovation Centre is vital to realizing our vision of building a successful technology ecosystem in Kanata North,” says Sylvain Charbonneau, vice-president, research at the University of Ottawa. “Its forward-looking research will be a valuable asset to the development of real-life applications in this rapidly growing industry.”
“This new, highly relevant research infrastructure, complemented with some of our brightest talent, offers a compelling advantage to our industry partners looking to de-risk and accelerate prototyping of their solutions for faster time to market,” says Veronica Farmer, director, partnerships and commercialization, at uOttawa Kanata North.
The centre’s indoor experimental test bed has been paired with state-of-the-art computing infrastructure for collecting vast amounts of data, along with powerful workstations for running advanced machine-learning models.
“One of the biggest challenges starting out in this field was finding data,” says Kantarci. “Through our experiments, we will be able to generate this data in real time and for any scenario. And that’s what’s most valuable. It’s going to be our fuel of the next decade.”
Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through its Alliance grants program, Kantarci’s research team and its collaborators recently developed a strategy to send AI-driven autonomous vehicles serving as COVID-19 rapid testing facilities into vulnerable, at-risk communities to help them reduce the spread of the virus.
First, they used mobility data to identify where infected populations might be located. Then they assessed the risk levels for different regions or communities, to map out optimal trajectories and use their mobile testing facilities to identify individuals who had contracted the virus as early as possible.
The AI-driven decision models could also help health officials and supply chain solution providers make more effective decisions amid the current pandemic or a future health crisis.
“For a long time, vehicles were not much more than a means of transportation,” says Kantarci. “But from now on, and in the future, connected autonomous vehicles are going to be used for everything, everywhere.”
A better way to raise chickens for low-intensity, small stakeholders
Researchers introduce new production model to improve Rwandan broiler industry
IMAGE: USING IMPROVED BREEDS AND MODERN PRACTICES, RWANDAN FARMERS ARE EMPOWERED TO RAISE 100-BIRD FLOCKS AS A SOURCE OF INCOME AND NUTRITION.view more
CREDIT: UTIA
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – How can rural producers in Rwanda better produce chicken for both household consumption and profit? University of Tennessee researchers are suggesting a hybrid model for the Rwandan broiler industry, among other improvements, in a new journal article.
“Strengthening smallholder engagement and integration in the Rwandan commercial broiler value chain” delves into the broiler industry in Rwanda. Through a four-year pilot project with the Smith International Center, researchers partnered with a Rwandan feedmill, Zamura Feeds Ltd., to test a poultry production model with smallholders. Through this project, the US and Rwandan teams examined the broiler supply chain, and identified ways to improve the broiler industry in Rwanda. The effort was funded under the umbrella of a Global Development Alliance (GDA), which leverages public-private partnerships, in this case between: USAID/Rwanda; a US-based foundation, the African Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP); a Rwandan animal feed company, Zamura Feeds Ltd.; and a U.S. land-grant institution, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA).
The pilot project employed a private extension model to train, supply resources for, and support 500 smallholder households to successfully produce broiler chickens to modern industry standards for consumption and market sale. Trained farmers raise broilers in their own bio-secure 100 sq. ft. coop, with 100 birds on a 45-day grow-out cycle. Through the provision of micro-loans for capital and recurring expenses and guaranteed broiler chicken buyback at the end of each grow-out cycle, the goal was to create a sustainable model for small-scale broiler production that can be scaled up throughout Rwanda and the surrounding region.
“Smallholders in Rwanda make up over 80% of farmers and cultivate less than 2.2 acres of land on average. Many farmers already raise chickens in traditional backyard settings, primarily for home consumption,” said Hans Goertz, the project administrator and co-author of the article. “In a densely populated, mountainous country such as Rwanda, intensifying poultry production presents an avenue for households to diversify and improve their income and nutrition.”
Currently, the Rwandan broiler industry consists of smallholders and large poultry operations. The smallholders operate most farms in Rwanda, but they are limited to low-intensity, village poultry production. Large operations and importers supply the commercial meat market in East Africa.
However, hybrid asset-building broiler operations are a third production model that provide an entry point for smallholders in the broiler industry. Integrating this method would allow the small operations to increase production and profitability.
To scale up this model, the researchers had several suggestions across the broiler value chain, including: reducing the recurring costs of production; providing value chain trainings; facilitating microfinancing; reducing post-harvest costs; increasing local demand for broiler meat; and strengthening policies in support of smallholders.
