#Tag
Your body's black. It's hot and sunny. Surely you'd go rest in the shade?
Not if you're a blackbird!
Yesterday I was in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on a hot norwester afternoon, and lots of the resident blackbirds were out sunbathing.
'Pitiful' decision on emissions targets will cost the country, former climate commissioner says
#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #UpheavalClimate #GlobalBurning #ClimateDestruction #ClimateSuicide #MassAtrocity #pollution #ecology #environment #climate
Your body's black. It's hot and sunny. Surely you'd go rest in the shade?
Not if you're a blackbird!
Yesterday I was in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on a hot norwester afternoon, and lots of the resident blackbirds were out sunbathing.
I was reminded this week that trout in New Zealand rivers are introduced predators and that this is not good for some native fish.
I was up in the mountains at Craigieburn Forest Park on Thursday (scoping out a new university ecology field trip). One of our team thought she saw a trout in Cave Stream, and I got a quick photo.
We were with retired forester Nick Ledgard, who spent much of his career working here. He had seen native galaxid fish in the stream before and thought it was trout free, since trout would have difficulty getting up past the cave system that Cave Stream is known for.
Looking at my photo later, I unfortunately confirmed that it was a brown trout.
NZers love trout and trout management is an important way to advocate for cleaner rivers. Still, it is also important for native fish conservation (especially non-migratory galaxid fish) that some stretches of our rivers remain trout free.
'Pitiful' decision on emissions targets will cost the country, former climate commissioner says
#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #UpheavalClimate #GlobalBurning #ClimateDestruction #ClimateSuicide #MassAtrocity #pollution #ecology #environment #climate
Look! Cinnabar moth!
Last summer I was surprised to find cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding on the native pahokoraka, Senecio quadridentatus, in the middle of Christchurch city, NZ. Cinnabar moths were released to control the European pasture weed ragwort back in the 1940s.
I collected four caterpillars and fed them on pahokoraka leaves until they pupated on 16 January. I put them on some scrunched up newsprint in a plastic container and put that outside in a shaded area of our garden. Today, three adult moths emerged.
They're day-flying moths which retain the poisons of their host plants and advertise that to would-be predators with their bright colours,
And to critics who argue that trapping, neutering, and releasing feral cats is better than culling them, Bailey has a blunt response: "They're killing our native birds and not shagging them."
That’s quoted from a good article this morning by Farah Hancock on #RNZ, on NZ’s big problem with feral cats and the social tension around what to do with them. “Predator-free” without dealing with feral cats makes no sense.
I was reminded this week that trout in New Zealand rivers are introduced predators and that this is not good for some native fish.
I was up in the mountains at Craigieburn Forest Park on Thursday (scoping out a new university ecology field trip). One of our team thought she saw a trout in Cave Stream, and I got a quick photo.
We were with retired forester Nick Ledgard, who spent much of his career working here. He had seen native galaxid fish in the stream before and thought it was trout free, since trout would have difficulty getting up past the cave system that Cave Stream is known for.
Looking at my photo later, I unfortunately confirmed that it was a brown trout.
NZers love trout and trout management is an important way to advocate for cleaner rivers. Still, it is also important for native fish conservation (especially non-migratory galaxid fish) that some stretches of our rivers remain trout free.
Look! Cinnabar moth!
Last summer I was surprised to find cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding on the native pahokoraka, Senecio quadridentatus, in the middle of Christchurch city, NZ. Cinnabar moths were released to control the European pasture weed ragwort back in the 1940s.
I collected four caterpillars and fed them on pahokoraka leaves until they pupated on 16 January. I put them on some scrunched up newsprint in a plastic container and put that outside in a shaded area of our garden. Today, three adult moths emerged.
They're day-flying moths which retain the poisons of their host plants and advertise that to would-be predators with their bright colours,
Here are my iNat observations of the caterpillars, pupae, and now moths, all connected with iNat's "same specimen over time" observation field.
Look! Cinnabar moth!
Last summer I was surprised to find cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding on the native pahokoraka, Senecio quadridentatus, in the middle of Christchurch city, NZ. Cinnabar moths were released to control the European pasture weed ragwort back in the 1940s.
