A Festive Front

With Christmas on the snowy horizon we turn to the infamous festive fashion to get us in merry mood. We all know someone with the classic festive jumper, decorated with an array of Christmas trees, reindeer and snowmen. The woolly hats and knitted scarves are pulled from the back of the closet to brave the winter weather. We are not however the only species grabbing a new coat for Christmas, the mountain hare Lepus timidus also trades in its summer get up for a fashion more suited for a more snowy setting. During the transition of summer to winter the mountain hare moults its previous typical brown coat for a crisp white one. This transformation is a defense mechanism in order to evade predation by blending into the vast white blanket of snow covering their environment. Though walking around any shopping center or even my house in a Christmas jumper this time of year you pretty much become invisible, but it seems it’s not just us getting in the seasonal spirit.  

Trunks, Tusks and Tantrums

 We all reach that point in our lives in the midst of puberty when the age of rebellion dawns.  You would do the opposite to that instructed or just plain do something because you knew it would really annoy your parents. Similarly, spending more time in your room as a teen then in any other room in the house is a common symptom of pre-adultolescence. Though this might not apply to everyone I think the majority of you might well agree.  It is a necessary behavioral trait for us to grow as human beings and gives us a time to look back on and laugh at our previous selves. It can however like anything not controlled can lead to trouble. We as a species have the benefit of our ability to reason and explain to our young within our complex communities, elephants do not. Though elephant species have an impressive hierarchy within their family not dissimilar to ours when a dominant male is no longer present (sometimes removed by poachers fueling the ivory trade) the young of the herd will “act out” becoming more and more out of control, just as we might do as the same age. Young male bulls enter musth, a state of increased testosterone and go into a frenzy, just like young males in our species hormones are the driving force to our development. So it seems that parents are necessary to guild us emotionally and physically through our teens as well as the juvenile stages in other species. .   

Location, Location, Location

As time moves on we may find ourselves moving in distance also. Be that relocating for a new job, a loved one or just to broaden our horizons, many of us travel the globe in the pursuit of happiness.  It may not however be a transition you desire and one you might not want to part take in. In order for me to relate this topic with other species, migration is one that appears obvious. For example bird species crossing oceans in the aim to find better habitats during particular seasons. Then I thought about the negative reasons for relocation in other bird species.  It then occurred to me that we as an aggressive species have eradicate species left right and centre with few getting the opportunity to make a reappearance. Before the 18^th century the white tailed eagles found themselves in high populations in Scotland. Due to predation on our part, we eliminated them from our northern highlands and deleted their existence within Britain by the 19^th century, driving it to reside only in other European countries. Now after several reintroduction efforts their population is increasing to grow. It however took us to actively relocate them to get this majestic bird back into Britain. Similar to us, a move that might not be desired could still hold light at the end of the tunnel with the hope of a new beginning. 

Colourful Future

It's been a while since I  last posted something and that's because the last few months have been frankly all over the place. In June of this year I finished University and look forward to graduating in September. The time in the between has so far been something of a brick wall of realization. Having to move back home, find work and most distressingly leaving some of the best people has left me a bit lost and unable to adapt. This made me wonder about changes that may occur in the lives of other species and having to rebuild,  progress for the future and adapt. I then remembered I had read about the amazing changes bee species were presenting in their converted honey productions. Urban development effect more species than I would care to list but urban bees seem to have found a colourful way to acclimatize and use a new resource full of the sugary products essential for the manufacture of a what we stereotypical know as a silky golden honey. Though still silky the variations in colour are truly amazing from blues, reds and greens urban bees are finding sugars within our sugary treats, our secret snacks, our rubbish. I don't think I will ever be spreading blue honey on my toast or pouring red honey in my tea anytime soon but I take an admiration for these small creature in their sweat pursuit and their ability to adapt.  

When Good Friends Go Bad

During our lives we find our selves surrounded by groups of people that we consider to have close bond with. You hang out together and grow a pretty close friendship but then sometimes out of now where it all changes. Something goes wrong and the friendship is broken, sometimes through no fault of your own but they just turn and it seems as if they are out to get you. Well the African armoured ground cricket (Acanthoplus discoidalis) knows better than the most what it’s like to be on the bad side of a change of heart. These incredibly large crickets make their way up trees homing young and defenceless bird species, while the mother is out gathering food. Then these mini beasts move in and try to eat their newly born chicks. When a mother bird returns, the ground cricket sprays her with its own distasteful blood, temporally blinding the mother. Once released, however the scent of his blood attracts the attention of other ground crickets (they are like the sharks of the insect world). This then changes their attitude and their feeding focus turns to that of the recently confronted cricket. This progresses in members of the same species eating one of their own. Talk about a bad fall out, at least if we seek to break a friendship it’s Facebook or Twitter that get the brunt of it, not our own limbs.