“Hybrid production models like the one described in this article provide a way for smallholder farmers to start broiler enterprises and compete with larger producers in the market,” Goertz said, “We hope that this body of research contributes to a more vibrant, inclusive broiler sector that provides economic opportunities and affordable animal protein for East African communities.”
Researchers on the project are Tom Gill, Smith Chair in International Sustainable Agriculture; Regis Nisengwe, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, UTIA; Hans Goertz, project development specialist, and David Ader, assistant director, both with the UTIA Smith International Center; Katie McGehee, director of the African Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP); Ritah Nshuti, chief operations officer, Zamura, Ltd.; Alon Gumisiriza, poultry technician manager, Zamura, Ltd.; Mike Smith, professor of animal science, UTIA (retired); and Emily Urban, graduate student, School of Integrative Plant Science Soil and Crop Sciences Section, Cornell University.
Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.
JOURNAL
World s Poultry Science Journal
ARTICLE TITLE
Strengthening smallholder engagement and integration in the Rwandan commercial broiler value chain
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
8-Oct-2021
Honeybees use social distancing to protect themselves against parasites
VIDEO: HONEYBEE ALLOGROOMING BEHAVIOUR (UPPER LEFT) AND TROPHALLAXIS (FEEDING, CENTRE)view more
CREDIT: CREDIT: DR MICHELINA PUSCEDDU, UNIVERSITY OF SASSARI
Honeybees increase social distancing when their hive is under threat from a parasite, finds a new study led by an international team involving researchers at UCL and the University of Sassari, Italy.
The study, published in Science Advances, demonstrated that honeybee colonies respond to infestation from a harmful mite by modifying the use of space and the interactions between nestmates to increase the social distance between young and old bees.
Co-author Dr Alessandro Cini (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, UCL Biosciences) said: “Here we have provided the first evidence that honeybees modify their social interactions and how they move around their hive in response to a common parasite.
“Honeybees are a social animal, as they benefit from dividing up responsibilities and interactions such as mutual grooming, but when those social activities can increase the risk of infection, the bees appear to have evolved to balance the risks and benefits by adopting social distancing.”
Among animals, examples of social distancing have been found in very different species separated by millions of years of evolution: from baboons that are less likely to clean individuals with gastrointestinal infections to ants infected with a pathogenic fungus that relegate themselves to the suburbs of anthill society.
The new study evaluated if the presence of the ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor in honeybee colonies induced changes in social organisation that could reduce the spread of the parasite in the hive. Among the stress factors that affect honeybees, the Varroa mite is one of the main enemies asit causes a number of harmful effects on bees at individual and colony level, including virus transmission.
Honeybee colonies are organised into two main compartments: the outer one occupied by the foragers, and the innermost compartment inhabited by nurses, the queen and brood. This within-colony spatial segregation leads to a lower frequency of interactions between the two compartments than those within each compartment and allows the most valuable individuals (queen, young bees and brood) to be protected from the outside environment and thus from the arrival of diseases.
By comparing colonies that were or were not infested by the Varroa mite, the researchers found that one behaviour, foraging dances, that can increase mite transmission, occurred less frequently in central parts of the hive if it was infested. They also found that grooming behaviours became more concentrated in the central hive. The researchers say it appears that overall, foragers (older bees) move towards the periphery of the nest while young nurse and groomer bees move towards its centre, in response to an infestation, to increase the distance between the two groups.
Lead author Dr Michelina Pusceddu (Dipartimento di Agraria, University of Sassari) said: “The observed increase in social distancing between the two groups of bees within the same parasite-infested colony represents a new and, in some ways, surprising aspect of how honeybees have evolved to combat pathogens and parasites.
“Their ability to adapt their social structure and reduce contact between individuals in response to a disease threat allows them to maximise the benefits of social interactions where possible, and to minimise the risk of infectious disease when needed.
“Honeybee colonies provide an ideal model for studying social distancing and for fully understanding the value and effectiveness of this behaviour.”
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The study involved researchers from UCL, the University of Sassari, the University of Turin and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany).
IMAGE: THE STAGHORN SCULPIN IS ONE OF THE MUDDY-SEAFLOOR-LOVING FLATFISH SPECIES THAT HAS INCREASED IN MORRO BAY FOLLOWING A LOSS OF SEAGRASS HABITAT. SEAGRASS-SPECIALIST FISH SPECIES HAVE DECREASED.view more
CREDIT: ILIANA ARROYOS
The loss of seagrass habitat caused a dramatic shift in fish species in Morro Bay. Areas once covered with lush seagrass meadows and unique fish species are now home to muddy-seafloor-loving flatfish, according to a paper by Cal Poly researchers published in the October 2021 print edition of Estuaries and Coasts.
