Life Nature Magazine

Autumn term 2013
i f e
n a t u r e m a g a z i n e
From
Dusk
Until
Dawn
New in science
Feature
Photo Sequence
Experience
Night-time
navigation
Urban
foxes
Nocturnal
moths
The eagles of
the night

A big THANKS!
We’re looking for a new team to join Life, so here’s a massive thank you to everyone who
Editor in Chief: Roz Evans
Creative Director: Emma Simpson-Wells
Sub-Creative Directors: Georgia Cass & Andy Jackson
Picture Editors: Samuel Jay & Charlotte Sams
Great thanks for input and ongoing advice is owed to:
Felix Smith, Feargus Cooney, Owen Greenwood, Jennifer Weller, Matt Bjerregaard and
Claire Young.
Gemma Malenoir is a 20 year old student, studying
in her third year of BA (Hons) Marine and Natural History
Photography, at Falmouth University, Cornwall. Check out
her work at:
www.gemmamalenoir.carbonmade.com
2

FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
From Dusk Until Dawn...
Contents
The third issue of Life is
themed ‘Dusk until Dawn’.
These times are to me, some of
the most exciting to experience
wildlife. When I can make it
out of bed in time for dawn,
the chorus of birds chattering
and singing above me makes
the wrestle with my tiredness
all worth it. As sun sets, some of
the most secretive animals come
out of their day time hiding
places. Foxes and badgers can
be seen by the lucky, and bats’
sonar can be heard with a handy
bat detector. The time between
dusk and dawn is fascinating
too. Whilst most of us are
tucked up in bed asleep, many
animals are exploiting this
quieter period, with multitudes
of adaptations allowing them
to use the darkness to their
advantage. From this issue,
many of the original team,
including myself, are ‘phasing
out’. We’re looking for new
team members – see the careers
section for more information
on how to get involved. Whilst
some of us will still be involved
in the next issue, we’ll be taking
less on, so we’d like to thank
few issues so warmly. We’ve had
an amazing time making it and
we hope that it continues from
strength to strength!
Enjoy!
Roz Evans, Editior in Chief
4 Image of the issue
Exeter Research
6 Garden snails go viral
New in science
8 Iron beaks and magnetic eyes
10 Swiftly rising at dawn and dusk
Evolution
12 Coevolution of bats and moths
Photograph sequence
of the issue
14 Moths at twilight
18 Ageing badgers
Experience
20 Eagle owls up close
Feature
22 Urban foxes
Opinion
24 Light pollution
25 An Exeter SWAN
News & Reviews
26 News & events
Want more Life over the christmas
break? Keep up to date with the latest in
nature...
facebook.com/pages/
Life-Nature-Magazine
Careers
28 Careers & volunteering
30 Mammal tracks ID
twitter.com/LifeNatureMag
Also keep an eye out for our new website
www.lifenaturemagazine.co.uk ...coming soon!
3

Image of the Issue: Tim Hunt, www.timhuntphotography.co.uk

EXETER RESEARCH FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Speedy snails
shot to fame
On a chilly night in May, in the walled
garden at the Penryn campus, the
temporal and spatial movements of
garden snails were recorded by University
of Exeter undergraduate researches, led
by Assosiate Professor of Ecology Dave
Hodgson. The study reached international
fame and became a youtube sensation,
thanks to the glowing garden snails that
took part.
The lungworm species Angiostrongylus
vasorum, is a type of parasitic
foxes. It causes illness in dogs and if left
untreated, it can be fatal. It is suspected
that the larvae are inadvertently ingested
by canines through consumption of these
unappetising gastropods from grass or
on chew-toys; the lungworm life cycle
completes when eggs are passed from the
dog in fecal matter ready to be taken on
by the intermediary garden hosts once
again. The research commissioned by
Bayer as part of their ‘Be Lungworm
Aware’ campaign aimed to understand the
distribution, movement and habits of snails
within a typical garden environment in
order to develop better protection for dogs
from this now endemic problem.
Over 450 snails were collected on the
Penryn campus or within 30km of the
surrounding area. They were numbered,
then either marked with UV paint or
their shell. Those from campus had their
initial collection location GPS tagged to
see if they were able to return ‘home’ at a
later date. The snails were then released at
dusk from one location and a professional
time-lapse photography and a UV cannon.
Measurements were taken every 30 minutes
to determine the distance and direction
of the snails movement, with further data
collected over the ensuing hours and in
the following weeks. The visual results
were stunning; see the video on YouTube
under ‘Lungworm snail experiment’. More
interestingly, insights into their speed and
distribution became apparent. With speed
records for land-snails only previously
found within the Guinness Book of
World Records, the team discovered that
snails move at a blistering pace… of
approximately 32cm per hour, with top
speeds of 100cm per hour. Okay, so it may
not be blistering but it’s faster than it seems
when watching these slippery invertebrates
snail can easily cover the entire distance
of the average UK garden in one night,
mate, or seek refuge inside a pet’s beloved
squeaky toy.
After releasing the snails at dusk, they
of the study and it was within this time
frame that the greatest speeds were
recorded. It’s possible that keeping the
6

