Dear all,
Welcome back after the Christmas holidays and exams. You were quiet during January, so I look forward to lots of links for the next edition.
Judith
Careers
Southampton Biodiversity Research Exchange Symposium – Wed 8th Feb from 2pm in 34 / 3001.
Talks will be given on projects undertaken with 3 local partners by students following their graduation last summer. 3rd year students, this scheme will be running again this summer, so come along to find out more.
Marwell Wildlife
Baseline survey of a chalkland meadow for restoration (Clare Halliday and Alice Clark)
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
New Forest non-native invasive plant species (Jessica Allen and Hannah Bye)
Use of artificial refugia by the grass snake (Becky Spake – videoed last week)
The value of environmental stewardship scheme field margins for foraging bumblebees (Thomas Lewis and Samantha Hook)
Southampton City Council
The use of Southampton Common SSSI by great crested newts (Michaela Roberts and Ceri Feltham)
Water quality on Southampton Common (Danny Griffiths)
The effect of lighting and traffic noise on Southampton Common on bats (Alexandra Phillips and Ella Barnett)
There will also be representative from Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust; Hampshire Museums (natural history); New Forest National Parks Authority; Butterfly Conservation; Hampshire Ornithological Society; Southampton Natural History Society; Hampshire Ecological Services.
Events
Darwin reading group – starting tomorrow (Thurs 2nd Feb) we will meet weekly every Thursday at 5pm in 2003 to discuss Origin of the Species, after reading a chapter each week. There is no reading required for tomorrow. Staff and students are welcome.
Stamp collecting
Madeleine from the student office says that the postage stamp collection box is operational (and even has some stamps in it)! For more details about why we’re collecting stamps please look at the last edition of SEEN.
In the news – sorry, quite long but interesting!
More about “fake” images in last year’s Frozen Planet
https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/2011/12/15/fake-umentary-bbc-and-frozen-world/
Sent it from PhD student Becky Spake, information in invertebrate sampling techniques
http://www.ssb.plymouth.ac.uk/labplus/projects/PS_sampling.htm
Are jelly fish taking over?
http://www.nature.com/news/marine-ecology-attack-of-the-blobs-1.9929
Remote copulation by male spiders to avoid being eaten
http://www.nature.com/news/spiders-dodge-cannibalism-through-remote-copulation-1.9939
Also on Ed Yong’s blog http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/02/01/male-spider-snaps-off-own-genitals-inside-female-to-fertilise-her-remotely-while-being-eaten/
And on Science news http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/01/scienceshot-cowardly-spider-can.html?ref=hp
Original article –Â http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/01/27/rsbl.2011.1202
Untapped oil in the Arctic, it’s not all good news
http://www.nature.com/news/the-great-arctic-oil-race-begins-1.9932
How long does it take a mouse to turn in to an elephant?
http://www.nature.com/news/study-measures-mammalian-growth-spurt-1.9931
The UK’s biggest climate threat is flooding
http://www.nature.com/news/flooding-is-the-united-kingdom-s-biggest-climate-threat-1.9906
Last year a study was published claiming the existence of arsenic-based life, this claim is looking less and less valid
http://www.nature.com/news/study-challenges-existence-of-arsenic-based-life-1.9861
Minimum cage size for US lab animals could be increased but this would mean the research would cost more. Should we consider the cost to us economically or the cost to the quality of life of the animals we are using?
Brown seaweed – biofuel of the future?
http://www.nature.com/news/biofuel-from-beneath-the-waves-1.9860
Did Archaeopteryx have black feathers?
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/01/scienceshot-jurassic-crow.html?ref=hp
how about a tattoo of a feather? http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/01/24/archaeopteryx-the-embargoed-tattoo/
Locusts thrive on over-grazed grassland
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/01/slideshow-low-quality-plants-pow.html?ref=hp
Jumping spiders used blurred images
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/01/3-d-vision-for-tiny-eyes.html?ref=hp
Species of the week
The dung beetle, Kheper nigroaeneus
http://www.nature.com/news/dirty-dancing-dung-beetles-get-down-to-walk-the-line-1.9868
App of the week (not actually an app)
The Indicator Bats Program (iBats) monitors bat populations globally by listening to the sounds bats use to navigate and find food. http://www.ibats.org.uk/
Send your links in!
Posted By : Judith Lock