Researchers hosted a landowners event at The River Laboratory in Dorchester. This event aimed to inform the landowners about the progress of research on the Atlantic Salmon project, and give them the opportunity to directly see what is involved. A fantastic day was had by all!
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NASCO World Ocean Day
To celebrate World Ocean Day, High School students from Thomas Hardye School participated in a River Ecology Workshop at The River Laboratory in Dorchester. The students learnt about the importance of freshwater ecosystems and Atlantic Salmon Conservation. It was fantastic to see the students getting invovled!
Skype a Scientist
Genoveva Esteban and Katie Thompson from the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at Bournemouth University engaged with a Skype a Scientist session to talk about salmon conservation to celebrate the International Year of The Salmon. They spoke to 90 school children about the fascinating world of Atlantic Salmon – the pupils were shocked to learn how large Atlantic Salmon can grow!
Global bacterial diversity is 44% greater than previously thought
Bacteria and Archaea, collectively known as prokaryotes, are the oldest forms of life on the planet, they’ve been around for over 3500 million years and are ubiquitous, meaning they are found all across the earth in every environment, some of which are adapted to living in extreme environments such as hot springs, hydrothermal vents and glacial environments.
Although some bacteria cause a variety of diseases in plants and animals, including humans, bacteria and archaea are key for a variety of environmental processes, including aquatic photosynthesis by cyanobacteria and nutrient cycling in terrestrial and aquatic environments. As well as this, some prokaryotes form key partnerships with animals and plants, such as nitrogen fixing species in plant roots and gut bacteria which help break down food.
For these reasons, studying bacteria and archaea is particularly important, to understand their use in medicine and combatting disease, their role in the environment and potential to buffer habitat against environmental change, and their importance in biotechnology. Bacteria and archaea are notoriously difficult to study in the lab, as their tiny size and immense diversity in metabolism and optimal requirements make it difficult to culture them. As a result of this, researchers have turned to genome sequencing as a way of studying these organisms.
Collaboration between researchers across the world has led to the ‘Genomes from the Earth’s Microbiomes (GEM) catalogue’, a database which contains over 52, 000 draft genomes, encompassing a large spread of samples collected from all across the world, including agricultural and natural soils, oceanic and freshwater samples, and sample collected from associated human/animal hosts and symbiotes.
The GEM catalogue has been possible despite the difficulty of bacterial culturing due to a revolutionary technique known as metagenomics. Essentially, organisms leave traces of DNA in their environment, such as lakes, soils, etc., which can be picked up in sampling, meaning that growing the species in the lab is not required to study it’s molecular biology. Through this, samples are sequenced and the DNA of various organisms can be detected, which also gives an idea of the biodiversity of the habitat.
The development of the GEM catalogue has provided researchers with an invaluable resource for studying bacteria, from their ecology, molecular genetics to help tackle disease and understand more about their place in the environment. The database has also shown that these microbes are far more diverse and numerous then we once thought, providing a wealth of information for researchers .
Black bees reintroduced at Kingcombe centre, Dorset
Dorset wildlife trust has recently introduced a colony of black bees into the DWT Kingcombe in West Dorset. The aim of this project is to establish a successful regional population in the area and to study foraging habits and pollen preferences in the colony, to better understand these bees’ behavioural patterns. The colony was extracted from an already established and successful colony in South Wales, and introduced to the Kingcombe centre orchard.
Photo credit – V. White
Also known outside of the UK as the dark European honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera), the black bee is a subspecies of the European honey bee (A. mellifera). UK populations of the black bee were thought to be extinct by the 19th century, mainly due to a proliferation of tracheal mites, tiny parasites which infect and reproduce in the breathing tubes of the bees, however small isolated populations were found in Wales and Scotland back in 2012.
Considered as the ‘native’ honeybee, the black bee is perfectly adapted to the colder climate of the UK, able to fly and survive in colder temperatures, considerably larger than the continental honeybees, and with longer hairs on the thorax. It is also thought that these bees are more resistant to some diseases, such as bacterial and amoebic infections.
It is hoped that the establishment of this colony will not only help to increase local pollinator diversity, contributing to local ecosystems by boosting pollination, but also prevents an exciting opportunity to understand more about the bees’ behaviour in order to conserve them and increase local biodiversity.
Elephant shrew species rediscovered in Africa after 50 years
A curious little mammal, a species of elephant shrew, has been rediscovered after being absent from scientific observation for 50 years. Despite some local sightings, the animal had been ‘missing’ from scientific records since the 1970s. It has now been seen again in the African nation of Djibouti. Previously known only from Somalia, the Somali Sengi, or elephant shrew is one of the most mysterious species of sengi, with only 39 specimens previously known to science.