EXETER RESEARCH FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
be due to the onset of daylight hours
stimulating the snails to retreat into their
shells to avoid predation or dehydration
and thereby slowing down in the morning.
Interestingly, a small number of snails
moved at much greater speeds than others
and were more likely to create their own
of other snails showed preference to
crawling upon slime already laid down
by another. Exploratory behaviour was
noted across the group, pointing towards
a preference for snails to hide at the base
of trees, in long grass, or near to a water
source – indicating that it is important to
be aware of outside water sources that your
dog drinks from, or long grasses that it
explores. Snails were often seen to change
direction often, meaning the average
garden could harbour hundreds of possibly
eliminating all snails from your garden,
but be aware of what your dog is picking
up, and check their toys and bowls for any
signs of snails. Clean these items often,
and don’t leave them out overnight for
inquisitive snails to hide underneath. Pick
up your dog’s poo – if a dog is infected,
you might not know it, and leaving poo
can help the spread of the lungworm.
Moving forward with the observations
Images: First two from the left: Dan Blumgart, Right: Emma
Simpson-Wells, Cut-out: Kieran Hollingsworth.
Dr Hodgson’s favourite
moments from the media
frenzy include:
1. Whilst being interviewed on BBC
Breakfast being asked by a viewer
whether snail slime was hallucinogenic
and whether she should take her snaillicking
daughter to hospital.
2. Seeing a German newspaper with
the headline “Schnelle Schnecken!”
3. Earning a Drivetime car sticker from
Simon Mayo’s Radio 2 show.
infected snails. Very few snails
‘returned home’, not being
recorded back at their initial
collection site. A lack of
returning snails may not put
paid to the homing instinct
were encountered relocating
snails in daylight and rapidly
growing foliage.
The study went viral and
appeared in 32 UK national
newspapers and magazines,
155 national and international
TV and radio stations, 276
news websites, reaching global
audiences in the millions; the
last count on YouTube showed
more than 43,500 hits!
We aren’t advocating
made so far, Dr. Hodgson hopes to look
into the re-use of slime trails by snails to
minimise energy costs, and to look into the
the mucus itself. Watch this space. Slowly.
Written by Linday Leyden, Alumnus
at The University of Exeter, Cornwall
Campus.
7

CAREERS THE WEIRD & WONDERFUL SUMMER ISSUE
Images: Pond dipping, Kevin Murphy; Kieth Leeves, http://www.cornwallwhaleanddolphinwatching.co.uk
28

NEW IN SCIENCE FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Magnetic eyes and iron beaks:
Image: Lauren Stevens, 2013; Diagrams: Georgia Cass, 2013.
Finding your way in the dark is always a challenge. Whether you’re a bat
catching insects in a dense tropical rainforest, or a badger digging your sett
in an English woodland, sensitivity in darkness is essential to your survival.
Exploitation of the darkest hours has led
to a huge range of adaptations designed
to increase an animal’s ability to
navigate at night. Purely nocturnal creatures
tend to sport more obvious adaptations to
living in darkness; the giant eyes of the bush
baby are a prime example. However, for
those who need to be active night and day,
migrating birds for example, the transition
can be tricky.
Initial research suggested that birds, such as
homing pigeons, use landmarks imprinted
Other birds like European robins are known
to use a combination of landmarks and the
position of the sun and stars as a guide.
Recent studies have had some fascinating
insights into how birds on the wing navigate
at night. It has now been suggested that
the retinas in the eyes of migratory birds
are in fact able to not only detect light, but
wintering and breeding grounds. Such an
anatomical feature requires incredible levels
of sensitivity and detection of light at low
levels, and unfortunately, doesn’t come with
a simple explanation. How can the retina
detect the magnetic pull of the earth? Two
main theories have developed.
Light-dependent navigation
One such theory involves blue-light-sensitive
photoproteins known as cryptochromes.
Some scientists believe these molecules to be
key in the detection of the earth’s magnetic
magnetoreceptors at a bird’s disposal. The
cryptochromes, of which birds are known
send the information along ganglion nerve
cells to the brain, where it can be processed
into directional information that the bird can
respond to. These ganglion cells have been
found to be particularly active in migratory
birds such as garden warblers and European
robins when tested under moonlightstrength
white light. Although this ‘compass’
is dependent on the presence of light, it is
extremely sensitive and has been found to
function at light intensities equivalent to
that of a ‘partly clouded moonless night’.
Impressive, when you consider your
unfamiliar, lightless expanses.
In addition, an area in the front of the brain,
known as ‘Cluster-N’ has been shown to
be highly active when birds are orientating
through night-time migration. The lightdependent
information is transmitted from
the retina in the eye to Cluster-N, which
is activated under low light intensities.
Studies on European robins have shown
that deactivation of this cluster renders their
magnetic compass useless.
Magnetite-based navigation
Another theory on the ability of migratory
birds to navigate at night involves iron
deposits, found in the upper beak of several
bird species. The migration distance of these
birds range widely from year-round residents
such as pigeons, to long-distance transequatorial
migrants like garden warblers, and
it is therefore thought that iron deposits will
occur in most bird species.
The iron-rich mineral structures were
initially thought to act literally as magnets,
with the metal aligning with the magnetic
pull of the earth. This information was
thought to then be relayed to the brain
by the trigeminal nerve; a primary nerve
connecting the face and brain. Despite
this, experiments severing the trigeminal
nerve found that the birds’ sense of
recent experiments have severed the nerve
and subsequently relocated the birds up
to 1000km east of their original starting
point. This study showed that cutting the
their sense of location; birds would continue
as if they had never been moved, and end
up lost, rather than readjusting their course.
It seems therefore that the iron-deposits
‘compass sense’ - sense of direction, of a bird,
their sense of location.
Neither of these theories provides a complete
explanation of how birds navigate at night.
As with many aspects of biology, it is likely
that no one theory can explain all of the
variation in the adaptations that we see.
Essentially it seems probable that both
the light-dependent and magnetite-based
theories work together; depending on the
light available both mechanisms will work
to send directional information to the brain,
with the iron-based clusters only activated at
low light intensities.
The avian eye and
the magnet effect
Directional information provided by
the bird’s eye by chryptochromes. It is
thought that light absorption generates
radical pairs within chryptochromes
in the retina which are determined by
molecule orientation in relation to the
iris
lens
cornea
The earth’s
gives migrating
birds their sense
of direction, or
‘compass sense’.
N
retina
optic nerve
So next time you’re following your Sat-Nav
in the dark, or wandering home from the
pub late at night, spare a thought for these
miles a year whilst using nothing but their
fantastically clever, built-in GPS.
Georgia Cass, Alumnus of
the University of Exeter,
Cornwall Campus
9

