BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

30 BBC Wildlife April 2020

Hidinginplainsight

Symmetricalanimalswith

camouflagepatternsneartheir

midlinearemoredetectable

topredators.Butsomeforms

ofcamouflagehaveevolvedto

reducesymmetry,according

to a University of Bristol study.

Hotbedforbeebugs

Wildflowerstripsbyagricultural

fieldsareknowntoenhance

beepopulations.However,a

highdensityofindividualscould

increasediseasespreadamong

bees,reportsProceedings of

the Royal SocietyB.

Enticingbats

Manybat-pollinatedflowers

reflectultra-soundstronglyto

getattention.ButEcuador’s

Espostoafrutescenscactushas

flowersthataresurrounded

bya densematofultrasound-

absorbinghairs,makingthem

more obvious by contrast alone.

Waterbodies

Westerndiamondback

rattlesnakestakeadvantageof

infrequentdesertdownpours

bydrinkingrainwaterthat

collectsontheirskin.Now,ACS

Omegareportsthatmicroscopic

channelsetchedintothereptiles’

scales hold the drops in place.

Nature in brief

T

heSussex-basedHelpOurKelp

campaign,theUK’sfirstkelp

rewildingproject(Kelp:a cryforhelp,

January2020),achieveda milestone

earlierthisyearwhentheSussex

InshoreFisheriesandConservation

Authorityagreedto a newbylawthat

willseetrawlersexcludedfroma zone

ofmorethan300km.

KelpoccursallaroundBritish

shores,buthasdeclinedinthesouth,

particularlyofftheSussexcoast,where

it has been reduced by 97 per cent,

followingdecadesoftrawling(which

uprootstheseaweedfromtheseabed),

stormeventsandsedimentdredging.

Bygivingthishabitatchanceto

re-emerge,thehopeis thattheSussex

seaswillalsoseea returnofthemyriad

marinespecies,includingseahorsesand

cuttlefish,thatkelpsupports.Theplant

is alsorenownedforlockingupvast

quantitiesofcarbon,improvingwater

qualityandreducingcoastalerosion.

Thebylawhasnowbeenpassedto

Defra for approval. “This is a thrilling

steptowardstherestorationofa vast

areaofseabed,”saysHenriBrocklebank,

directorofconservationat Sussex

WildlifeTrustandchairoftheHelpOur

Kelppartnership.“Recognisingthatthe

restorationofnatureis a marineissueas

muchasa land-basedconcernis crucial.

Theseaprovidessomuch for us.”

SarahMcPherson

Anewfuture for Sussex kelp forests

CONSERVATION

FINDOUTMORE Watcha Sussex

WildlifeTrustfilm,narratedbySirDavid

Attenborough:bit.ly/2whgIVw

Kelp: NPL; bat: Ralph Simon; moth: Philippe Mothiron/lepinet.fr; snake: Danita Delimont/Getty; bee: Phil Savoie/NPL

Underwater

forestsofkelp

couldsoonmake

a comebackin

Sussex.

WILDNEWS