Effectiveness of mobile apps in teaching field-based identification skills

It has been suggested that few students graduate with the skills required for many ecological careers, as field-based learning is said to be in decline in academic institutions. Here, we asked if mobile technology could improve field-based learning, using ability to identify birds as the study metric. We divided a class of ninety-one undergraduate students into two groups for field-based sessions where they were taught bird identification skills. The first group has access to a traditional identification book and the second group were provided with an identification app. We found no difference between the groups in the ability of students to identify birds after three field sessions. Furthermore, we found that students using the traditional book were significantly more likely to identify novel species. Therefore, we find no evidence that mobile technology improved students’ ability to retain what they experienced in the field; indeed, there is evidence that traditional field guides were more useful to students as they attempted to identify new species. Nevertheless, students felt positively about using their own smartphone devices for learning, highlighting that while apps did not lead to an improvement in bird identification ability, they gave greater accessibility to relevant information outside allocated teaching times

Introduced grey squirrels subvert supplementary feeding of suburban wild birds

Providing food for wild birds is perhaps the most widespread intentional interaction between people and wildlife. In the UK, almost half of households feed wild birds, often as peanuts and seed supplied in hanging feeders. Such food is also taken by the introduced, invasive Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis. Little is known of how Grey Squirrels utilise this resource and how they affect feeder use by wild birds. To assess this we recorded the numbers and time spent by animals visiting experimental feeding stations in suburban gardens, and also asked if exclusionary guards (to prevent Grey Squirrel access), food type (peanut, mixed seed), habitat and weather conditions influenced visits. Using automated cameras, we recorded 24825 bird and 8577 Grey Squirrel visits. On average >44% of the time feeders were utilised, they were being visited by Grey Squirrels. Grey Squirrel presence prevented birds from feeding at the same time (>99.99%). Feeders where Grey Squirrels were dominant were less likely to be visited by birds, even in their absence. Guards reduced Grey Squirrel use to a minimum on seed feeders, and by approximately half on peanut feeders. Squirrels, food type, guard status, habitat and rainfall all influenced bird activity and timing of feeder visits. Our work suggests that Grey Squirrels reduce the availability of supplementary food to wild birds, while gaining large volumes of food resources with corresponding benefits. Given the ubiquity of supplementary feeding, it is likely that this is an important resource for urban Grey Squirrels; feeder guards mitigate this effect

Urbanisation influences range size of the domestic cat (Felis catus): consequences for conservation

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are the most abundant predator in many urban ecosystems, and their ranging behaviour will help determine predation rates. To investigate how degree of urbanisation affects cat ranging behaviour, we used GPS trackers to follow 38 cats in three (urban, suburban and peri-urban) residential areas in the large town of Reading, UK. Median home range (95% KE) was 1.28 ha, but varied from 0.9 ha in the urban habitat, to 1.56 ha in the suburban habitat and 1.60 ha in the peri-urban region, with a maximum range size of 6.61 ha. The median maximum distance reached from home was 99 m, and again varied with level of urbanisation (urban: 79 m; suburban: 141 m; peri-urban: 148 m; maximum 278 m). For home and core (50% KE) ranges there were no significant differences with respect to study areas, cat sexes, cats living in the same household, or day/night range. A decreased proportion of constructed surfaces (a proxy for urbanisation) was associated with an increase in cat range size. As urban areas grow, many areas containing species of conservation importance are encroached upon by residential zones on urban fringes. To protect these species we suggest that boundary habitats should be managed to reduce rates of cat access to these areas, or that buffer zones of 300-400m should be formed between housing and areas containing vulnerable species. These management options may help mitigate the ecological consequences of cat predation

Supplementary feeding of wild birds indirectly affects ground beetle populations in suburban gardens

