may be of interest.
It includes a link to Barry Webb images which contains slime mould images which are worth a visit, even if you don’t have an interest in slime moulds per se.
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Certainly remarkable photos, could perhaps do with a scale in all of them not just the woodlouse in one.
Yes, lovely
Added to this
which very few people open
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Well, who knew myrmecology was the term for the study of ants. On reflection, I expect several ispotters do.
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And are large numbers of ants swarming around in interesting patterns myrmecations, suppose someone has to invent the word.
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There’s also myrmecophagy, myrmecochory, myrmecophily, myrmecophyte, myrmecophobia, and, courtesy of Wiktionary, myrmecofauna.
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Not forgetting ……In Homer’s Iliad , the Myrmidons are the soldiers commanded by Achilles.[3] Their eponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of Phthiotis who was a son of Zeus and “wide-ruling” Eurymedousa, a princess of Phthiotis. She was seduced by him in the form of an ant.
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Actually I had completely forgotten that, I was supposed to have studied Illiad in Latin but managed to fail the exam, if I had realised how useful this nugget of info would have been in future perhaps I may have listened more intently!
As I often say, on ispot we live & learn.
I think Dr Sandra Knapp from the Natural History Museum who was involved with the description of these new plant species, made a good observation on known unknowns:
She said: “Although flowering plants are relatively well known as far as groups of organisms go, it is estimated that even though we have given about 450,000 species scientific names, there are about 25% of that left to describe. Not to discover – for sure, these things we don’t know about are known by local and Indigenous peoples where they occur – we taxonomists just give them names that put them into the language of global botany.
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a nice quote…
On the other hand:
Rare and declining bird species benefit most from designating protected areas for conservation in the UK | BTO - British Trust for Ornithology
If you are thinking “On the other hand to what?”, go to Amadan’s initial post at the top of the thread back in April 2022.
On the other hand… you have a good point.
Amadan’s study focused on wetlands and waterbirds
“The largest ever study of protected areas - places “set aside” ostensibly for nature - has revealed that most do not actively benefit wildlife.
Scientists examined the impact of 1,500 protected areas in 68 countries, focusing their analysis on wetlands and waterbirds. They found that, in terms of how wildlife fared, success varied hugely around the world and depended a great deal on how an area was managed.”
The headline says ‘most’ but doesn’t give us numerical data.
John’s article, on the other hand, is limited to UK & includes all birds.
“This is an unusually comprehensive assessment of the effects of protected sites on a national avifauna, and it is evident that the UK’s protected area network has had a positive impact on bird conservation over the last three decades.”
I’m thinking that an appropriate foodsource for the birds must be an important factor in success. And nesting opportunities.
How exciting…
I hope it’s not a late April Fool ….
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Lichens, Slime moulds & Wasps get a positive spin.
Not sure the title is very accurate, suspect lichens and slime moulds are not the top beneficial wildlife for the garden. But good to see them actually mentioned as existing at all!
Certainly an improvement on Gardener’s Question Time telling listeners that lichens can strangle a tree.