Seagrass meadows were previously common throughout the Morro Bay estuary but nearly disappeared over the last decade.
"Seagrass, like the eelgrass in Morro Bay, is important because it supports a range of marine life," said Jennifer O'Leary, who led the research as a California Sea Grant extension specialist based at Cal Poly. O'Leary is now the Western Indian Ocean coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society. "It's like the trees in a forest--these underwater plants provide food, structure, and shelter to many of the marine animals that live in the bay."
Underwater seagrass meadows are one of the main habitats in coastal estuaries, and represent one of the most biologically productive biomes on our planet. Yet seagrass habitats are being lost at an alarming rate, and their decline now rivals those reported for tropical rainforests, coral reefs, and mangroves. Loss is usually the symptom of a larger problem, and seagrasses are therefore considered "coastal canaries." Their decline signals important losses to biodiversity and often impacts the communities that depend on them.
Morro Bay, one of 28 estuaries that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated as critical to the economic and environmental health of the nation, has seen a dramatic loss in its seagrass habitat. Once dominated by a common California eelgrass (Zostera marina), seagrass at this site has declined by more than 95 percent, from covering 344 acres in 2007 to less than 15 acres in 2017.
Seagrass meadows are a multifaceted habitat that secure sediments with their root systems, and provide food, shelter and nurseries for many types of fish and invertebrates. When seagrass meadows are lost, they are often replaced with a less dynamic, muddy seafloor habitat.
O'Leary and colleagues found that seagrass loss did not result in fewer fish but rather led to changes in the types of fish that live in the bay. The research team saw decreasing numbers of some seagrass-specialist fish species, such as the bay pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus). With long thin bodies and olive green coloration, bay pipefish are adapted to hide among the seagrass blades.
In contrast, researchers observed an increase in flatfishes like the speckled sanddab (Citharichthys stigmaeus) and staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus). These fish have flat bodies that are ideal for life along the muddy seafloor and are common residents in California bays and estuaries. These species have moved into the former eelgrass habitats and now make up the majority of the fish species present in Morro Bay.
The loss of eelgrass habitat along the California coast presents a larger problem for species that depend on seagrass, like the bay pipefish. If seagrass doesn't recover, then the surviving meadows will be further apart and have a more fragmented, or patchy, distribution. This distance and patchiness of habitat may impact specialists, like pipefish, by impairing their ability to move to a new habitat to find food or mates. This community isolation may alter the genetic structure and diversity of the overall pipefish population over time.
"The relatively sudden and near complete collapse of eelgrass in Morro Bay has not only changed fish populations, but it has also resulted in substantial changes to estuary physics and geomorphology," said study coauthor Ryan Walter, a Cal Poly physics professor who has been studying eelgrass loss through a California Sea Grant-funded research project that was launched in 2018.
Walter, O'Leary and other Cal Poly researchers, in conjunction with the Morro Bay National Estuary Program, continue to study the cause and consequences of the eelgrass decline. In another study, the team recently found that the loss of eelgrass in Morro Bay led to widespread erosion, or loss of sediment, throughout the estuary.
The new research sheds additional light on changes within Morro Bay that may inform how scientists learn about seagrass communities throughout California. There has not been an eelgrass decline on the United States Pacific Coast of this magnitude, making Morro Bay a novel event that may help predict future estuarine change.
A multifaceted approach to protect and enhance the remaining seagrass will be essential, said the researchers There is hope for the future as the remaining eelgrass is slowly expanding with protection and local planting initiatives, including successful transplant efforts led by the Morro Bay National Estuary Program. Walter and O'Leary have used drone-based surveys to document natural expansion and recovery of eelgrass in areas where it was lost. The mere 9.4 acres of seagrass left in Morro Bay in 2017 expanded to 36.7 acres by 2019. The researchers are still analyzing data from 2020 but are optimistic that the seagrass acreage continues to slowly increase.
IMAGE: BOSTON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER FINDS SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE RECEPTIVE TO DISINFORMATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE ARE STILL OPEN TO THE SCIENCEview more
CREDIT: PHOTO BY CALLUM SHAW ON UNSPLASH
Thanks to algorithms that learn about social media users’ content preferences, Facebook timelines, Twitter feeds, suggested YouTube videos, and other news streams can look startlingly different from one person’s online account to the next. Media and communication experts often wrestle with how to rein in the forces that further polarize people with different views, especially people who sit on opposite sides of the political aisle. When it comes to online content that contains disinformation—inaccurate messages or propaganda intended to deceive and influence readers—why are some people more likely to believe falsehoods often spread via social media and the internet?