NEW IN SCIENCE FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Image: Kostya Pazyuk
Swiftly rising at
dusk and dawn
Common swifts (Apus apus) rarely settle on the ground. So rarely, that
their family was named ‘apodidae’, from the ancient Greek ‘without feet’.
are rapid and constant. It is therefore vital for their survival to gather as
Without Google maps and the weather forecast on your smart phone,
how would you understand the day ahead?
You’ve probably seen swifts darting
around our summer skies and
heard their loud screaming calls in
the evenings and early mornings, these
elements are all generally part of social
that towards the end of these nighttime
‘screaming parties’, swifts climb
originally assumed the ascent was to locate
sleep, but developments show that swifts
do not appear to select optimal wind-
Additionally, a secondary, identical ascent
has been discovered at dawn, when they
An ascent at dusk to
locate optimal sleeping
altitudes now seems
unlikely; an identical
ascent happens again
at dawn.
So what is this costly climb all about?
would you do to get a better look at where
you are? Climbing a tree would give
true of swifts? Adriaan Dokter and his
team decided it was time to answer these
Doppler weather radars are typically used
to measure the movements and intensity
birds leave characteristic signatures from
allowed Dokter to investigate the timing
altitudes in order to uncover the purpose
at twilight, isochronally from sunset and
According to Google, twilight is a cult
vampire-romance novel, but in its original
context it’s a rather unique and useful
no longer visible in the sky at dusk, or
just before it becomes visible at dawn,
sunlight still scatters through the upper
atmosphere, illuminating the lower for a
of illumination provides crucial cues for a
cover, the nocturnal to start foraging and
even for zooplankton to alter their position
in the water column to account for
however, hold potential for more than an
landscape features, light polarization and
stars makes it an information rich period
of time, with the visual cues of both day
Unable to link the height of the ascent to
environmental parameters, Dokter suggests
that these ascents are akin to looking up
the weather forecast online before deciding
create their very own weather forecast and
map linked to distant landmarks, helping
them to locate suitable areas for foraging
or sleeping and to navigate within them
to accurately assess weather conditions
where you are currently and where you
will be in the next few hours is clearly
very useful when relying heavily on a diet
When whizzing around as swiftly as
a swift, building a picture of the best
directions prevents them from travelling
needs just two trips to higher altitudes
to get a good look around, leaving more
Swifts can create their
very own weather
forecast linked to distant
landmarks, helping them
to locate suitable areas
for foraging.
navigate when their sight is hindered by
darkness, and you may remember the
dung beetle’s nighttime escapades using
the milky-way as a compass from the
with discoveries like these pushing the
boundaries of animal senses beyond our
Dokter and his team have plans to more
closely link individual behaviour with
the daily variation in visibility in order to
better understand the vertical movement
Emma Simpson-Wells,
Alumnus of the University of
Exeter, Cornwall Campus.

Moths:
by Laura Richardson

White ermine (Diaphora mendica) – This moth was found during
one of EcoSocs Moth Monitoring mornings and was a highlight
for all. One of the most glamorous looking of all the moths, it is
as if it is wearing Cruella Deville’s coat. During the early hours of
the morning moths are docile creatures and are only fully active
once they are warmed. They achieve this quickly by shivering

◀
Peach blossom
(Thyatira batis)
– Peach blossoms
are easily one of our
most attractive moth
species because of
their wonderful pink
blotches. This individual
(along with the Puss
moth pictured below)
was found during the
Bioblitz that took place
on Tremough campus
and at Argal and College
Reservoirs in June.
Collecting them from
the traps was a mad
rush that morning; as
the heavens opened
and the thunder and
lightning commenced,
it felt more like a rescue
mission! I’m happy to
report there were no
casualties.
◀
Poplar hawkmoth (Laothoe populi) - When opening a moth
trap or over turning an egg box (which are placed in the traps
to give the moths something to rest on and shelter in) you never
be beautiful, and sometimes they can be gigantic! With a 70mm
wings span, poplar hawkmoths are one of the great gems of the
moth trap treasure chest.
Puss moth (Cerura vinula) – For this photograph I
chose a low angle to put me on the same level as the
moth and put two of its best features in the frame; puss moths
have incredible, long, furry legs that stretch out in front of them
when they rest on branches. The fur that covers them is what
inspired their cat-like name. The second feature shown is the
sometimes potential mates.
◀

◀
Peppered moth (Biston betularia) – This species is often used as an example of natural selection and also as a
pollution indicator. In areas where pollution is high the bark of trees and walls are darker and so darker Peppered
exposed to predators. This is the opposite in less polluted areas (such as Cornwall). As an areas air quality changes over
time so does the colour of the local peppered moth population.
◀