I collected four caterpillars and fed them on pahokoraka leaves until they pupated on 16 January. I put them on some scrunched up newsprint in a plastic container and put that outside in a shaded area of our garden. Today, three adult moths emerged.
They're day-flying moths which retain the poisons of their host plants and advertise that to would-be predators with their bright colours,
Cool #NZ Story https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HUoYsakv-nU from my home town
I spent yesterday at Travis Wetland, Ōruapaeroa, which is a large wetland restoration site in eastern Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. One of my MSc students, Tommy, is embarking on an invertebrate survey of the wetland, and we spent the day setting up Malaise traps (to catching flying insects) and pitfall traps (to catch invertebrates on the ground).
Tommy is repeating a survey done back in 1995–1996, when the wetland (then mostly wet farmland) was being purchased from a housing developer by the City Council.
We expect a lot to have changed (hopefully mostly for the better) as the vegetation of the wetland is much more diverse and native than it was.
Stay tuned over the summer for insect discoveries.
#entomology #wetland #restoration #InsectSurvey #insects #nz #LincolnUniversityNZ #research
Here's the latest variant picture for New Zealand, to late October.
In a chaotic scene, NB.1.8.1 "Nimbus" is being challenged by JN.1.* +DeFLuQE (led by PE.1.4) and XFG.* "Stratus". This scenario raises the risk of rapid reinfections, for those relying on immunity from a recent infection.
#COVID19 #SARSCoV2 #NZ #NB_1_8_1 #Nimbus #DeFLuQE #XFG #Stratus
🧵
And to critics who argue that trapping, neutering, and releasing feral cats is better than culling them, Bailey has a blunt response: "They're killing our native birds and not shagging them."
That’s quoted from a good article this morning by Farah Hancock on #RNZ, on NZ’s big problem with feral cats and the social tension around what to do with them. “Predator-free” without dealing with feral cats makes no sense.
I spent yesterday at Travis Wetland, Ōruapaeroa, which is a large wetland restoration site in eastern Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. One of my MSc students, Tommy, is embarking on an invertebrate survey of the wetland, and we spent the day setting up Malaise traps (to catching flying insects) and pitfall traps (to catch invertebrates on the ground).
Tommy is repeating a survey done back in 1995–1996, when the wetland (then mostly wet farmland) was being purchased from a housing developer by the City Council.
We expect a lot to have changed (hopefully mostly for the better) as the vegetation of the wetland is much more diverse and native than it was.
Stay tuned over the summer for insect discoveries.
#entomology #wetland #restoration #InsectSurvey #insects #nz #LincolnUniversityNZ #research
Travis Wetland is a large urban wetland nature reserve. That means it's surrounded by people and their gardens on all sides, so it gets a constant inflow of pests (and pet cats) and weeds.
While working at the wetland yesterday, we found (and pulled out) the first records from the wetland of evergreen buckthorn and raphiolepis. Both are emergent woody weeds that are shade tolerant and make bird dispersed fleshy fruits. They're both still planted in gardens.
If you live near some wild native habitat, keep an eye out for new exotic plants establishing.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/328034270
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/328034276
#weeds #wetland #nz #Christchurch #BiologicalInvasions #iNaturalistNZ
I spent yesterday at Travis Wetland, Ōruapaeroa, which is a large wetland restoration site in eastern Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. One of my MSc students, Tommy, is embarking on an invertebrate survey of the wetland, and we spent the day setting up Malaise traps (to catching flying insects) and pitfall traps (to catch invertebrates on the ground).
Tommy is repeating a survey done back in 1995–1996, when the wetland (then mostly wet farmland) was being purchased from a housing developer by the City Council.
We expect a lot to have changed (hopefully mostly for the better) as the vegetation of the wetland is much more diverse and native than it was.
Stay tuned over the summer for insect discoveries.
#entomology #wetland #restoration #InsectSurvey #insects #nz #LincolnUniversityNZ #research
Here's the latest variant picture for New Zealand, to late October.
In a chaotic scene, NB.1.8.1 "Nimbus" is being challenged by JN.1.* +DeFLuQE (led by PE.1.4) and XFG.* "Stratus". This scenario raises the risk of rapid reinfections, for those relying on immunity from a recent infection.
#COVID19 #SARSCoV2 #NZ #NB_1_8_1 #Nimbus #DeFLuQE #XFG #Stratus
🧵
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