Biology Newsletter #12

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 12: week commencing 29 June 2020

Prep boys making nest boxes UPDATE This week Mr Hardman has been hard at work again with the prep boys continuing with their nest box construction project. The boxes are now almost complete. Next week the boys will add the rubber hinge (to hinge the lid to the body of the box, which will also be waterproof) and paint them with wood preservative. But for now they have been drilling the holes and then countersinking them so that the boxes can be screwed together without screw heads poking up, proud of the surface (dangerous). In the immortal words of Mr Hardman, the boys ‘LOVE IT’!

Watch a masterclass taken from the Horizons week here

Studying the anthropause We’ve all seen photos in the news of animals taking advantage of the pandemic by moving more freely into areas normally out of bounds to them due to human activity. Well, now researchers aim to study this so-called ‘anthropause’ and the impact it has had on other species by tracking animals before, during and after the pandemic. The UK-led team plan to use their findings to develop innovative strategies aimed at allowing humans and wildlife to more easily share our increasingly overcrowded planet. BBC news

The Horizons programme Last week Years 7-9 took part in a programme of events designed to broaden their horizons and get them learning something new.

The Biology Department offered up tours of the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington and The Surgeon’s Hall Museum in Edinburgh, as well as a masterclass from Mr Glanville on ornithology (more on the next page).

We really hope you enjoyed learning about the things that interest us, and that we have inspired you to do your own investigating and exploring this summer (where possible).

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 10: week commencing 15 June 2020

On the wing this week The Comma Polygonia c-album is a fascinating butterfly. The scalloped edges and cryptic colouring of the wings conceal hibernating adults amongst dead leaves, while the larvae, flecked with brown and white markings, bear close resemblance to bird droppings. The species has a flexible life cycle, which allows it to capitalise on favourable weather conditions. However, the most remarkable feature of the Comma has been its severe decline in the twentieth century and subsequent comeback. It is now widespread in southern Britain and its range is expanding northwards, this may be due to climate change. Butterfly conservation Butterflies with stable populations have been able to take advantage of climate change and move northwards, a study involving Butterfly Conservation has revealed.

Research found only butterflies whose populations are stable or increasing – such as the Peacock, Comma and Speckled Wood – have managed to expand and thrive as the climate has warmed over four decades.

The Comma butterfly

Stable population trends are a key requirement for species’ range expansion, the study found. The climate in Britain has warmed over the last four decades, and many species, including butterflies, have shifted their distributions northwards. Butterfly conservation

Horizons ornithology masterclass

Male Sharma thrush

As part of Horizons week Mr Glanville gave a talk about ornithology using some of his aviary birds as extras. This bird is a male sharma thrush which is famed for its singing. It was used to illustrate the different types of feathers that birds have. It was due to be moved into a new part of the aviary so it had to be caught up anyway. It expressed its displeasure by biting Mr Glanville. There were also some baby thrushes that are being hand reared and a very uncooperative chicken that escaped. Mr Glanville introduced the boys to the wonders of bird eggs and how they have evolved to be permeable to air but have many layers of defence against bacteria.

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 10: week commencing 15 June 2020

Ring-necked parakeets Lots of boys in year 7 have spotted ring-necked parakeets in their gardens, as they complete their spring watch project in Biology. Ring-necked parakeets are regularly seen at Habs and have been inhabiting the campus for at least ten years. They are beautiful birds but very noisy and will damage fruit trees. In the winter they regularly feed on bird tables.

The origin of the UK population has been traced by DNA analysis to cage birds imported from Pakistan and Northern India, although ring-necked parakeets have a wide range in Asia and Africa. Some of the aviary birds escaped and began to breed in London in the 1960's . There are a number of urban folklore stories about the birds including that they were released by Jimi Hendrix from a pet shop in London or they were let go after they had been used on the film set of the film The African Queen.

The ring-necked parakeets are predated by peregrine falcons but have few other predators. They nest in tree holes starting to lay eggs in March. It is not known if any pairs nest in the school grounds. The parakeets often roost in large numbers At Stanborough Lakes in Welwyn garden city hundreds of parakeets sleep in the tall poplar trees in the car park. Occasionally a flock of parakeets will contain a yellow or blue bird that is due to a mutation giving different coloured feathers.

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 10: week commencing 15 June 2020

Biology in the news with Mrs Oatridge CO2 levels still rising Despite worldwide lockdowns, CO2 levels have reached a new peak this year. In May, the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere was recorded as 417.2 parts per million (compared to the peak reading of 414.8ppm in 2019). Although global emissions have fallen sharply during the pandemic (by around 17% in early April), there is still more to be done and these reductions have only had a marginal impact. Scientists estimate that for the rate of atmospheric CO2 to slow down markedly, reductions in emissions would need to be 20-30% and sustained for at least six months.