IN THE FIELD FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Images: Clare Greenwood, 2013. Illustration: Chris Beirne, 2013.
16
Old timers:
Chris Beirne
I’m suddenly startled by a rasping bark
ringing out across the wooded valley,
in the semi-darkness of this warm
summers evening. The call sounds like it
might belong to a large and vicious predator
and if you believed the local tales, you
would know that a ‘big cat’ stalks this area
of forest. Thankfully, my common sense
intervenes. I am not in a wild and isolated
fragment of the Amazonian rainforest but
sat on a fallen beech tree just three and a half
kilometres from the M5 in Woodchester
Park, Gloucestershire, and the vicious
caller is in fact, a roe deer. I am trying to
catch a glimpse of the notorious nocturnal
mammal that is present here in abundance
- the European badger. Badgers live
in large underground networks
of tunnels called setts; in
this location and many
others in the
south of
England, they live communally with other
badgers in social groups. As the barking roe
deer moves away all is quiet and my mind
begins to wander again.
I have been studying badgers for the last
two years in order to understand the aging
process. On the surface of it, that sounds
pretty strange. Why would you study badgers
in order to understand how things age?
First and foremost, humans are far too long
lived to collect data on during the timescale
of a normal PhD (3 to 4 years), so I would
be looking at less than 5% of an individual’s
lifespan. Secondly, most of what we have
learnt about ageing comes from laboratory
strains of rats and mice. Such organisms are
highly inbred to ensure that each individual
is as genetically identical to each other as
possible and they are reared in exactly the
experiments are repeatable. However, it’s
the variation in ageing rates that make it
all, everyone gets old, but why do some
people get old faster than others? Working
on a wild population of mammals - such as
badgers - embraces the variation that might
be important in determining how long an
individual lives and how fast it ages.
Everyone gets old, but why do some people get old faster
than others? Working on a wild population of mammals
- such as badgers - embraces the variation that might be
important in determining how long an individual lives
As badgers have a highly tuned sense of
smell I have positioned myself downwind
from one of the larger setts within the aptly
named ‘Beech social group’. After such a
warm summer, the leaf litter is tinder dry,
so if there are badgers on the move I should
hear them well before I see them. Sure
to hear the rustling of leaves further up the
one badger up there, there’s a whole group
of them! Despite the proximity of the noise,
the darkness leaves me sightless.
The Food and Environment Research
Agency (FERA) have been trapping the
badgers in and around Woodchester Park
for over thirty seven years in order to
understand how bovine tuberculosis (bTB),
a disease particularly damaging to the
cattle farming industry, spreads between
groups of badgers under natural conditions.
given a unique tattoo in order to identify
each individual and on each subsequent
occasion the badger is caught, it is tested
for bTB. I also take a small blood sample
from each badger in order to take back
to the University’s Molecular Genetics
Lab and measure each badgers telomere
length. A telomere is a region of repeating
‘TTAGGG’ nucleotide sequence at the end
of each chromosome which protects the
vital gene coding regions of DNA from
degradation. In humans, and some species
of birds, telomeres are at their longest at
birth then steadily reduce in length as they
are eroded by cell division and the ‘wear
and tear’ of everyday life. Telomere length
is positively associated with the number
of times a cell can divide, the longer they
are the more times a cell can divide in
culture. As such telomere length has been
suggested to act as a molecular clock
which determines your biological age.
However most of the telomere research
conducted to date has been performed on
animals grown in controlled conditions. I
important determinants of longevity
in wild populations under natural
conditions.
Just as I am starting to lose all
hope of spotting a badger, I hear
a rustle to my left. A solitary
badger ambles out of the darkness
and takes me by surprise. It stops
way and that, searching for
earthworms. It is impossible to
tell in the half light but I hope it is
badger “L54” or his brother “L56”
who have been captured every
year here since they were born in
the year 2000. I know for a fact
they both have cataracts, and most
likely arthritis to boot. Before my
makes them live so long. Is it super
long telomeres, good genes, or
have they simply ridden out their
luck for the last thirteen years?
Suddenly the wind shifts and the badger
stops in its tracks. As soon as it catches a
from whence it came.
Chris Beirne uses his
knowledge of molecular
techniques to understand
the proccesses which cause
the individual differences
in ageing rates, working
with the Centre for Ecology
and Conservation at Exeter
Cornwall Campus.

EVOLUTION FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
night sky:
The discovery that bats use sonar – a process of producing sound and using the echoes bouncing back from objects to
Illustrations: left: Aimee Jewitt Harris , right: Samuel Jay Chessel
One of
Theretra nessus
18

EVOLUTION FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Bats have evolved many different adaptations, their skull shape determines their
ability to produce sonar either orally or nasally.
Jamaican fruit bat Artibeus
jamaicensis (nasal sonar)
Greater mouse eared bat
Myotis myotis (oral sonar)
The pressure for both bats and moths to be highly
effective at their own game has escalated into an
evolutionary arms race, with each party continually
updating and fine-tuning their biological weapons.
University, US, have recently
against at least four species
of Myotis spp. bats in their
natural habitat in Arizona.
Sonar jamming can give the
moth those essential extra
seconds it needs to escape and
survive.
The pressure for both bats and
their own game has escalated
into an evolutionary arms race,
with each party continually
biological weapons. Hunting
with sonar in bats has selected
on moths to avoid predation
bias in the ability to detect
ultrasound. In turn, the evasive
use of ultrasound against the
tuning of sonar techniques
in bats. The Palaearctic pond
bat (Myotis dasycneme) can
switch between the type of
sonar that it uses, alternating
the frequency and pitch of
ultrasonic clicks in response
to moth activity. It can also
basic trawling along the water
surface to a form of aerial
hawking. Some bats even go
into silent or ‘whispering’
mode when making their
sneak up on their target. With
each escalation in biological
weaponry, there must be a
greater investment in energy,
physiology and behaviour.
Whether an evolutionary arms
race between bats and moths
will conclude with a winner or
cycle continuously is hard to
group of insects that make up
insectivorous bats’ diets and
there are many others that
make far easier prey items. In
the meantime, there is plenty
of entertaining research to be
done for curious and creative
biologists eager to follow the
game.
organism to a hunting bat must surely go to
the Tiger moth (Bertholdia trigona), which
produces a series of ultrasonic clicks that
serve to ‘jam’ the signals of hunting bats.
This is an exceptionally tricky and precision
piece of defence as the moth clicks must
If successful, moths can disrupt the auditory
the returning echoes and so ‘jam’ the
sonar signal. Biologists from Wake Forest
Written by Dr
Michelle Taylor,
Associate Research
Fellow at the
University of Exeter,
Cornwall Campus.
19