Scratch My Back and I'll Scratch Yours

When someone you know helps you out it's nice to return the favour. Even if it's just helping someone out with revision for an exam or telling them the information they may have missed in a lecture, doing this can then help me revise and I benefit. As a university student this occurs all of the time. This then lead me to wonder about mutualistic behaviours in the wild and the ways in which other species benefit. Within the Neotropics the Poison Dart Frog uses holds an interesting mutualistic relationship with different species of Bromeliad plants (they kind of look like the top of a pineapple). The Neotropics as you can imagine is largely exposed to high levels of rainfall, the water from this intense hydration will sit the folds and dips of the Bromeliad leaf structure. The Poison Dart Frog will then use this presence of water as a safe house for their young. Their tadpole young mature in these pools of water and benefit from the protection of the dense leaf structure. So where is the benefit to the plant, you might think? Well the nutrient waste produced by both the young frog and its mother are absorbed through the pool of water. So without directly knowing it frog’s presence benefits the Bromeliads growth. It's as if it's a way of saying thank you to the Bromeliad for protecting the frog’s young and providing a home. Let's hope we continue to help each other whether we also benefit or not.

Shopping for Shells

As we grow up through our lives, we develop mentally and physically. Children especially grow in their size at a considerably greater rate compared to that of their adult years. I know I definitely did, I became nearly 6ft tall by the time I was 13. So you can imagine the amount of clothes I collected on the way up, each item bigger than the last. Hermit crabs also share this need to change their appearance with their growing physiology. Though a Hermit crabs shell is its mobile home, the more the crab grows inside, the desire for a better fitting shell also grows. So what’s a Hermit crab to do when it's time to find a new "shell outfit"? The shore line is littered with potential new homes, however if one crab comes into contact with another crab with a shell they desire they both engage in a behaviour called "rapping". Though the thought of MC Hermit crabs is hilarious, the rapping behaviour isn't vocal but simply the knocking of each other’s shells to arrange a swap of shells for a better fit. So though we don't go around asking to swap each others clothes we do out grow them, just like the Hermit crab out grows his shell.  

Gifts In Nature

Throughout our lives we spend thousands, if not tens of thousands of pounds on gifts and presents to our loved ones. To those we aim to show love and affection some times gifts can reflect the way we feel or a proposal for a  life long commitment. There is an art to gift giving though; it’s not all about the money but the sentiment behind it. When a couple gets engaged a ring symbolises the commitment to the other person and the future they aim have together.  Though there aren’t exactly jewellers in animal world, gift giving to show this devotion is practised.  The males of the Satin Bowerbird species (PtilonorhynchidaeI violaceus), do offer an unusual gesture to attract a female. Males build a bower nest and surround it with items appealing to the females. In this species case the females love the colour blue. So just like any male in our species he gives the lady just what she wants, by surrounding his nest with anything blue from berries to bottle tops, if it’s blue he’ll take it.  If the female likes what she sees then she will pursue courtship with him. Though I’m not suggesting we all start getting our partners blue berries or bottle tops, getting our other halves gifts or making passionate gestures to show our affection or romantic intention is something found in many species.

Catfish: The Blog Post

Within our society we are fixated with social media and informing everyone on what we are doing every day. We put up pictures, statuses and comments about our selves in order to paint a picture of what we want the world to see.  There are those out there that seek to deceive those of the online community, using false names and images. This made me wonder about dishonesties in the wild. A desert flowering plant offered some insight into looking beneath the surface, both metaphorically and actually. Trailing krameria (Krameria lanceolata) are delicate pink flowing plants, with a slight resemblance to the flowering of some Orchids. However below the arid desert soil a network or deception pollutes the ground. This plant species is known as a hemiparasite and obtains the majority of its nutrition from “sucking the life” out of surrounding plants. You might say they were the root vampires of the plant world. So although your first impressions of them are that of great beauty, what occurs where you can’t see is far from what you imagined. Just like this enticing flower what truly lies beneath an Internet profile could be a completely different story.   

Love May Really Be All Around Us

Valentines Day is looming and it’s a time to celebrate our loved ones and express our love to them. I’m personally in love and she brings a lot of happiness to my life as I’m sure your partner or loved ones do for you. Though love is a very complex emotion, we might not be alone in feeling this way. There are many species that have monogamous relationships such as our own, allowing enough time to potentially develop this intense emotion. Though I’m not suggesting that animals feel what we know as “love” there may be a degree of caring between two partners. In the case of the Dik Dik (Madoqua kirki) the male will display certain behaviours in order to “prove his worth” to the female, for example he will hold his head in a down posture, as if to actually bow down to his potential mate. In the event that the pair successfully become an “item” he will then spend his life protecting her and help in raise there young. Could it be possible that there is a level of care or “love”between them because they stay true to each other or is it simply easier than finding continual mates? I like to believe the pair stays together out of a mutual care for each other, but that might just be the inner romantic in me. If it is true that animals can feel a sense of love then considering there is around 8.7 million species on earth, the planet it full of a whole lot of love.

The Germination Of A Blog

In a continually developing world, humankind becomes more and more distant from that of our neighbouring species. This blog aims to bridge the gap between our complex lives and interactions with the vast amount of species that inhabit this immense planet. You might be surprised in the unique, yet similar interactions that exists in the wild. Firstly I should probably tell you a little about myself. I am final year Bsc Conservation Biology student at the University of Lincoln, England, with a passion for just learning about what’s out there in the natural world. Be that from what’s in our back gardens to the depths of the Amazon. Hopefully you will enjoy reading my future posts and they illustrate the complexity of plants and animals from around the globe.