Biology Newsletter Issue 15

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 15: Second half of Autumn term, 2020

Winter Wildlife Watching As always, we in the Biology department want to encourage you to get out and about this holiday and enjoy the natural world around you.

Winter is one of the most beautiful times of year, and also one of the best for tracking wildlife as you can see their prints in the mud or snow.

Why not go for a nice winter walk with your family and see if you can spot any of these tracks or even the plants and animals below.

For more ideas for the nature lovers amongst you, see The Wildlife Trusts

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 15: Second half of Autumn term, 2020

‘Biology in the News’ with Mrs Oatridge Santa’s carbon footprint On his busiest night of the year, Christmas Eve, Santa will cover an impressive 419,000 kilometres across the UK alone! (That is the equivalent of 130,000 HabsDashs!) Although his sleigh would be classified as a low emissions vehicle by the government, Professor Garnsworthy. from the University of Nottingham, has calculated how much methane Rudolph and his fleet will be emitting from burping and flatulence as they fly.

By analysing the ruminant’s diet of lichen as well as the energy content and density of methane, he estimated that emissions for each reindeer would be 0.207 g/km. However, he argues that as methane is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, each reindeer will emit 5.8g/km of CO2-equivalent as they burp their way through the night. Taking in to account all 9 reindeer, that gives an emission of 52g/km of CO2-equivalent overall.

So, as they travel the 419,000 kilometres around the UK, Santa and his fleet will emit the equivalent of 21.8 tonnes of CO2. That is enough to cook turkeys for 914,013 households!

Moth of the Month!

Did you know that there is a November as well as a December species of Moth? Some hardy species can keep active on cold nights and the aptly named November moth is one to look out for on your lit windows. The December moth (pictured below) is much chunkier and has what looks like extra ‘fur’ to help keep warm although they are actually covered in modified scales.

Also, do keep an eye out for hibernating ladybirds and butterflies. They like wedging themselves in windowsills so take care when cleaning and be careful not to disturb them.

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 15: Second half of Autumn term, 2020

A Biologist’s Alternative ‘12 Days of Christmas’ It’s not all turtle doves and partridges in pear trees (although we in the Biology department do love all the animals mentioned in the song). See this cute animation for a biologist’s take on the ‘12 Days of Christmas’. Do you think it will take off?!

‘The Biology of your Christmas Dinner - Brussels sprouts’ with Mr Lynch An integral, although often disparaged, part of the traditional Christmas dinner is the Brussels sprout. Part of the cabbage family, the UK grows around 80000 metric tons per year with production peaking over the festive period. Some claim to dislike the flavour, often due to the nature of their preparation (boiled to a mush), but one thing everyone can agree on is the unfortunate side-effect of pungent gas – making post-dinner family time a real risk to your nostrils.

Why do they have this effect though? It is due to the chemicals that they contain, namely the sugar raffinose (pictured above) and a type of compound called glucosinolates; the latter of which actually serve as a bitter deterrent to the insect pests of the sprout. The problem lies in our lack of ability to break down these compounds using our digestive enzymes.

Raffinose is broken down by the enzyme alpha-galactosidase and glucosinolates would need an enzyme called myrosinase. Humans do not have these enzymes, however our gut bacteria do, and so when the part digested sprouts arrive in your intestines the bacteria get to work.

Raffinose is broken down to produce the by-products of hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide gases. This would not be so bad on its own, but when the glucosinolates are broken down they produce both hydrogen sulphide and methyl mercaptan. You may know hydrogen sulphide from its use in stink bombs and methyl mercaptan is actually used as an odorant which adds a smell to natural gas, so you know when you have a gas leak. Put this enhanced volume of the gases hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide along with the hydrogen sulphide and methyl mercaptan and you have the often loud or sometimes silent and deadly results. On an interesting side note, the unique make up of your gut bacteria will actually determine the level to which you are affected, so consume at your own risk.

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 15: Second half of Autumn term, 2020

‘Winter Science Experiments’ with Mrs Shiradski With a lovely long winter holiday ahead of you, how about trying the following experiments! For your own interest and to hone your recording skills it’s great to keep a log of all your experiments, being as scientific as you can be, with drawings and photographs to supplement your written observations.

Experiment with Cranberries!

Cranberry sauce is the perfect accompaniment to roast turkey that features in so many homes over the Christmas period, but let’s look at some of the features of cranberries and why they pop open when making cranberry sauce.

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Cut open a cranberry and observe the tiny seeds and air pockets Draw what you see and annotate (add labels and short description) Gently heat over the hob in a small amount of water Write down your conclusions

Take some dried and fresh cranberries: separately put them in a class of carbonated water (or any fizzy drink). Which ones dance around and why?

Experiment with Pinecones!

Collect a few pinecones that are similar in size.