Asking
for
trouble
In February this year a four-week
old boy was taken to St Thomas’
Hospital after a fox attack left him
with a serious hand injury. Stories
about how dangerous foxes are
appeared in the papers almost
Johnson went as far as to call them
a “menace”, and understandably,
really at fault?
Images: Gemma Malenoir 2013
An urban retreat
Life in the big city can be tough, and I
don’t just mean for us. Despite being one
such as coyotes, Eurasian badgers, raccoons
It has been suggested that Vulpes vulpes,
A happy home
Food glorious food
Urban foxes might
dine on rodents,
fruit, pets,
or food
in
return
for a
of these
creatures.
Up to
60% of an
The Telegraph has
only managed to find
five UK fox attacks
within the last 11
years, none of which
were fatal.
20

FEATURE FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
be made up of anthropogenic food. The
availability of these food sources all year
round makes it worth the risk of city living.
Are we asking for it?
since 2010, where two 9-month old girls
received arm and facial wounds. In fact,
would go for the neck, not the hand, arm
comparison to the number of dog attacks,
animals most of us would consider a part
of the family. It is understandable that the
victims’ families are upset, but can we really
only 13 - 14% living in urban areas.
After the latest attack, the victim’s parents
by several politicians. However, wildlife
considered that humans are not the only
Human conduct could be partly to
blame for such attacks. Many households
purposefully leave out food for their garden
visitors, or try to entice them to eat from
the hand. The availability of food so close
to human dwelling is a tasty prospect for
those brave enough to risk close encounters,
but there is a wealth of food available to
them in the urban environment, without
residents providing additional sources. If the
animals become habituated to our presence,
they will no longer feel the need to keep
could reduce the risk of confrontation.
metropolises approach upon their
territories without stopping to consider the
consequences. Our cities don’t stop growing
and when faced with the prospect of die or
adapt, we must surely realise that animals
that can adapt, will.
Written by Jennifer Weller,
second year zoology student
at the University of Exeter,
Cornwall Campus.
21

EXPERIENCE FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Eagle of
the night
The unexpected roughness of a branch grazing my cheek was a reminder
that I should have worn my glasses. I’m short sighted and when the light
fades it makes it even harder to differentiate between upcoming objects
and simple darkness. We followed on behind Pete, the most surprising
birder I have come across so far.
Image: Marcus Hoare (taken at the New Forest falconry display).
It was only a few days previously, sitting
around a very French farm house table
in the very French farm hamlet that
my family has been visiting since I was
9 months old, that I noticed a tattoo of a
barn swallow on his chunky forearm. “I
don’t think you want to know”, he said
in his very-unfrench-Essex-accent when I
asked him what inspired it. He eventually
relinquished the tale of how, as a young
man, he used to shoot birds to pass the
his boat. He ended up shooting so many
that he came to feel sorry for the feathered
creatures, and decided to spend the rest of
his life learning as much as he could about
them as a sort of penance.
It was this conversation in which we learnt
that there were Eurasian eagle owls nearby
and that Pete had heard them calling whilst
sitting quietly, waiting for a catch on his
got really excited and I, unknowing,
was a little confused. A plan was hatched
nonetheless and a few nights later we were
winding our way down to the Dordogne
River in a red and white VW camper, part
of the family since 1987, in pursuit of a
sighting of this elusive eagle owl.
As we followed Pete, he told us what they
sounded like, and we all had a go at an
impersonation, resulting in unsurprisingly
poor attempts to mimic something
unknown. When we reached the water’s
edge we sat uncomfortably on precariously
balanced rocks, and looked to the other
side of the steep, tree lined ravine. We
had binoculars, but as time went on we
started to lose faith in our search, the trees
were dense and where there were patches
of open rock, the sheer width of the
Dordogne made them too far away to pick
eagle owl sitting amongst the crevices.
The grey-blue hues of dusk turned to
black, and now my eyesight was only as
useless as everybody else’s. We sat talking
in whispers, and joked to each other in
hushed tones that we should try and call
it out of the trees. I let out my best eagle
owl impersonation, blowing through top
teeth pushed against bottom lip, sounding
something a bit like a mournful kazoo.
then through the quiet came a distant “oh
huu” and we all gasped and fell into hushed
giggles. I could barely believe it and
thought it a coincidence, so I repeated my
kazoo call and sure enough; “oh huu” came
the owl’s reply.
I continued my conversation with the
eagle owl for a while, calling out into the
darkness and listening with anticipation
for its replies to resonate through the
trees. The others tried too, but perhaps
something about the frequency of my
voice hit the right note with my new
friend. I heard it move from the left side
of the forest to the right, and up to the
top of the steep sides of the ravine, but it
we started talking about stories of how
one owl can take down a sheep or a young
roe deer on their own, and I imagined the
moment of such a giant animal swooping
towards you, talons outstretched. I don’t
feel shame in fearing them; it’s a form of
respect that we can recognise when to keep
our distance. As time went on its replies
got shorter and sharper, it seemed annoyed,
that I, another owl, was in its territory
uninvited and communicating with it out
of turn. I drew our conversation to a close.
Our feet were cold and the hours left to
pack up to return home were dwindling,
so we got up, and with one last hooting
goodbye, we scrambled our way back to
the van.
Written by Roz Evans, 3rd
year Conservation Biology
and Ecology student with the
University of Exeter, Cornwall
Campus.

