James' UEA Ecology Blog

 Time for another factfile, this time on the prickly plant that is gorse! Common Gorse ( Ulex europaeus ) Family: Fabaceae Height: 2-3m Conservation Status: Common Flowering Season: January to June Description: Evergreen shrub with solitary, yellow, coconut-scented flowers, and green spines for leaves Distribution: Widespread across the UK Habitats:   Varied, including woodland, grassland, heathland and coast Gorse Fun Facts: Gorse was traditionally collected from commons for fuel, livestock fodder, making brushes, and even to colour Easter eggs! Gorse provides shelter for many bird species, such as Dartford warblers, stonechats and yellowhammers, and a nectar source for bees and butterflies! Folklore states when gorse isn't flowering, you shouldn't kiss loved ones - explaining why they are traditionally added to bride's wedding bouquets as fertility symbols! Gorse flowers are edible, their coconut fragrance making them perfect for salads and even infused in tea! Gorse is...

Here are some pictures of majestic grey herons captured on UEA campus. Thought I'd switch it up this time with a factfile-style blog on these beautiful birds.     Grey Heron ( Ardea cinerea ) Family: Ardeidae (Heron family) Size: 90-98cm high; 175-195cm wingspan; 1,500-2,000g weight Appearance: long-legged, grey-backed bird, with a long white neck, black eyestripe and head feathers, and yellow bill Voice: largely silent, occasionally harsh 'kraank' call Range: widely distributed, from northern Scandinavia to southern Africa and Japan in the east Migration: most UK populations resident Habitat: canals, ponds, lakes and rivers across the UK Flight: unmistakable with large size and wingspan and long legs but folded neck Diet: fish, amphibians, crustaceans, insects, and occasionally small/juvenile birds and mammals UK Population: 13,000 breeding pairs; 63,000 wintering birds Breeding: nest in colonies called heronries at the top of trees in large, twig-built nests Nesting: 3-4 ...

The other day on our way home from our lectures, we came across this pinecone. Or rather, it came across us, when it suddenly fell on Issy's head! Luckily she escaped unharmed. Anyways, I thought I'd explore some of the fantastic features of pinecones..... Pinecones are organs:   they bear the seeds of gymnosperm plants (meaning naked seeds), typically conifers. Pinecones are made to protect the seeds:   they close their scales to protect them from the cold, wind, and hungry animals, and open up to release seeds during warmer conditions. Pinecones are female:   the cones come in both male and female forms, with the much smaller male cones releasing pollen which fertilises the larger female pinecones. (Some) pinecones are fireproof:  the cones can survive wildfire, and in fact require the heat of seasonal fires to trigger their scales to open to release the seeds. Coulter pinecones are the world's heaviest:  these pinecones can be up to a whopping 10lbs in weight...

Recently we did some fieldwork on campus to investigate soil characteristics and health in different locations - in the woods versus the grassland, by exploring soil type/structure and crucially, soil organisms present. At each habitat, we flung the quadrat randomly (very fun), and then dug a sample of soil from within the quadrat with a trowel (also quite fun). While we found several soil critters, including a cute little earwig, in this blog I want to focus on the most numerous species we found: earthworms! Earthworms in the UK There are a whopping 31 species of earthworm found in the British Isles, largely within the Lumbricidae family. There are 3 different categories of earthworm: Epigeic earthworms  - these are surface dwellers which live in, and consume, leaf litter and compost. Endogeic earthworms - these are shallow burrowers which make horizontal burrows in the soil to move and feed Anecic earthworms - these are deep burrowers which make vertical burrows in the soil, and...

Goldfinch/ Carduelis carduelis ( RSPB ) Goldfinches are colourful, flashy finches in the Fringillidae family. They live throughout most of the UK, a common garden visitor but happily at home in habitats as varied as woodland to farmland. You can even see them from UEA Library's window! During the winter, many of our breeding birds will join us in migrating to Spain to enjoy some winter sun! During the summer, goldfinches breed in thick cover, laying about 5 eggs in their cosy nest. The eggs take around 2 weeks to hatch and a further fortnight for the chicks to fledge, leaving time for a second clutch to be raised if the conditions are good. With all these chicks around, goldfinches can often be seen in large flocks, beautifully known as a charm! Like most finches, goldfinch beaks are specially adapted for their diet. The fine beak is perfect for extracting thin seeds from thistle and teasel plants, for example. In gardens, they can often be attracted by providing nyjer seed in a sp...

It's been a week since the Easter weekend now, and spring is finally springing! In honour of Easter, I thought I'd celebrate a traditional flower for this time of the year that has been looking absolutely fabulous around campus - daffodils! Fabulous Flowers The daffodil (or  Narcissus ) is a spring-flowering bulb, with very distinctive flowers - a central trumpet surrounded by petals. This large trumpet structure, known as a corona , evolved from stamens (the pollen-producing part of plants), and has important implications for its pollination. Daffodils are insect-pollinated , and the size and shape of the flower is adapted to allow bees to enter the corona in search of nectar. Here, they initially come into contact with the stigma, where pollen from other daffodils is 'dropped off' to pollinate the flower. Then, the bees touch the anthers, where pollen from this daffodil is 'picked up', ready to be taken to a new flower during the process of cross-pollination. ...