The elephant shrew looks very much like a mouse, with a small furry body and long tail, and so named for its long, trunk-like proboscis, which they use to feed on insects. However, these curious little mammals are in fact part of a group called Afrotheres, which means they are more closely related to Elephants, Manatees and Dugongs, than to mice.
In the current environment where species are being lost at an alarming rate, this discovery is a highly important and positive one. The discovery proved puzzling to scientists, because as the name suggests, the Somali sengi was originally only known from Somalia. The next planned expedition will be to track these animals using GPS radio tracking to learn more about their movements and behaviour.
New dinosaur species related to T. Rex discovered on Isle of Wight
A new species of carnivorous dinosaur has been discovered from fossilised remains found by members of the public at Shanklin, Isle of Wight last year. The four bones were examined by researchers at the University of Southampton who believe they belong to a new species of theropod dinosaur (a group of carnivorous which also include modern birds and their famous Tyrannosaurus rex).
The dinosaur has been named Vectaerovenator inopinatus which means ‘unexpected air-filled hunter’. The name refers to the curious air-filled sacs in many of the bones of the creature, in the neck, back and tail. Indeed, these structures are also found in many other theropod dinosaurs, helping scientists to identify it.
These air sacs, which act as extensions of the lungs, are also found in modern birds, which not only make the skeletons much lighter, but also ensure much more efficient breathing.
Living around 115 million years ago during the cretaceous period, Vectaerovenator was around 4 metres long, a relatively small size for Dinosaurs of this group, and although likely it would not have been the top predator, it would certainly have been an efficient carnivore, probably feeding on reptiles and small, herbivorous dinosaurs such as Hypsilophodon which was a common species at the time.
This exciting find is another example of how our understanding of prehistoric biodiversity is constantly changing with the discovery of many new prehistoric species.
Fungi and other soil organisms are key in preserving biodiversity
Largely invisible and often overseen, fungi and other microscopic organisms are highly abundant in soils across the world, and play a fundamental in maintaining the biodiversity and nutrient balances in their ecosystem.
Fungi, although visible in the form of fruiting bodies, or toadstools, during certain times, are largely invisible, existing as microbial threads in the soil. It is estimated that there are some 3.8 million species of fungi, only a fraction of which have been formally described and identified. These organisms are incredibly abundant in soils around the world, an are a key component of biological nutrient cycling, as they break down organic matter, releasing key nutrients and compounds from dead bodies. Fungi are found in a variety of areas such as rainforest, woodland, grasslands and even rocky substrates (in the form of lichens) but are most abundant in open areas such as grasslands and Savannah, where they are important in helping poorer soil uptake nutrients.
In the Amazon rainforest for example, fungi are surprisingly abundant and varied. For example, a teaspoon of rainforest soil is estimated to contain around 1800 species of microscopic organisms (according to a study carried out by Dr Camila Duarte of Germany), at least 400 of which are fungi. These fungi are so diverse and they occupy a variety of niches in the forest, such as lichen (a symbiotic relationship between fungi and microscopic plants), some living commensally in the roots of plants and some as plant pathogens and parasites. Each and every one of these plays a significant role on the forest floor, breaking down organic matter and releasing nutrients back into the soil, to be used by plants and animals.
In this sense, the sheer diversity of fungi in the soil means that it is essential to consider this hidden diversity in conservation efforts, particularly in such fragile ecosystems as the Amazon rainforests. Due to their inconspicuous nature fungi are often overlooked in biological surveys, but they are key for nutrient cycling and also act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from dead organisms.
Some species are also edible, and are a source of medicine, indeed fungal compounds are being considered as new antibiotic sources in the light of antibiotic resistance. On the other hand, some fungi are considerable pests to crops, while others are disease-causing pathogens which cause disease in humans and animals. There is much to learn about soil fungal diversity, in order to incorporate these organisms into conservation efforts, and to help maintain biodiversity.
Atlantic Salmon Activity Sheet Answers
Here are the answers for the our ‘World Ocean Day 2020’ colouring sheet:
The figure has been adapted from:
Kryvi, H., Rusten, I., Fjelldal, P.G., Nordvik, K., Totland, G.K., Karlsen, T., Wiig, H. and Long Jr, J.H., 2017. The notochord in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) undergoes profound morphological and mechanical changes during development. Journal of anatomy, 231(5), pp.639-654.
World Ocean Day 2020
Happy #WorldOceanDay, a day to celebrate our wonderful oceans and all the biodiversity that calls the ocean their home. Our oceans are so diverse, but we would like to focus on a fascinating species today:The Atlantic Salmon! Have a go at our poster, where you can learn the life cycle of the salmon and colour them in! Please share any completed activity sheets with us (drop us a message!) We love to hear from you 🙂