OPINION FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
The fading night
Some years ago, while hitchhiking around the sparsely populated landscape of Namibia, I was camping in a remote location in
the north of the country. There was no moon that night, and leaving my tent to go to the toilet I was initially overwhelmed by the
incredible display of stars arching overhead, but also by a deep fear. It was so dark, with barely any discernable background glow on
the sky, that the only way to see where the horizon began was by the absence of stars. This was the deepest view of creation I’d ever
had, and yet it felt more claustrophobic than ever, as though the universe was on the verge of collapsing on itself. It was a profound
reminder of how adapted I am to the day, and how successfully we have banished the darkness of night from our experience in the
developed world.
Our remote ancestors in the Mesozoic
were well adapted to nocturnal life,
as many mammals and other animals
are today. The daily cycle of light and dark
are essential in regulating the circadian 24-
hour rhythms of most animals. Humans have
millennia, but over the past century there has
been an explosion of night illumination with
the advent of electric lighting.
the most overlooked factor in the complex
web of the causes of biodiversity decline.
to a reduction in visibility to predators. In a
natural environment these moonless nights
will be exploitable with each lunar cycle,
opportunities are lost. It’s apparent that
species in the shadows.
A brief look at a satellite image of the world
at night shows how seriously our densely
has seen serious declines in numerous animal
populations over the last few decades. Moths
last decade, and we are just beginning to
understand the extent to which the problem
factors, particularly habitat destruction,
in most population declines, but this is
something that would be so easy to address.
Aside from the obvious issue of wasted
energy, do we really need streetlights to be on
all night, especially on weeknights in rural
villages? It’s comforting for us, and it has
been argued that accidents and crime rates
are lower in areas that are brightly lit, but
Image: NASA, 2013.
of many animals, and there is evidence that
they disrupt the rhythms of birds, insects,
reptiles and numerous other nocturnal
animals. One of the best-studied examples is
that of turtle hatchlings on tropical beaches,
horizon inland. Under normal circumstances,
hatchlings instinctively orientate away from
the dark silhouette of the horizon towards
the brighter, starry sky, leading them to the
electric lights, the turtles often head inland,
away from the sea, where they can become
exhausted and disorientated, run over by
the extra illumination to their advantage.
Light pollution has been linked to population
declines in snakes, disruptions of migrating
birds and bats, amphibians, and invertebrates.
Research suggests that invertebrate activity
and small mammal distribution is increased
on darker, moonless nights, probably due
lights being brighter than stars even at large
distances, the insects become disorientated
and unable to navigate in the darker areas
night of moths around streetlamps saps the
animals’ energy, and creates an aggregation
of prey for nocturnal insectivorous predators
such as bats, which in turn are more
accidents. Moths escaping predation will often
land nearby, unable to navigate in the dark
surroundings, leading to a loss of opportunity
for feeding. This process has been referred
insects are drawn out of suitable habitats
for miles around the light source, leading
to depleted populations in the surrounding
countryside.
The reduction in moth populations may
also be a major factor in the current serious
are heavily dependent on moths as prey.
we need to spend more energy and money
understanding which lighting types have the
least ecological damage. Thankfully some
local authorities are rolling out testing periods
reducing the amount or type of lighting used,
but this is largely focused on money saving
rather than ecosystem regenerating.
quietest periods each night would give
wildlife a chance to disperse and resume
it’s normal rhythms of activity, and we
consumption, enjoying richer biodiversity,
and of course, re-acquainting ourselves with
the darkness which is as much a part of our
circadian rhythm as any other species.
Written by Feargus Cooney,
third year Conservation Biology
and Ecology BSc with the
University of Exeter, Cornwall
Campus.University of Exeter,
24

WOMEN IN SCIENCE FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Protecting our
future SWANs
As I write, the new undergraduate
students are arriving, ready to embark
Morgenroth also showed that even at
Zeya Wagner and Liselle-Fae Jackson
performing PCR technique in
Tremough teaching lab
Acronym Buster:
CEMPS
CLES
STEM
Engineering and Maths
SWAN
Get involved...
gender? Do you have any ideas
undergraduate students gain
Image: Laura Reddish, 2013.
my head.
they even graduate.
Athena SWAN in a
nutshell...
and attitudes towards women and removing
Claire Young,
Student Engagement,
Widening Participation
and Internationalisation
Coordinator at the University
of Exeter.
25

NEWS FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Badger vaccine
success in Cornwall
A
government-funded badger
vaccination scheme worth £2
million has been granted this month
to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis
in the Penwith area of west Cornwall.
This has come as welcome news to nearly
200,000 people who signed an anti-badger
cull petition as well large numbers of
researchers, activists and land owners who
have, for many years, been advocates of
a vaccine over the cull. It has also been
somewhat of a surprise given the recent
culls, ordered by DEFRA, that have begun
in Somerset and Gloucestershire with
another in Dorset planned for next year.
Until recently the favoured course of action
has been controversial culling of badgers
in infected areas; despite extensive studies
failing to show lasting or measurable
TB concluded in 2007 that other than
the systematic or virtual elimination
of badgers over very extensive areas - a
realistically impossible task - culling
actually increases the spread of bTB. Once
most badgers are removed from the cull
area, a new territory is opened up that is
exploited by badgers in surrounding areas.
Immigrant badgers are infected from
abandoned setts and surviving infected
individuals increasing badger-badger and
badger-cattle transmission rates. The lower
badger density means that there is greater
movement than before the cull and the
original infection spreads to a larger area.
As Simon King, President of the Wildlife
Trusts, said in an interview on Newsnight
in 2012, “Badgers are not the enemy
here, bovine Tuberculosis is… The way
of countering it is not to kill badgers,
the way of countering it is to get rid of
bTB through vaccination, both with
the badgers and cattle.” Under current
EU legislation, the vaccination of cattle
against bTB is prohibited as a proportion
of individuals treated with the BCG still
test positive in TB diagnostic tests. This
means they cannot be declared free of the
disease for trading purposes. Although
new diagnostic tests are being developed
and vaccinated individuals, it is likely to
be at least 10 years before any change in
EU legislation will permit any these tests
or any vaccination programmes to be
implemented on cattle.
The Feral Pigeon
Project announces
the launch of
its new app for
Android.
Recently showcased on BBC2’s
hugely popular Winterwatch
show, Adam Rogers founded
the Feral Pigeon Project
with the hope of mapping
the variation in feral pigeon
plumage colours across the
UK.
Most feral animals are
uniform in colour, yet feral
pigeons come in a wide array
of colours - this variation
is thought to be key to this
charismatic bird’s success. He
is asking people to count the
number of pigeons of various
colours and to report them via
the project’s website or with
its new app.
He said, “Pigeons may not be
as glamorous as many of the
exotic animals a person could
choose to study but take the
time to look beneath the
feathers and they’re just as
superbly adapted as any of the
The Feral Pigeon Project has announced the launch of its new app fo
Android TM
Recently showcased on BBC2's hugely popular Winterwatch show, Adam Rogers founded
the Feral Pigeon Project with the hope of mapping the variation in feral pigeon plumage
colours across the UK.
Image: Samuel Shrimpton 2013
The treatment of the European badger
(Meles meles) with regards to bovine
tuberculosis (bTB) has long been a topic of
great debate. For over 30 years it has been
known that the badger may contract and
carry the pathogen responsible for bTB,
Mycobacterium bovis, with a subsequent
enquiries instituted by the government
showing transmission of the disease from
cattle to badgers and, more worryingly for
farmers, from badgers to cattle. The high
level of their interaction with cattle makes
the badger a key species in the eradication
of bTB.
it will need to be carried for at least the
next 6 years at a cost of around £650 per
badger. Not cheap, but with over 30,000
cattle slaughtered throughout the UK in
cost of bTB to the UK taxpayer in the next
decade predicted to be over £1 billion, the
vaccination programme could be worth it
in the long run.
Written by Will Priestley, Alumnus of the
University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus.
Most feral animals are uniform in colour, yet feral pigeons come in a wide array of colours -­‐
The project hopes to uncover
or with its new app.
how pigeons are adapting to
adapted as any of the African big five."
environment, as well as
helping To download to the spark app visit: people’s
this variation is thought to be key to this charismatic bird's success. He is asking people to
count the number of pigeons of various colours and to report them via the project's website
He said, "Pigeons may not be as glamorous as many of the exotic animals a person could
choose to study but take the time to look beneath the feathers and they're just as superbly
The project hopes to uncover how pigeons are adapting to the influence of our urban
environment, as well as helping to spark people's interest in the natural world.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.hiafi.feralpigeon&hl=en_GB
or scan the following QR code:
To download
the app scan:
www.feralpigeonproject.com
www.feralpigeonproject.com
26

