SciencePursuit

  What is ecological restoration? Ecological restoration is "the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed" - Society for Ecological Restoration .    Today I attended a webinar by  Patricia Holmes  from Botanical Society of South Africa who discusses the ecosystem restoration in South Africa.  [Credit: University of Idaho ] Why should be restore ecosystems? Restoring ecosystems is not only beneficial for wildlife but for humans as well.  Clean air and water, healthy soils for crop production, and climate regulation through carbon sequestration are just some of the ways humans can benefit.    The UN has declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Restoration . This is because we are at a critical point, where if we do not do something now, it will be too late.  This is really put into view by the WWF living planet report 2020 75% of earths ice free land has been altered by humans More than 85% of earths wetlands have been destroyed  M

  What is an ecological consultant? Sue Searle  is a principle ecologist from  Ecology Training UK  and has been an ecological consultant for 18 years. Here I highlight key information, shared by Sue, on how to plan a career in ecological consultancy.  An ecological consultant is someone who consults on the ecology of an area. For example, if someone wants to build a housing estate, they have to hire an ecological consultant to survey the area and measure the impact that site will have. This prevents building in areas where there are vulnerable species of fauna and flora.  Surveys typically take around 2 hours each, and so training can be planned while working another job. However, becoming full-time ecological consultant will need to do multiple surveys for every site (e.g. Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (P.E.A.), Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A.), and many others).  All courses linked are from Ecology Training UK, however this blog is not affiliated. Alternative courses are

About Project Chimps Today I joined Alan Bergman , a caregiver with Project Chimps . Alan has a BSc in Zoology from Miami university, and a MSc in Primate Behaviour and Ecology from Central Washington university.  Alan has been a facilitator of the enrichment committee for about a year.  Project chimps is a 236-acre sanctuary that is based in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia in the United States, and houses chimpanzees that have retired from research. They currently house 77 chimpanzees that are separated into 5 multi-male, multi-female groups. Young Chimpanzee Chimpanzee Personality  What is a personality? "individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving" - American Psychological Association  Do chimpanzees have personality?  This is debated, however, both I and the presenter do believe that chimpanzees (as well as other animals) do have personalities.  The presence of a personality is something that is difficult to prove or disprove b

Why are insect important? There are about 1 million identified insect species, and its likely that there are millions more yet unidentified . insects are the most abundant and diverse of all taxon.  Orchid Mantis Insects are in many ways the backbone of terrestrial life:  They pollinate flowers and trees which provide fruits and foliage as feed for larger organisms, as well as, being feed themselves for many birds, spiders, and even some plants. Some control other insect populations which prevents ecosystem and agriculture damage. They break down decomposing animals and plants which prevents a build-up. In many cultures, insects are a form of sustenance.  Gaps in insect research Earlier this week I joined Thomas Nillson who is the programs director for Mistra , a Swedish independent research foundation. Thomas hosted the event for the following one researcher and three experts to speak:   Neal Haddaway - Main researcher Marie Stenseke - Social science expert Magnus Land - Senior an

Southern Ground Hornbill Conservation and Research Today I joined Kyle Middleton , a PhD student that works for the University of Cape Town, his current project is "APRN Ground Hornbill Project" which is focused on the Southern Ground Hornbill ( Bucorvus leadbeateri ). APRN stands for Associated Private Nature Reserves, which is a 200,000ha nature reserve located on the east coast of South Africa.  Conservation Southern Ground Hornbill Their project began in 2003 with the university sending students out to examine this elusive species.  The students found that there was a lack of nesting sites in the area for this species, and so they built and placed artificial nests, that turned out to be  hugely successful.  Ground Hornbill populations have decreased by 70% within the last 100 years, but thanks to the efforts of students and conservationists, the population is almost tripled over the last 17 years.    Southern Ground Hornbills using artificial nests [Credit: APNR Ground H

Soil Cultivation on Afforestation Sites Today I joined Dr Jens Haufe . Jens got his Masters in forestry and PhD in forest sciences at the Dresden university of technology in Germany. He now works as a forest researcher in the UK. Strategically planted trees in a previously not forested area in Israel  Afforestation is the establishing of forests where there was no previous forest.  Soil cultivation is the rearranging of soil.  Why is soil cultivation done in forestry? it is used to improve survival rates of transplants and conditions for tree growth by temporarily altering soil conditions.  Typical composition of soil  (varies by soil type)  The main reasons for soil cultivation: Reduce weed competition Improve soil aeration  Provide nutrients for transplants Break compacted soil layers - prevents shallow roots Potential negative impacts of soil cultivation:  Damaging of natural soil arrangement Destruction of rearrangement of soil microbiome Can reduce water retention too much, preven

  Sea Turtle Conservation Today I joined  Todd Steiner in his talk about the conservation of sea turtles. Todd is a  wildlife ecologist, as well as, the executive director and founder of Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN). Green sea turtle TIRN is based in California but has done research and conservation all over the world.  Most of their work however is focused on the pacific ocean. There are a total of 7 species of sea turtles, 5 of which are based in the pacific, 1 in the Atlantic, and 1 that is exclusive to Australian shallow waters and beaches.    Sea turtles have a complex life history, and its because of this, they are vulnerable.  General life history of sea turtles: Eggs are laid and incubate for 8-10 weeks. Offspring hatch and attempt to make their way to the sea, some are eaten by birds, raccoons, and crabs. After reaching the sea, hatchlings begin their "lost years" where they float around for 5-20years, going where the currents take them. After reaching

Threat of Climate Change in the Tropics Climate change is one the most pressing concerns we face as it threatens the biodiversity of both terrestrial and aquatic life. Many studies have been conducted to examine the effects of climate change on the arctic regions. But is climate change primarily a cold region threat? Data from 1884-2020 provided by  NASA  would suggest so.   NASA imaging of global temperature difference from 2020 compared to 1884 Today I joined  David Thomson , an associate researcher for Biodiversity & Development Institute , in his talk about climate change in the tropics. David obtained his zoology degree at Aberdeen university, and later his PhD from Glasgow University.  Additionally, he has been a  quantitative ecologist with the British trust for ornithology and a  group research leader at  Max Planck Institute in Germany. With less than 1% of climate change research papers being written  on the impact of climate change in the tropics, as shown by the IPCC sy