Tag Archives: university of exeter

Undersea mountains provide crucial piece in climate prediction puzzle

By Guest PostSeptember 20, 2013Environmentantarctic continent, Antarctica, british antarctic survey, carbon dioxide, chemical tracer, climate models, climate prediction puzzle, climate projections, drake passage, ice age, ocean currents, ocean mixing, professor andrew watson, south america, susie grant, undersea mountains, university of exeter

A mystery in the ocean near Antarctica has been solved by researchers who have long puzzled over how deep and mid-depth ocean waters are mixed.

They found that sea water mixes dramatically as it rushes over undersea mountains in Drake Passage – the channel between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic continent. Mixing of water layers in the oceans is crucial in regulating the Earth’s climate and ocean currents.

The research provides insight for climate models which until now have lacked the detailed information on ocean mixing needed to provide accurate long-term climate projections. The study was carried out by the University of Exeter, the University of East Anglia, the University of Southampton, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the British Antarctic Survey and the Scottish Association for Marine Science and is published in the journal Nature. (more…)

Bad news for prey: New research shows that predators can learn to read camouflage

By Guest PostSeptember 13, 2013Natureafrican bush, african nightjar, bad news, camouflage, find the nightjar, giraffe, jolyon troscianko, predation, predator, predator types, prey, university of cambridge, university of exeter, zebra

Camouflaged creatures can perform remarkable disappearing acts but new research shows that predators can learn to read camouflage.

The study, which used human subjects as predators searching for hidden moths in computer games, found that the subjects could learn to find some types of camouflaged prey faster than others.

The research was carried out by the University of Exeter and the University of Cambridge and is published in the journal PLOS ONE. Moths with high contrast markings – that break up the shape of the body, like that of a zebra or giraffe – were best at evading predation at the start of the experiment. However humans learnt to find these prey types faster than moths with low contrast markings that match the background, like that of a stick insect or leaf bug. (more…)

University study uncovers the secret lives of UK garden snail

By Guest PostAugust 25, 2013Environment, Natureangiostrongylus vasorum, dave hodgson, fatal lungworm parasite, fatal parasite, five vet practices, led lights, long grass, lungworm parasite, royal horticultural society, secret live, slugs, snails, time lapse photography, uk garden snail, university of exeter

Researchers track nocturnal snail activity for the first time, using LED lights and time-lapse photography. Snails were tracked over 72 hours, with researchers measuring their speed, distance travelled and exploration habits. Snail numbers have risen in recent years due to favourable breeding conditions. Slugs and snails can carry the lungworm parasite, Angiostrongylus vasorum, which is potentially fatal to dogs.

A ground-breaking study of UK snail behaviour using LED and UV light tracking has found that the nocturnal creatures can explore the length of an average British garden in just one night, reaching a top speed of one metre per hour. (more…)

Study investigates extraordinary trout with tolerance to heavily polluted water

By Guest PostAugust 1, 2013Environmentaccumulation of metals, aquatic ecosystems, brown trout, concentrations of metals, cornwall, eduarda santos, Environment, extraordinary trout, gene encoding, genetic diversity, heavily polluted water, history, human activities, kidney, liver, metal content, metallothionein, mining activity, n bury, nerc, protein, river hayle, signs of toxicity, university of exeter, unpolluted sites, uren webster

New research from the University of Exeter and King’s College London has shown how a population of brown trout can survive in the contaminated waters of the River Hayle in Cornwall where metal concentrations are so high they would be lethal to fish from unpolluted sites.

The team believe this is due to changes in the expression of their genes. The research was funded by NERC and the Salmon and Trout Association.