REVIEWS FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Hotspots of Cornwall
recommended by the editors of Life
"Tehidy Country Park makes for a sun-dappled
leafy-green haze of a day. Leasuirely follow the
and fauna residing in the woodland. Keep an
eye out for some natural wood carvings too! ”
- Samuel Jay Chessel, Picture Editor
"Hell’s Mouth is a
beautiful coastal
spot for bird
watching. Fulmars,
razorbills, guillemots
and cormorants
all nest there, and
gannets can be seen
out to sea. Lie on
the grassy cliff and
watch them swoop
around below you! ”
Illustration: Emma Simpson-Wells 2013. Images: chough: Dave Jones, guillemot & tree canopy: Emma Simpson-Wells, bluebells: Roz Evans, dipper: Billy Heaney
- Emma Simpson-
Wells, Creative
Director
“The Lizard, most southerly
point, is amazing in winter
storms but beautiful in the
summer. The wildlife there
is unique and you’re pretty
much guaranteed something
each time you visit!”
- Charli Sams, Picture Editor
"Kennall Vale Nature
Reserve is a great little
woodland hideaway.
Slightly inland, and with
a big stream running
through there’s
from dippers, to
woodland anemones
and an impressive
range of fungi!"
-Georgia Cass, Sub-
Creative Director
"I'm a bit in love
with Enys gardens
at the moment.
Although it isn't
wild, it's just
stunning when
you go in bluebell
season, so keep
it on your list as
something to look
forward to until
spring. The whole
place is really well
managed for wildlife
with ponds and
a huge variety of
vegetation. Students
get in for £2 and
there's a tea room
to top it all off!”
- Roz Evans, Editor
in Chief
27

CAREERS FROM DAWN UNTIL DUSK AUTUMN ISSUE
Claire Young: Careers
Interview
BSc Conservation Biology
and Ecology
I have the longest job title
EVER. Such a mouthful: Student
Engagement, Widening Participation and
Internationalisation Coordinator for CLES
Cornwall at the University of Exeter. And
people still don’t know what it means after
I’ve said it!
My job is so varied. Part of
it involves working with current students
to get them engaged in projects we’re
running, as well as supporting them to set
up their own. I also do a huge amount of
outreach work with schools, developing
lessons and teaching kids, trying to inspire
them to get excited about science.
Image Credit: Dave Jones
Having autonomy in
my job and being able to tailor it to my
strengths and what I enjoy. I’m supposed
to be an intern but I’m treated like an
into the deep end and it has been very
and I’ve achieved some great things.
Having to convince
people to come to events and take part in
things that I’ve worked so hard on. At every
event I’m always so worried no one will
turn up! They usually do though!
I was an engaged
student myself and did lots of volunteering.
I was also a Student Ambassador which
gave me a lot of experience working with
massively.
I don’t really
know! I’d love to do a PhD but I’m yet to
me. I’m open to a most things but I need
something that challenges me!
Want to be part of Life Nature
Magazine?
We are looking for a new team
for a new year. So will be
An Editor-in-chief
Sub Editors
Picture Editors
Content Editors
Layout Designers
Either experienced or just keen
to learn and put in the time!
Must be pro-active!
If you’re interested, e-mail
life@exeter.ac.uk
28

