the tourist as an invasive species
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
Here are some common traits belonging to invasive species . A tourist fulfills most of the criteria on the checklist. The ability to reproduce both asexually as well as sexually (garbage and cultural leavings as a byproduct) Fast growth Rapid reproduction (not restricted to babies) High dispersal ability (planes trains tour-buses cruise ships) Phenotypic plasticity…
GB Non-Native species list
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
From the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat: The term ‘non-native species’ is used throughout this website and is the equivalent of ‘alien’species’ as used by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Invasive non-native species (the equivalent of invasive alien species or IAS) are broadly defined as species whose introduction and/or spread threaten biological diversity. Non-native species…
Invasive Species, defined 2
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
From wikipedia: Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. plants or animals) that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically. It has been used in this sense by government organizations as well as conservation groups such as the IUCN…
Invasive Species, defined 1
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
Here is an excellent description of invasive species from an environmental education web site, Eco-Pros in California. Species of plants and animals that are not native (natural) to an area are known as: non-native species introduced species exotic species non-indigenous species alien species transplants invasive species Established ecosystems have developed their own natural balance and…
Print out and keep handy – fun facts about greys
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
Prince Charles advocates extermination of the greys
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
From an article by Paul MacInnes / guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 June 2009: Prince Charles is the patron (naturally) of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust, and as such hates those grey bastards with a passion. So much so that rather than simply using his letter to call for action, he’s instead said that all grey squirrels…
There was a time when reds were the villified
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
BBC April 2009: …for 43 years, from 1903, there was an active effort on estates across the Highlands to trap, shoot and kill reds. By 1946, the Highland Squirrel Club had killed 102,900 squirrels and paid out £1,504 in bounties. Tails were submitted as proof of kills.
ür cute.
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
Links to literature: http://www.europeansquirrelinitiative.org/reports.html Including THE RED SQUIRREL Redressing The Wrong by Charles Dutton
Uh-Oh…Greys beware: here comes metasquirrel
Research Blog | June 13, 2009
A genetic mutation of the UK enemy squirrel threatens to out-grab even the wild and power-hungry greys: This from 2008 – seems to have been affecting East Anglia mostly. Not sure what’s happening with them now.. been quite in the news. The black squirrel – a genetic mutation of the grey – was first recorded…
Kittiwakes in the nature/culture wars
Research Blog | June 12, 2009
This from the BBC/Tyne online “The Kittiwake, a small seagull, could be driven off its nesting sites on the Tyne Bridge by Newcastle City Council. The birds are at sea feeding on fish offal discarded by trawlers and when they return in the spring to nest they may find that the City Council has netted…
Cutifying cancer
Research Blog | June 12, 2009
The Newcastle Metro is plastered with appeals for oesophagal cancer using the ‘cute’ animal logo of the “oesophogoose:”
Grant Burgess, The DOVE Marine Laboratory
Research Blog | June 12, 2009
I had a tour, some lessons and an intense conversation with Grant Burgess, Director of the DOVE Marine Laboratory in Cullercoats, Northumberland (it’s part of Newcastle University’s Marine Biology Dept). This is one of the few labs that has a steady supply of seawater pumped through the building’s plumbing. It flows through the lab taps!…
The Ouseburn
Research Blog | June 11, 2009
I went for a walk with Laura Harrington, who is artist-in-residence at Environment Agency. We walked by the Ouseburn – a small river off the Tyne in a surprisingly quiet and neglected-seeming part of Newcastle not so far from the center, after driving with her in the EA’s funny little electric car. This next pic…
Dead Moles in little dresses
Research Blog | June 11, 2009
Artwork at Allenheads, “Exploring Nostalgia,” photo by Sharon Bailey Crazy… Moles are traditionally nailed to fences – it’s a way of counting coupe so the molecatcher gets paid. More on this after I visit Allenheads Contemporary Arts (ACA), an arts centre in the moors of rural Northumberland. Just for context, I looked into molecatchers and…
The Natural History Society of Northumbria
Research Blog | June 11, 2009
Seeing Thomas Bewick preparatory drawings in the flesh at the archive today, with archivist June Holmes. Yes, I don’t get out enough and don those WHITE GLOVES. It was a thrill. Bewick’s work is astonishing – firstly, because of the level of detail at such a tiny scale, but also because he worked varying degrees…
I am Starry eyed for taxidermists
Research Blog | June 10, 2009
… made explicitly poetic by two visits I had in the last week with taxidermy artists. First was Emily Mayer, an amazing animal artist in Norwich. She lives + works in an old workhouse infirmary, and makes exquisite sculptures – some taxidermy, some found materials like scrap metal and plastic bits and downed wood (see…
Owen Humphreys chronicles the squirrel war
Research Blog | June 8, 2009
Owen, I like to imagine that you are Chief Squirrel Liaison for the Guardian. Owen, can you hear me? Do you heart the Red and hate the Grey, as much as your photos convey?
Fairy Cattle
Research Blog | May 18, 2009
Wild Chillingham Cattle are known as “fairy cattle” for their small size and tufted red fur in their ears; they are genetically distinct from any other (including their relatives the White Park Cattle, who have black ear fur).
Chillingham Cattle are Clones
Research Blog | May 18, 2009
Nice overview of the cattle- history and genetics found at the BBC web site. The cattle, who live in northern Northumberland, have been inbred for 700 years; in the 13th century the park around Chillingham Castle was enclosed to protect the cattle from the Border Reiver rustlers. These are wild cattle that have never been…
“Red squirrels,” she said, “are rather like quiet, well-behaved people.”
Research Blog | May 18, 2009
The article “The Squirrel Wars,” by D.T. Max, that ran in the NY Times in 2007 on the Red vs Gray struggle has a wonderful mid-section devoted to the House of Lords discussion on the subject. As a perhaps-important underscore, the House has cut hereditary peers’ membership by 90% in the recent decade. Lady Saltoun…