Arunima Krishna, a Boston University College of Communication researcher who studies public perceptions of controversial social issues, is studying the spread of disinformation, specifically related to climate science—an issue that has been manipulated by climate change deniers for decades. In her latest study, Krishna surveyed 645 Americans about their beliefs on climate change—whether or not those beliefs are informed by fact or fiction—to assess their communication behaviors about climate change.
“I think a lot of folks don’t see how close to home climate change is. Even though we’re seeing climate refugees, [worsening] hurricanes, and other [natural] disasters, there is still a level of distance from the problem,” says Krishna, a College of Communication assistant professor of public relations.
She points out that physical distance from the effects of climate change could be partly why some people find it is easier to separate themselves from the climate crisis. Plus, climate solutions are often things many people don’t readily want to do, like eating less meat, using less plastic, and buying less material goods. Fossil fuel companies and lobbyists for the industry have also worked extremely hard to deceive the public from knowing the full extent of the damaging impact of burning fossil fuels, she says.
According to Krishna’s survey of Americans, 7 in 10 people who are susceptible to believing climate disinformation self-identified as politically conservative. In contrast, 8 in 10 Americans who self-identified as liberal were found to be immune to disinformation about climate change. Those findings double down on past research from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, which found liberals and Democrats are significantly more worried about climate change than conservatives and Republicans, and are more likely to believe humans are causing the climate crisis.
Krishna also detected a difference in age between those who were more susceptible to disinformation and those who weren’t. More than half of the respondents immune to false information about climate were under 45. Those more receptive to climate disinformation were, on average, over the age of 46.
Diving deeper into the respondents’ responses, Krishna categorized the survey results into four different groups. The first segment, made up of people she calls the “disinformation immune,” have not accepted any disinformation about climate change and humans’ role in it, and they likely never will. The second group, the“disinformation vulnerable,” have negative attitudes about how humans are influencing climate. While they haven’t yet accepted disinformation, some of their responses to facts about climate change—as well as their attitudes and motivations—indicate they could possibly believe climate disinformation in the future. The third group, the “disinformation receptive,” have accepted false information about climate change already. Lastly, the fourth group, the “disinformation amplifying,” is made up of people who hold extremely negative attitudes about climate change and doubt humans’ role in accelerating it, have already accepted disinformation, and are highly motivated to spread the disinformation they believe.
“My study found that [disinformation amplifiers] are more likely to spread their opinions about climate change compared to everybody else in the survey,” Krishna says. The amplifiers are known as what Krishna calls “lacuna publics,” a term she coined in 2017 when she was researching vaccine hesitant groups. (The word “publics” refers to groups connected by issue-specific motivation, and “lacuna” means a gap in knowledge.) Though the disinformation amplifiers, or lacuna publics, are in the minority, they are different from groups that are disinformation vulnerable or receptive because of their willingness to spread disinformation.
The United States has more climate skeptics than anywhere else in the world, Krishna says, but their ranks have started to shrink. Climate scientists around the world have found unequivocally that the more we continue to emit heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the worse the consequences will be for humans, most species, and ecosystems on Earth.
Though there is no single solution to stopping the spread of climate disinformation, Krishna emphasizes the importance of engaging with people most vulnerable to believing disinformation. Lacuna publics, or amplifiers, however, might be difficult or impossible to sway.
“It might not be worth using resources to try to reach the lacuna publics,” Krishna says. “Research tells us that one-on-one interaction can often be more effective than mass media messages…so perhaps that’s the best way to [elevate] voices who are disinformation immune.”
IMAGE: OVERALL WINNER: KUMLIEN'S GULL & FRIENDS, REBECCA NASONview more
CREDIT: REBECCA NASON
A close up of a Kumlien's Gull’s eye, with speckled markings that aren’t quite what they appear, taken by Rebecca Nason, has been awarded Overall Winner in the British Ecological Society’s annual photography competition, ‘Capturing Ecology’.
The winning images and an additional eight highly commended images, taken by international ecologists and students, celebrate the diversity of ecology, capturing flora and fauna from across the planet.
Subjects range from a blood red snail feeding on dead man's fingers (a fungus found in the rainforests of India) to a rare sighting of the ‘fairy of the Valencian forests’, a recently discovered cave-dwelling bug in Spain.
