Nature
Species of the week: Bottlenose dolphin
by Pippy Downs, a Year 11 work experience pupil from The Folkestone School for Girls Bottlenose dolphins are well known for being able to perform complex tricks. They have a friendly, permanent smile from their curved bottle like noses. Most people call them ‘dolphins’ however the scientific family name for dolphins is Delphinidae. They are … Continue reading
The peculiarities of the jellyfish nervous system
Guest post from Joseph Jebelli, a PhD student at UCL What is it like to be a jellyfish? These beautifully mesmerising creatures are so bizarre, so alien to us in so many respects that one can easily be forgiven for struggling to come up with a good answer. Biologically, jellyfish have long been thought of … Continue reading
Bad news for pollination – a decline in Britain’s larger moths
by Rebecca Nesbit ‘Moths are declining rapidly in the UK’ was, unsurprisingly, the message from the State of Britain’s Larger Moths report launched last Friday by Butterfly Conservation. In a week when the controversial topic of bees and neonicotinoids was headline news, it was interesting to hear about the fates of a different group of … Continue reading
Species of the week: The Scottish wildcat
By Amy Whetstone, Qualifications and Skills Officer at the Society of Biology. The Scottish wildcat, Felis silvestris grampia, is an iconic species with a long history of roaming the British landscape. The Highland tiger, as the wildcat is otherwise affectionately known, previously ranged across the whole of mainland Britain but is now restricted to the … Continue reading
Species of the week: the swallowtail
The swallowtail (Papilio machaon), a beautiful species confined in the UK to a small area of East Anglia, is perhaps Britain’s most cherished butterfly. The subspecies Papilio machaon britannicus is unique to the UK, found only in the fens and marshes of the Norfolk Broads. Although its range is restricted, populations of the swallowtail remain stable. … Continue reading
Species of the week: Tenrecs
Guest blog by Sive Finlay, a PhD student from Trinity College Dublin Tenrecs are one of the most interesting and fascinating mammal groups yet many people have never heard of them. They are one of only four mammalian groups to have colonised Madagascar, a land filled with evolutionary curiosities. Tenrecs are a striking example of … Continue reading
Fires threaten Indonesian Borneo
Susan Cheyne is Director of Gibbon and Field Research and Conservation Orang-utan Tropical Peatland Project (OuTrop) This is my first blog for the Society of Biology and I write it with a heavy heart. Indonesian Borneo, where I have spent the last 10 years working, was on fire again this year. While the rains have … Continue reading
Varroa – the trigger to the viral downfall of the honeybee?
Richard Wooding, a recent biological sciences graduate, studied Varroa for his dissertation What do many consider to be one of the key drivers of the planet’s concerning honeybee losses? Perhaps Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that feeds on the haemolymph (basically the blood) of the honeybee. It is now found across honeybee populations globally, with … Continue reading
Even chance favours the panda
Zara’s last blog introduced the “Save a Species” election that was held at our Parliamentary launch during Biology Week. I now share the highs and lows of my experience representing the spoon-billed sandpiper in an attempt to save this critically endangered bird from extinction. As a quick reminder: Six candidates were chosen, each to represent … Continue reading
Don’t forget fresh water
by Zara Gladman, Society of Biology Mid-way through Biology Week we held a launch night in Parliament, to highlight the importance of biology to decision-makers. The climax of the evening was our very own ‘Save a Species’ election. Six candidates – each representing a different endangered species – did their best to persuade the guests that … Continue reading