Supplementary feeding of wild birds by domestic garden-holders is a globally widespread and popular form of human–wildlife interaction, particularly in urban areas. Vast amounts of energy are thus being added to garden ecosystems. However, the potential indirect effects of this activity on non-avian species have been little studied to date, with the only two previous studies taking place under experimentally manipulated conditions. Here we present the first evidence of a localised depletive effect of wild bird feeding on ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in suburban gardens under the usual feeding patterns of the garden-holders. We trapped significantly fewer ground beetles directly under bird-feeding stations than in matched areas of habitat away from feeders. Video analysis also revealed significantly higher activity by ground-foraging birds under the feeding stations than in the control areas. Small mammal trapping revealed no evidence that these species differ in abundance between gardens with and without bird feeders. We therefore suggest that local increases in ground-foraging activity by bird species whose diets encompass arthropods as well as seed material are responsible for the reduction in ground beetle numbers. Our work therefore illustrates that providing food for wild birds can have indirect negative effects on palatable prey species under typical conditions

Geologically controlled sandy beaches: Their geomorphology, morphodynamics and classification

Beaches that are geologically controlled by rock and coral formations are the rule, not the exception. This paper reviews current understanding of geologically controlled beaches, bringing together a range of terminologies (including embayed beaches, shore platform beaches, relict beaches, and perched beaches among others) and processes, with the aim of exploring the multiple ways in which geology influences beach morphology and morphodynamics. We show how in addition to sediment supply, the basement geology influences where beaches will form by providing accommodation, and in the cross-shore, aspects of rock platform morphology such as elevation and slope are also important. Geologically controlled beaches can have significant variations in sediment coverage with seasons and storms, and geological controls have fundamental influences on their contemporary morphodynamics. This includes wave shadowing by headlands and rocky/coral formations inducing strong alongshore gradients in wave energy, resulting in corresponding variations in morphodynamic beach state and storm response. Geologically-induced rip currents such as shadow rips and deflection rips, and even mega-rips that can develop on embayed beaches during storms, are an integral feature of the nearshore circulation and morphodynamics of geologically controlled beaches. We bring these processes together by presenting a conceptual model of alongshore and cross-shore levels of geological control. In the longshore dimension, this ranges from beaches that are slightly embayed, through to highly embayed beaches where headlands dominate the entire beach morphodynamic response. In the cross-shore dimension, this ranges from beaches without discernible geological controls, through to relict beaches above the influence of the contemporary littoral zone. Given the prevalence of geologically controlled beaches along the world‘s coasts, it is paramount for coastal management to consider how these beaches differ from unconstrained beaches and avoid applying inappropriate models and tools, especially with our uncertain future climate

Exploration of the polymorphic solid-state landscape of an amide-linked organic cage using computation and automation

Organic cages can possess complex, functionalised internal cavities that make them promising candidates for synthetic enzyme mimics. Conformationally flexible but chemically robust structures are needed for adaptable guest binding and catalysis, but these rapidly exchanging systems are difficult to resolve in solution. Here, we use inexpensive calculations and high-throughput crystallisation experiments to identify accessible cage conformations for a recently reported organic cage by ‘locking’ them in the solid state. The conformers identified exhibit a range of distances between the carboxylic acid groups in the internal cavity, suggesting adaptability towards binding a wide array of target guest molecules. The complexity of the observed crystal structures goes beyond what is possible with state-of-the-art crystal structure prediction

Remove Debris Mission, From Concept to Orbit

The RemoveDebris mission will be the first European Active Debris Removal (ADR) missions to give an in orbit demonstration of the viability of a series of cost effective technologies that can be used to observe, capture and destroy space debris. RemoveDebris is a low cost mission performing key active debris removal (ADR) technology demonstrations including the use of a net, a harpoon, vision-based navigation (VBN) and a dragsail in a realistic space operational environment. For the purposes of the mission two CubeSats will be ejected and used as targets for experiments instead of real space debris, which is an important step towards a fully operational ADR mission. The craft has launched to the ISS on the 2nd of April 2018, on board a Dragon capsule (SpaceX CRS-14 ISS re-supply mission). From here the satellite is to be deployed via the NanoRacks Kaber system into an orbit of around 400 km. Aglietti 2 32nd Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites This paper examines the design of the mission from initial concepts through to manufacture, AIT, testing and up to launch, and apart from a general consideration of the mission, will focus on the elements of design & testing that differ from a conventional mission