The winning images from this year’s will be displayed in our immersive virtual exhibition, which is sponsored by Wiley. The exhibition will be made freely available to everyone when the embargo lifts.
On her winning image, Rebecca Nason - an ecologist and photographer living in Britain’s most northerly harbour town of Lerwick, Shetland - said: “In April 2021, I came across a scarce Kumlien's Gull as I fed bread to a growing number of Herring Gull sheltering from a Spring storm. A beautiful gull, these birds breed in the Arctic regions of Canada & winter from Labrador west across the Great Lakes.
“When the Kumlien's gull approached to a good distance to allow for closer full frame shots. I started photographing the eye detail, noting a gorgeous granite coloured iris with dark speckled plumage detail around the eye. It was only when I got home I realised that the speckled patterns were in fact lice clustered around the eye, the Kumlien's Gull hadn't travelled alone!
“I am thrilled to win such a prestigious photography competition after entering for the first time this year. I have had a very symbiotic relationship between ecology work & bird photography in my career, so for both to come together in this way to win a competition with a gull image taken on my local patch, is just the icing on the cake.”
Overall student winner: Hidden Lynx, Dani Davis:
The overall student winner is Dani Davis, a graduate student at Florida State University. Dani’s image captures a green lynx spider with its bumblebee catch in the Apalachicola National Forest, North Florida. Green lynx spiders can change colours to match their background plant, a trait which they use when lying in wait for visiting pollinators. When their prey comes close, they pounce, like their namesake cat.
Dani Davis said: “Green lynx spiders are majestic yet voracious predators. Able to take down relatively large prey. With a quick bite, the lynx can subdue their cumbersome prey and feast in peace. Despite hearing of their ferocity, I was amazed to see this lynx with a bumblebee that matched her in size!
“A culmination of experiences in the field surrounded by incredible photographers and naturalists taught me how to tell natural history stories through images. With enormous thanks to those who spent time outside with me, I'm honoured to be the overall student winner for Capturing Ecology.”
Professor Jane Memmott, President of the British Ecological Society, said:
"This year's photos are of a very high standard and are a pleasure to look through. Overall, the photographs capture a broad swath of biodiversity - from tiny mosses to giant bears. The winner is a beautifully composed photograph of a gull's eye - it's visually arresting, pin sharp and very beautiful, hitchhiking lice included!"
Competition judge, Laura Dyer:
The independent judging panel included six highly respected photographers including eminent ecologists and award-winning wildlife photographers. Among them was Laura Dyer, a South African born wildlife photographer, who has an affinity for animal portraits.
Laura said: “Wildlife and nature photography is so vital today, as it helps to showcase parts of the natural world which would otherwise remain hidden from the view of most of us. And it is only by seeing the beauty of nature that we will be inspired to protect and conserve it. These images from British Ecological Society members and students alike help to showcase these wonders.
“The three overall winners this year demonstrate completely different styles of photography and all so beautifully captured. The spider, which at first glance, is almost unnoticeable in 'Hidden Lynx' - you can imagine the surprise of the bumblebee as he met his end. The detail in the gull, and how at first glance the parasites appear to be feather markings. The delicate lighting and dancing nature of the image of the recently discovered 'Fairy of the Forest'. These are worthy winners.”
Full list of winners:
Overall winner: Rebecca Nason
Kumlien's Gull & Friends: When taking full frame pictures of a Kumlien's gull, the photographer noticed a dark speckled plumage detail around the eye. It was only when they got home they realised that the speckled patterns were in fact lice clustered around the eye, the Gull hadn't travelled alone.
Overall runner-up: Roberto Garcia Roa, University of Valencia
The fairy of the forests: One of the few images of Valenciolenda fadaforesta ("fairy of the Valencian forests"), a cave-dwelling bug recently discovered in a few Spanish caves. Wonderful evidence of the extraordinary biodiversity hidden in the dark of cave ecosystems.
Overall student winner: Dani Davis, Florida State University
Hidden Lynx: A green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) rests on a budding Liatris with its bumblebee catch. Seen in a bog in the Apalachicola National Forest in North Florida, USA. Green lynx spiders are masters of disguise. Able to change colours to match their background plant, they wait for visiting pollinators and then pounce on their prey, like their namesake cat.
Category 1 – Up Close and Personal An image displaying the intricacy of nature using close-up or macro photography.