The “snot palaces” of the deep Around 1000 feet below the ocean surface lives a “marvel of nature”: the giant larvacean. These sea creatures have been recently studied using a laser imaging device on a diving robot allowing scientists to develop their understanding of these mysterious organisms. They live inside a three-foot-wide bubble of floating mucus, which they use to filter their food. When these become clogged, they simply shed them and secrete new ones. It has always been hard to study giant larvacean, but new technology has shown the delicacy of their “snot-palaces” like never before.

Summaries adapted from ‘The Week’

Tendrils One of the Biology teachers is growing a squash plant in their garden. The photo shows the tendrils that the plant used to cling to trellis.

A tendril is a thread-like structure found in climbing plants and used for support. It is a modified leaf, stem, or petiole, that possesses coiling as its form of thigmotropism. Tendrils start off by bending in search of a surface to grow across. Once they find it, the part of the tendril that is in touch with the surface will produce a hormone called auxin, which stimulates a large region on the tendril that isn’t in touch with the surface to grow. In addition to auxin, the hormone ethylene aids in growth and controls the shape of the cells. The overall process results in the cells touching the support surface contracting or growing slower while those not touching it expand or grow faster. The different rates of growth on different sides of the plant lead to the coiling that occurs around the supporting object.

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 10: week commencing 15 June 2020

Springwatch with Mr Coleman Love’s Labour’s Lost Before you read on, I must warn you dear reader(s) that this is a tragic tale not for the faint-hearted!

Sitting in my garden frazzled after a long day of ZoomTeam, I watched over the weeks as a pair of long-tailed tits lovingly created a nest in the branches of a Scots’ Pine tree from the moss and mud that passes for my lawn. They went to extraordinary lengths to make this home, even harvesting the silk from spiders’ webs under the guttering. The nest itself resembled a coconut and was within view of an upstairs window.

The nest

Nest building moved on to insect catching and after another week, I started to hear the unmistakable highpitched sounds of hatchlings calling out to be fed. A bit of research revealed that long-tailed tits lay a clutch of 8-12 eggs and that they fledge 14-18 days after hatching. They line the nest with feathers ‘recycled’ from the bodies of dead birds and their siblings even help with the feeding of the young chicks.

At night, I dreamt of long-tailed tits and at dawn, I would ‘leap’ out of bed and watch excitedly in the hope of witnessing the fledglings’ maiden flight.

Feeding the chicks

And then one morning, the nest was nowhere to be seen. I raced downstairs and outside where, to my horror, I came across evidence of a break in, ransacking and murder most fowl!

Tho’ Nature, red in tooth and claw…

Broken bits of the ‘coconut nest’ and bedding feathers lay strewn amongst my germinating Alliums and I feared that was shallot for the chicks; tipped out of the nest in the middle of the night by a predatory bird or squirrel.

Broken nest in the onion patch

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 10: week commencing 15 June 2020

Springwatch with Mr Coleman Heart-broken, I made myself a cup of tea in a forlorn effort to cheer myself up before facing yet another day of TeamZoom. Later that day, I watered the vegetable patch whilst pondering the meaning of life… courtship; making a home; raising a family; love; loss?

Hearing soft cries, I spotted 3 tiny chicks hiding amongst the compost heap. These balls of fluff stood little chance of surviving the attentions of the magpies and the neighbours’ cat (despite me spraying it with the garden hose!) and I decided to act. Scooping them up, along with the remains of their nest, I put the orphaned tits in an old shoe box whilst I quickly constructed them a home and fixed it to the outside of the shed. I watched and waited as their parents, who had appeared, began to fly around and call out agitatedly.

Finally, after several hours, the parents started to enter the birdbox with food visible in their beaks and I could hear the chicks chirping.

Getting acquainted with the new nest box

Alas, after a day or so, a silence befell the box, the birds stopped visiting and so this story ends. Triumph had become tragedy.

I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.

Was I right to intervene? Here’s the advice from the RSPB on what to do if you find an apparently abandoned baby bird in your garden.

Note from the author: I hope that you have enjoyed reading ‘Springwatch’ over the past few months as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Sadly however, after this chastening experience, I have decided to retire from journalism in the hope of returning to the classroom in September. I would like to thank the Biology team, particularly my editor, Dr Randall for her support and of course, my inspiration – the natural world. Nature is thrilling – keep noticing it. ©Coleman, 2020

Swanky new nest

With thanks and apologies to Shakespeare and Tennyson.

Bird whispering