W
ithfewerpeopleoutandaboutthis
spring,ourbirdsfounda quieter,
cleanerenvironment.Speciesthatsing
louderbesidebusyroads,suchasgreat
titsandsongthrushes,couldsingmore
quietly.Ground-nestingbirdswon’thave
beenflushedbywalkersanddogsasoften,
sotheireggswillhavebeenlessat risk.
Thewinnersarelikelyto includeskylarks,
lapwingsandcurlewsonfarmland,and
beach-nestingspecies,suchaslittleterns,
oystercatchersandringedplovers.Some
rarebirds– raptorsespecially– willhave
beenmorevulnerableto illegalpersecution,
dueto lackofprotectionbyconservation
staff,butlikewisewillhavebeenhelpedby
fewerpeoplewanderingneartheirnests.
Inthelongterm,gardenbirdswillbenefit
fromtheboostto monitoring– theBTO’s
GardenBirdWatchsurveyenjoyingrecord
participationduringlockdown.EdDrewittWhichbirdsgained
mostfromBritain’s
lockdown?
Wouldanyanimalssurvive
anuclearexplosion?
ORNITHOLOGYSURVIVAL LEPIDOPTERAMARINEBIOLOGY Whythelongface?
Allthebetterfor
eatingwith.Littleterns
enjoyquiet
beaches.A
t theblast’sepicentre,the
vaporisingheatis likethe
centreofthesun,soit’ssafe
tosaynolifecouldwithstand
that.Furtherout,organisms
abletohideincracksand
creviceswouldnaturallybemore
protected,butthereis thenthe
penetratingpowerofradiation
todealwith.Theanimalsbest
abletohandlethisapocalypse
wouldbetinytardigrades,orwaterbears,whichareabout
1mminsize.EuropeanSpace
Agencyexperimentshaveshown
thatthesemicro-organisms
canwithstandthevacuumand
radiationofspace,andwealso
knowtheycanpracticallyrise
fromthedeadafteryearsof
desiccation.Allusefulattributes
forsurvivinga nuclearbomb.
Intermsofradiationresistance,
tardigradescomfortablybeat
thefabledcockroaches.Their
lethaldoseis 5,000grays
(theunitbywhichradiation
impactis measured),
comparedto480–680in
Germancockroachesand
a mere4–10inhumans.
EllenHusainWhydo
seahorseslook
liketinyhorses?
R
esemblingminiaturegee-gees
makesperfectsense.Seahorses
hideamongbladesofseagrass,or
camouflagethemselvesona coral
colony,thenwaitfortheirprey–
oftenminutecrustaceanscalled
copepods.It turnsoutthathaving
a narrow,elongatedsnoutandbig
cheeksis theidealcombination
forlifeasstealthyambush
predators.Theshapeofthehead
is hydrodynamic,soit slips
throughthewater,producing
almostnoripplesthatwould
alerta copepodtothedanger
it’sin.Oncewithinstrikingrange,
a seahorseflicksitssnoutupwards,
releasingelasticenergystoredat
thebackofitshead,likea catapult.
Inundera millisecond,it sucksin
thehaplesscrustacean,puffingout
thosebig,equinecheeks.Employing
thistechnique,knownaspivot
feeding,seahorsesaretremendously
successfulhunters,witha 90per
centhitrate.HelenScalesTardigradesseem
tobevirtually
indestructible.Whyaresome
moths ightless?
F
lightoffersmanyadvantages,butis
hardwork.Thisis whysomebirds
andmanyinsectshavegivenit up.At
least 25 familiesofmothshaveeithersmall
wingsornoneat all.Oftenonlythefemale
mothsbecomeflightless,leadingto strikingvis al
differencesbetweenthesexes.Intemperateclime
flightlessmothsflyinwinter,sotheirflightlosscou
beanadaptationto lowtemperaturesandstrong
winds,bothofwhichmakeflyingmorechallenging.T
femalesreleasechemicalpheromonesto attractmales
andinsteadofmaintainingflightmusclescandevot
moreenergyto reproduction.Butwhybeactivein
winterat all?It couldbebecausefewerpredators
arearound.However,therearealwaysexception
Oneis thevapourermoth– theorange-brown
malesfliterraticallyaroundBritishtreetops
fromJulyto September,whilethecurious,
near-winglessfemalesstayonthetrees.
LaurieJacksonVa
female(
male(above).Q&A
July 2020