Winner: Alicia Hayden, University of the West of England
Beautiful Bryophyte:With the colours of the sunset in the background, the whole scene of this moss growing on a wall in Cornwall looks like something from a tropical rainforest. It shows the extraordinary macro world all around us, and how there is beauty in the smallest of living things.
Student winner: Jack Marcus Smith, University of Cambridge
Beauty in the (Mini)Beast: The image is a high magnification portrait of a blowfly. The photpgrapher wanted to reveal the intricacy and beauty of what many consider a pest. The blowfly is perfect for illustrating complexity in miniature and here they have captured the elaborate nature of each individual microstructure.
Category 2 – Dynamic Ecosystems Demonstrating interactions between different species within an ecosystem.
Winner: Vijay Karthick, Nature Conservation Foundation, India
It's finger lickin' good: Indrella ampulla, an endemic species of snail is an important soil invertebrate that breaks down organic matter in the rainforest floors of the Western Ghats mountain range in India. Here, its feeding on Xylaria sp. fungi, commonly known as dead man's fingers.
Student winner: Dani Davis, Florida State University
Quick Catch: A tiny Phidippus regius (Regal Jumping Spider) sits perched with a freshly caught Sulphur butterfly. Observed while visiting a bog near Sumatra, Florida. Jumping spiders abound in this habitat. The photographer stared with curiosity at this regal jumping spider doused in yellow scales, holding the butterfly it had just caught.
Category 3 – Individuals and Populations A unique look at a species in its environment, either alone or as part of a population.
Winner: Roberto Garcia Roa, University of Valencia
Fleeting race: A large flock of gulls performed short but very quick flights to move around a field of rice during the first hours of the morning. The fog in the environment and the fast movements of each individual allowed me to capture this dynamic but also frozen image of such a chaotic situation.
Student winner: Alwin Hardenbol, University of Eastern Finland
Master of the reeds: Bearded Reedlings (Panurus biarmicus) are strongly connected to reedbeds. In wintertime, this species eats reed seeds as shown in this image. The photograph took this picture in Espoo, Finland, aiming to depict how the bird’s weight bends the reed.
Category 4 – People and Nature An interesting and original take on the relationships between people and nature.
Winner: Molly Dunn, Florence Institute of Design International
Tsunami, Dormant ivy vines reach across a roadside wall blackened at the bottom by car exhaust. The photograph was taken on a small, neighbourhood street in Florence, Italy in the early spring of 2021.
Student winner: John Benjamin Owens, Bangor University/Captive & Field Herpetology Ltd.
Nature's Landmine, The Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) often resides within rice paddies. Accidentally stepped upon by agricultural workers, this viper is frequently involved in human-snake conflict, resulting in death and life changing injuries for millions of Indian people, annually. Something to think about when next buying rice in the supermarket?
Category 5 – Ecology in Action Showcasing the practice of ecology in action
Winner: Pete Hudson, Penn State University
Bat OneHealth: While many of us are suffering with vaccines and regular swabs, the poor bats are also being sampled. At the start of the pandemic, our team were in Bangladesh sampling fruit bats near locations where Nipah virus had infected humans and recording virus and new viral sequences.
Student winner: Joshua Powell, Zoological Society of London, UCL & Seoul National University
Reintroduction in action: Conservation translocations – such as species reintroductions, or reinforcements – are increasingly important tools in conservation ecology. In South Korea, vets from the Korea National Park Service prepare to transport a female Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in Jirisan National Park.
Category 6 – The Art of Ecology A creative and original take on photography denoting ecology
Winner: Raul Costa-Pereira, The University of Campinas
Amazonian mosaic: In tropical rainforests, plants are often colonized by an astonishing diversity of organisms that grows on the surface of their leaves, such as epiphyllous mosses, lichens, and fungi. The photo shows the colourful mosaic of biodiversity on the leaves of an Amazonian palm tree in a forest near Manaus, Brazil.
Student winner: Alicia Hayden, University of the West of England
Spotlight: This spider was spending a lot of time repairing its web, and the streetlamp highlighted the movement of its legs as I took the photo. This illustrates the urban wildlife which is not usually acknowledged, showing the great diversity of wildlife in our urban spaces.
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CAPTION
Overall student winner: Hidden Lynx, Dani Davis
CREDIT
Dani Davis
CAPTION
Runner up: The fairy of the forests, Roberto Garcia Roa
CREDIT
Roberto Garcia Roa
CAPTION
Category winner: It's finger lickin' good, Vijay Karthick. a red snail feeding on dead man's fingers (a fungus found in the rainforests of India).