The researchers compared the trout living in the River Hayle with a population living in a relatively clean site in the River Teign. The results showed that the accumulation of metals in the kidney and liver – where metals are stored and detoxified – were 19 and 34 times higher in the Hayle trout, respectively. In the gill, concentrations averaging 63 times higher were present in the Hayle fish, but there were no differences in metal content in the gut. This accumulation of metals in the Hayle fish highlights their extraordinary tolerance of the extreme metal concentrations in their environment. (more…)

Ship noise impairs feeding and heightens predation risk for crabs

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2013Environment, Natureandy radford, animal behaviour, behavior, bristol, crabs, ecologically critical effects, ecosystems, feeding, marine invertebrates, metabolic rate, play dead behavior, potential predators, predation risk, ship noise, shore crab, steve simpson, university of exeter

A study published in the journal Animal Behaviour found that the noise of passing ships disrupts feeding for the common shore crab.

Perhaps worse, the team from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol also found that when threatened, crabs took longer to retreat to shelter and lost their natural ‘play dead’ behaviour.

In coastal seas around the world noise caused by humans is a dominant feature, with construction and transportation fundamentally modifying ocean soundscapes.

Working with the same common shore crabs that children delight in catching on crablines in UK harbours, the team found ecologically-critical effects of ship noise-playback on behaviour. (more…)

Further destabilisation in the Middle East possible according to new report

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2013Politicsaleppo, arab gulf states, assad, China, crisis in egypt, damascus, destabilization, east west stand, Environment, ex cathedra manner, gareth stansfield, geopolitical flux, hizbullah, homs, interests of israel, iranian nuclear targets, Iraq, jordan, lebanon, levantine neighbours, michael clarke, middle east, neo imperialist, proximity to europe, proxy, proxy war, region wide war, revolutionary guard, rusi, russia, saudi arabia, sectarian hatreds, security council, security institute, south lebanon, strategy, sunni islamist militants, syrian civil war, turkey, un, university of exeter, western capitals

The crisis in Egypt is already having a negative effect on the Syrian civil war and contributing to further destabilisation of the wider Middle East according to a major new report.

Professor Gareth Stansfield from the University of Exeter’s Strategy and Security Institute and the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies wrote the report, for the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an independent think-tank for defence and security which advises governments and the wider policy community.

‘The Remaking of Syria, Iraq and the Wider Middle East’ report suggests that important as events in Cairo are, they distract Western attention from the much bigger game being played out in Syria which significantly risks changing the Levant after a century of relative territorial stability. Professor Stansfield who is also an RUSI’s senior associate fellow analysed the impact the Syrian civil war could have on the future of the Middle East state system across the Levant. (more…)

Older males make better fathers says new research on beetles

By Guest PostJune 27, 2013Sciencebeetles, birds, blackbirds, hypothesis, infidelity, megan head, nerc, offspring, older males, paternal care, paternity, perception of paternity, robins, species, university of exeter, younger males

Researchers at the University of Exeter found that older male burying beetles make better fathers than their younger counterparts.

The study found that mature males, who had little chance of reproducing again, invested more effort in both mating and in parental care than younger males.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London – B, considered how the likelihood of paternity influenced the way that males cared for young. Older males were good fathers and looked after the young even when they were unsure whether the offspring were theirs. Younger males, who had a higher chance of reproducing again, tended to care less for offspring, particularly when they were uncertain of their paternity. (more…)

British butterfly desperate for warm weather this summer

By Guest PostJune 11, 2013Environment, Naturebritish butterfly, climate, computer modeling, fluctuation, habitats, jenny hodgson, jonathan bennie, microclimates, silver spotted skipper, summer, sussex wildlife trust, temperature, university of exeter, university of liverpool, university of york, variable climate, warm weather, warmer conditions, zoe davies

Butterflies are extremely sensitive to changes in temperature and new research has revealed that when summer weather turns bad the silver-spotted skipper battles for survival.

The butterfly, which previously faced extinction from habitat loss, is recovering following conservation efforts but the recent cool wet summers in England have almost stalled its progress.

A 27 year study by researchers at the University of Exeter in collaboration with the University of York, the University of Liverpool, Sussex Wildlife Trust, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the charity Butterfly Conservation has been published in the journal Ecology Letters. The study estimated changes in temperature across a range of silver-spotted skipper habitats and found that localised fluctuations in temperature lead to extreme fluctuations in the butterfly population size and in the probability of the butterflies colonising new sites. (more…)