Experimental Confirmation of a Predicted Porous Hydrogen‐Bonded Organic Framework

AbstractHydrogen‐bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) with low densities and high porosities are rare and challenging to design because most molecules have a strong energetic preference for close packing. Crystal structure prediction (CSP) can rank the crystal packings available to an organic molecule based on their relative lattice energies. This has become a powerful tool for the a priori design of porous molecular crystals. Previously, we combined CSP with structure‐property predictions to generate energy‐structure‐function (ESF) maps for a series of triptycene‐based molecules with quinoxaline groups. From these ESF maps, triptycene trisquinoxalinedione (TH5) was predicted to form a previously unknown low‐energy HOF (TH5‐A) with a remarkably low density of 0.374 g cm−3 and three‐dimensional (3D) pores. Here, we demonstrate the reliability of those ESF maps by discovering this TH5‐A polymorph experimentally. This material has a high accessible surface area of 3,284 m2 g−1, as measured by nitrogen adsorption, making it one of the most porous HOFs reported to date.</jats:p

Map-A-Mole: greenspace area influences the presence and abundance of the European mole Talpa europaea in urban habitats

The European mole Talpa europaea is common across much of Britain. It has a unique fossorial lifestyle, and evidence of its presence is readily identified through the presence of characteristic molehills. Although molehills are often a common sight in urban greenspaces, moles are remarkably understudied, with very few studies to date exploring the urban ecology of moles. Here, we investigate if factors such as greenspace (largely urban parks and playing fields) area, intensity of management, distance to nearest patch, amount of time the patch had been isolated from other green patches, and the amount of urbanization (constructed surfaces) surrounding the patch, influence the distribution and abundance of urban moles. Mole signs (hills and surface runs) were counted in all discrete urban greenspaces (excluding domestic gardens and one private golf course) within an 89.5 km2 area in the UK town of Reading. We found that 17 out of 59 surveyed sites contained moles, with their presence being recorded in greenspaces with a minimum patch area of approximately 0.1 km2 (10 ha). Where present, the abundance of mole territories in the greenspaces was associated with both the area of greenspace and degree of urbanization within 150 m of the patch boundary. While the former was not surprising, the latter outcome may be a consequence of sites with an increased risk of flooding being home to fewer moles, and the surrounding area is also less likely to be built upon. This case study highlights how choices made in designing urban green infrastructure will determine which species survive in urban areas long into the future

Phenology determines seasonal variation in ectoparasite loads in a natural insect population

1. The extent to which individuals are parasitised is a function of exposure to parasites and the immune response, which in ectotherms may be associated with temperature. 2. We test the hypothesis that seasonal variation in ectoparasite burden is driven by temperature using an extensive mark-release-recapture study of adult Coenagrion puella (L.) (Zygoptera) as a model system. Mite counts were taken both at capture and on a subset of subsequent recaptures over two entire, consecutive breeding seasons. 3. Emergence date was the most significant factor in determining individual differences in mite burden, and mean counts for individuals emerging on the same days showed strong unimodal relationships with time of season. Subsequent recounting of mites on a subset of individuals showed that patterns of loss of mites were similar between seasons. 4. While temperature did not significantly affect mite burdens within seasons and ectoparasite prevalence was very similar across the two seasons, intensity of infection and rate of mite gain in unparasitised individuals were significantly higher in the cooler season. 5. We demonstrate that, while temperature may modulate the invertebrate immune response, this modulation does not manifest in variations in mite burdens in natural populations