VOLUNTEERING FROM DAWN UNTIL DUSK AUTUMN ISSUE
Sea Watch Foundation:
New Quay
Blue Reef Aquarium:
Newquay
Where & who?
I am currently completing a seven week internship with Sea Watch
Foundation in New Quay, Wales.
Tasks and responsibilities
Land surveys consisted of sitting on New Quay pier and counting the
dolphins seen in the bay. The boat surveys involved recording cetaceans and
the environment, such as sea state, and GPS coordinates. If dolphins were
When groups of dolphins were spotted, behaviour forms were also
used, along with the use of the hydrophone to record the dolphins
through sightings and inputting data.
Highlights
I was able to hear the dolphins communicating through a variety of clicks
and whistle through the hydrophone. This gave me an insight into the
dolphin’s lives that not many people get.
Lowlights
I don’t really have a lowlight as I have never worked with marine mammals
before. I was continuously learning not only about cetaceans, but also about
the marine environment.
Would you recommend it to others?
to get involved with marine mammals.
Where & who?
I worked in Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium, with the
volunteering being mainly run by Lee Charnock, one
of the aquarium display team.
Tasks and responsibilities
My main tasks were to get the aquarium ready to
receive visitors in the morning, which included soaping
the octopus tank to keep it from fogging up with
condensation. I would also run checks on the tanks
including temperature and water quality. Feeding the
main task, as well as going out to local rock pools and
rivers to catch live food.
Highlights
It would have to be either feeding or playing with the
octopus. Hand feeding cayman, logger head turtles
and sharks was pretty cool, though having an octopus
latching onto your arms is a pretty amazing feeling.
Lowlights
morning and having to clean the glass on over 50 tanks,
especially the low glass, being 6 foot 5 tall.
Would you recommend it to others?
beach in Newquay, in the summer heat!
Cost
The only cost was petrol to and from where I was
staying, so if you live close it would be all sweet.
Yeah to a certain extent, helping the aquarium is always
helped me in my exploitation of the sea module in 2nd
year.
Cost
around New Quay.
There have been many papers published from data volunteers helped to
Do you think it will be helpful for your future career prospects?
I believe it will. You learn so much, not only how to collect data out in the
to input it onto databases. It also opens up opportunities to work in other
Jess Cripps
Do you think it will be helpful for your future
career prospects?
Well I’m now working in another aquarium closer to
home after telling them about my Newquay experience
in the summer, so it looks like it’s helping already!
George Clayden
29

ON YOUR DOORSTEP FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Wildlife Watch
October:
Red Deer
October is the peak of the red deer
Cervus elaphus rut. Usually segregated,
congregating into large single sex herds
in open country, in the breeding season
the stags return to the home rage of the
hind deer creating large mixed groups.
Males compete to win access to a group
of females and by protecting their
‘harem’, the dominant male will receive
exclusive rights to mate with them.
November:
Thrushes
By November visiting
thrushes can be seen in large
along hedgerows. Common
migrants include redwing
turdus iliacus
turdus pilaris, most of the ones
we see in Cornwall would
have crossed the north sea,
on passage from Scandinavia.
They overwinter in the UK,
departing in early spring.
Redwings are easily spotted
on the Tremough Campus, so
keep your eyes peeled.
Seals
By November grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) colonies are bustling with their
Phoca vitulina,
pups much earlier in June-July. Grey seal pups moult their thick, white coat
after three weeks, at this point their mothers will end their starvation period,
leaving the pups to fend for themselves. Godrevy head in Hayle is a good
place for seeing the new families interact.
Image: red deer: Beth Arkwright, red wing, Hannah Walker;
merveille du jour, Guy Freeman; seal pup, Liselle Fae Jackson;
waxwing, Felix Smith; fungi, Charlotte Sams; moss, Claire Young.
Moths
moths, the Merveille du
Jour Dichonia aprilina can
be seen on the wing from
late September to October.
Although scarce, it is
widespread, often occurring
in woodland, hedgerows
and gardens around the
UK, in particular those
with high numbers of oaks
- their larval food plant. It
is one of our most beautiful
moths, especially when
newly emerged.
Fungi
October is the month fungal
diversity peaks, with the majority
of the seasonal mushrooms
fruiting. This is a great time
to get into wild foraging as
mushrooms emerge. But forage
with caution; many poisonous
species also thrive in October.
These include the unmistakeable
Amanita muscaria
(pictured), as well as species
which are confusingly similar to
edible specimens; false chanterelle
Hygrophoropis aurantiaca can
cause some people serious harm
and looks almost identical to
other edible chanterelles.
December:
Moss
In December when the
temperatures drop really
low, water everywhere
can freeze, causing quite
a spectacle in some
places. Moss has a high
water content, and lives
in damp spots. The soft
moss beds we are used
to are transformed in
to crunchy, icicle laden,
glistening green walls.
Waxwings
During harsh winters, large
Bombycilla garrulous are forced
south, leaving northern and
central Europe where they
overwinter and visit the UK.
They often make it as far south
as Cornwall, and can be seen
frequenting gardens and car
parks in Falmouth, foraging on
hawthorn Crategus monogyna
and rowan Sorbus aucuparia
berries.
Written by Fraser Bell, MSc
Applied Ecology Alumnus.

ON YOUR DOORSTEP FROM DUSK UNTIL DAWN AUTUMN ISSUE
Illustration: Wynona Legg 2013
Adaptations of a....
to avoid detection by predators and insect prey.
Nightjar
retina enhances the nightjars’ vision
at night by improving the light
gathering ability of the eye.
Big white patches on the ends of males’ wings
territorial displays. Enthusiasts might take two
handkerchiefs and wave them at arms length, to
attract the attention of a territorial male.
The beak is wider than it is long, opening
widely in both directions providing a wide
Their brown feathers create an illusion of a pile of
leaves or a dead log, blending in perfectly with their
for the times when they leave their nests.
Image: Mozambique Nightjar, Jared Wilson-Aggarwal
9

If you want to write for
i f e
n a t u r e m a g a z i n e
The theme for the spring term’s issue is:
Anthropogenesis...
Just send us a short summary of your idea for an article or a
photographic sequence to: life@exeter.ac.uk
With thanks to our readers and supporters, The
University of Exeter and University of Falmouth.
Credit: Emma Simpson-Wells 2013