There are over two hundred different species of sliders, and most of them reside in the Americas. These turtles are recognizably different from one another, with some having red or orange markings on their shells and heads. In this blog post, we will explore four things you likely haven’t heard of about red-eared sliders. From […]
Tag: dragonflies
‘You can’t control what beavers do or how they do it!’ Could rewilding help England fight droughts?
In the midst of the UK’s worst drought in living memory, a host of unfamiliar experiences assault our senses in a Devon valley. Before us is a field of lush green grass. To one side is a bush of blackberries swollen huge by perfect growing conditions. Squelch, squelch go our feet through the grass. There’s […]
British dragonfly numbers soar as warming climate attracts new species
Six new species of dragonfly have colonised Britain in the last 25 years as dragonflies and damselflies boom in a warming climate. More than 40% of resident and regular migrant dragonflies and damselflies have increased in number since 1970 with just 11% declining, according to a study of 1.4m dragonfly records. Thriving species include the […]
In Sri Lanka, here be dragonflies and damselflies like nowhere else (Commentary)
A tropical continental island located close to the Indian subcontinent, endemic fauna and flora form an integral part of Sri Lanka’s rich biodiversity. The island’s biodiversity is globally recognized for both its diversity and endemism of fauna and flora, and this is true of its dragonflies and damselflies, or odonates in general. With 130 known […]
Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review. More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. […]
‘Decimated’: Germany’s birds disappear as insect abundance plummets 76%
A new study in PLOS ONE reveals a 76 percent reduction in Germany’s flying insect biomass over the past 27 years while another reports the country’s bird abundance has declined 15 percent in just over a decade. While the causes behind the insect decline haven’t yet been conclusively studied, the PLOS ONE study suggests agricultural […]
Marl Bed Flats, 7/26/2017
This morning I decided to head out to Marl Bed Flats to see what birds and bugs I might find. I was pleased to see that the flats aren’t nearly as dry as they were the last time I visited. There was standing water near the slough, and that was encouraging to me. I didn’t […]
Bird species vanish from UK due to climate change and habitat loss
Climate change has already led to the vanishing of some bird species in parts of England, where intensively farmed land gives them no room to adapt to warming temperatures. The revelation, in a new scientific study, contradicts previous suggestions that birds are tracking global warming by shifting their ranges. The research found that birds that […]