Why do pinecones open? How can you test it and what variable will you change with each investigation? Does humidity or temperature have the greatest effect on the opening and closing of pinecones? Have your results led you down a different path of enquiry – if so, get experimenting and record your results and your evaluations!

Remember to keep a record of all your investigations and only change one independent variable at a time!

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 15: Second half of Autumn term, 2020

‘Autumnwatch’ with Mr Coleman Helping nature through the winter I don’t know about you but when out exploring on my many lockdown walks this Autumn, I have been struck by the sheer number and size of acorns on the Oak trees and under foot. In fact, some of the footpaths that I have walked have had a veritable carpet of nuts beneath the trees.

According to the Woodland trust, 2020 is what is known as a mast year when many species of trees and shrubs produce a bumper crop of nuts, seeds and fruits, known collectively as a ‘mast’.

Did you know that a single Oak tree (Quercus) can drop several hundred acorns in a square metre?

Animals like squirrels, jays, nuthatch, mice and badgers feed on the acorns and beech nuts. But during a mast year, the trees produce more food than the animals can possibly eat. It’s the trees’ way of outfoxing the predators and increasing the chances of survival of the next generation by predator satiation.

Although this abundance of seed comes at an energy cost to the tree and causes a boom in populations of small mammals and birds; it guarantees that some will survive and germinate into new plants come the Spring.

Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

However, that’s not where the story ends!

Mast years are not just one-off events for individual trees. The vast majority of trees of a particular species will produce an excess of mast all across the UK (and sometimes even Europe) in the same year.

How the trees co-ordinate this and communicate with each other is one of nature’s many mysteries but plant hormones and the weather certainly play their part.

Phenology – the study of the timing of natural events in relation to the weather – can help us to better understand this. For example, a warm, dry Spring leads to greater pollination of Oak flowers and this, in turn, results in a larger crop of acorns.

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 15: Second half of Autumn term, 2020

‘Autumnwatch’ with Mr Coleman Helping nature through the winter Maybe I wasn’t walking as much and therefore, not noticing nature as one should but I don’t recall this seasonal event before. Nature’s Calendar is a citizen science project that tracks the effects of weather and climate change on wildlife across the UK and its records date all the way back to 1736! The amount of fruit for trees and shrubs like oak, beech and blackthorn are among around 150 events that volunteers record for the project.

Join Nature's Calendar Have you seen lots of fruit or nuts on a tree near you? Join Nature’s Calendar to record your sightings and help us to determine if we are in a mast year!

You can take part in the longest Biological record of its kind in three, easy steps.

1. Choose a species and behaviour you'd like to look out for.

2. Locate a spot where you would like to record eg. your garden.

3. Keep your eyes peeled and let us know any key dates. You can view your record instantly on the live maps.

Every record is valuable. The data recorded helps us to better understand the effects of climate change and other patterns in the natural environment. By taking a few minutes to share what you see, you'll be adding to hundreds of years' worth of important data!

Recent recordings (from left to right: first recorded Redwing 07/12/2020, Bare Silver Birch, Bare Hawthorn; both 06/12/2020)

Biology Department Newsletter Issue 15: Second half of Autumn term, 2020

‘Festive Foliage’ by Mr Glanville Mistletoe (Viscum album) is an interesting plant. Evergreen with an abundance of white berries from winter through to spring, mistletoe is described as being ‘hemiparasitic’ which means it relies on other plants to survive.

Mistletoe can be found growing in round clusters on a range of trees, including oak, willow and apple. It takes water and nutrients from the host tree, potentially weakening although rarely killing it. Mistletoe prefers to grow on trees that are in open areas with plenty of light so look out for it in parklands, gardens and orchards.

Plants often use animals for seed dispersal, and mistletoe is no different. The white, sticky berries easily get stuck to feathers and beaks. This makes it easier for them to spread as the birds fly from tree to tree. Once the mistletoe seeds are deposited on trees, if they take hold they will germinate and start growing on their host. Mistle thrushes and blackcaps are bird species that like to eat mistletoe berries and are most efficient at spreading the seeds.

The tradition of hanging mistletoe in the house dates back all the way to the Druids, but it’s not until the late 18th Century that there is the first recorded mention of people kissing under the mistletoe. The custom was that a berry had to be picked from the mistletoe before the person could be kissed, and once all the berries were gone there could be no more kissing!

Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus)

Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is an evergreen shrub or small tree.

The waxy surface on leaves reduces water loss and when the soil freezes in the winter the plant will be of short of water.

Because holly is evergreen, its leaves are vulnerable to being eaten by herbivores in the winter when most other plants lack leaves. The spines provide protection from grazing animals.

Holly is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers occur on different trees. The berries only occur on female trees. Holly trees can live for 300 years.

What kind of motorbike does Santa ride?

A Holly Davidson