Category: Perspectives

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Fieldwork, and why students need it

I recently took part in the 3rd year Terrestrial Ecology field course in Glendalough. Though I already had some experience teaching both lab work and fieldwork, this was my first time being “staff” on a trip I had previously been on as a student. It was a wonderful experience. This field course is a venerable institution of the Zoology Department: it has taken place Glendalough every year since 2007, having previously been held in the Burren and Killarney National Park. It has always been beloved by students, as seen in this video made in 2016.

Zoology students in Trinity have the chance to take part in three field courses: Terrestrial Ecology in Glendalough, Marine Biology on the rich shores of Strangford Lough, and Tropical Ecology around the ancient Rift Valley Lakes of Kenya. Here, from enthusiastic and experienced teachers, they learn skills that will stand to them in any ecological undertaking. On the Glendalough field course, students of both Zoology and Environmental Science are introduced to the techniques used to sample and survey wild animals, including Longworth trapping for small mammals, malaise trapping for flying insects, kick-sampling for aquatic invertebrates, and mist netting for birds. This last one was what brought me on the course.

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World Bee Day 2019

Jane Stout with President Higgins in his Garden on Bee Day 2019

Happy World Bee Day!

As well as launching our lab theme song, this World Bee Day, I was privileged to meet the President, Michael D. Higgins, at Áras an Uachtaráin. Along with Una Fitzpatrick, the Chair of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan from the National Biodiversity Data Centre,  we visited the walled garden in the Áras and discussed bees, the importance of pollinators and the plight of biodiversity in general. The President is a staunch advocate for nature (see his impassioned speech from the National Biodiversity Conference here), as illustrated by his press release today…

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PhD Retrospective: Finding new bird species in Sulawesi

Almost as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a Zoologist. Growing up on a steady diet of Attenborough documentaries, I dreamed of exploring new lands, discovering weird and wonderful species. I wanted to be the next Darwin. The next Wallace. In a lot of ways, my PhD research has been the fulfilment of that dream. It all started with my undergraduate thesis project in the Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Zoology Department. When Prof Nicola Marples and Dr David Kelly offered a project studying speciation on islands, I jumped at it. I spent the summer before the final year of my undergraduate island hopping in south-east Sulawesi, Indonesia, collecting data on how the physical traits of sunbird species had changed on isolated islands. Nicola and Dave’s project fieldwork was organised by Operation Wallacea, so we worked with Operation Wallacea staff as we moved around the islands and got to interact with scientists focusing on some of the other unique wildlife of Sulawesi.

Sulawesi is a region of massive interest to evolutionary biology. It is the intersection where Asian and Australian flora and fauna meet, and is separated by deep ocean trenches ensuring it has never been connected to a continent, allowing many unique species to develop there. As well as providing a fascinating study system, South-east Sulawesi has some incredible wildlife. Knobbed Hornbills, Tarsiers and Sulawesi Bear Cuscus are weird and wonderful treats. In particular, working with the birds of this region was incredible, and I was adamant it wouldn’t end up being a once in a lifetime experience! As well as allowing me to follow my island-hopping ambitions, this project kicked off what I predict will be a lifelong obsession. Having previously been a typical fan of large charismatic mammals, I became a full convert to the world of birds (it’s fundamentally all about the birds!).

Read the full post on the Operation Wallacea blog!

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Sisters in Science: Dr Liz Dobson

Dr Liz Dobson in her veterinary science research lab

Header image courtesy Zoos Victoria

In answer to the call for posts about ‘Modern Women in Science’, I decided to write about my sister: Dr Elizabeth Dobson BSc (Biology), BSc (Vet. Bio), BVMS (Hons), MSc, Diplomate ACVP.

Why my sister? Well, first because she’s an accomplished scientist in the field of veterinary and wildlife pathology. And second, because she’s had a unique career. It’s an example of how scientists can draw on diverse experiences to shape their future and play an active role in carving out a professional niche that aligns with their goals (and financial needs!).

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Modern Women in Science: Eugenie “The Shark Lady” Clark

“I don’t get philosophical. Love fish. Love sharks. Keep the water and their habitats as clean and protected as possible” – Eugenie “The Shark Lady” Clark, American Ichthyologist

Early life

In the world of Marine Biology, there are two prominent female figures in my mind: Sylvia Earle, aka Her Deepness, and Eugenie Clark, aka the Shark Lady. Anyone who knows me will already know why they are so special to me, simply by reading their nicknames. I am a marine biologist, a shark scientist, and a woman so it feels special to have two such successful figures to look up to and to follow in their footsteps. You can look out for a post about Sylvia Earle very soon, but first let me tell you about her good friend and someone she looked up to since her childhood. Eugenie Clark was born in May 1922 (a Taurus like me!) in New York City to a Japanese mother and an American father. She became passionate about the underwater world when she was very young and wrote most of her school reports about the topic. She visited the Aquarium in NYC weekly and went on to study Zoology at Hunter College.

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Is a seal cull needed to protect fish stocks?

For decades, Irish fishermen have called for Irish seals to be culled. The call for a seal cull has been made especially vociferously in the west of the country, and has been brought into the national discussion when backed by politicians and highlighted by illegal acts of violence against seals. Just weeks ago, Michael Healy-Rae, Independent TD for Kerry, was in the media demanding a cull. Though many people perceive seals to compete with fishermen, any impact on fisheries is not well supported by the research. Studies have found that seals do not generally compete for the same fish resources as fishermen, and modelling has indicated that the presence or absence of seals has little impact on fisheries catches.

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One Thing For Nature

If you could do one thing for nature, what would it be?

Invent a new way of automatically cataloguing species? Put location trackers on every single individual of a threatened animal population? Start collecting DNA sequences of threatened species so we can de-extinct them, Jurassic Park style?

The answers I got to this question when I posed it to our Tuesday lunchtime group of PhD students, researchers, and academics, was far less sci-fi and much more pragmatic.

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Donuts with a Doctor – musings on mentoring

Who doesn’t like donuts? Sugary and crispy on the outside, doughy and satisfying on the inside. And it turns out that eating a donut provides the perfect opportunity for some academic mentoring. The recent Ecology and Evolution Ireland conference put on a “Donuts with a Doctor” mentoring session that brought donut lovers together to exchange experiences on career opportunities, work-life balance, skills, mobility, and whatever else could be said between bites. Continue reading “Donuts with a Doctor – musings on mentoring”

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A Scientist Goes to Court

A very interesting case has been underway in the high court the past week. Last Thursday and Friday, the Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), a conglomerate which represents Irish environmental NGOs, have been laying out their case that the Irish State’s actions on climate change are inadequate. They argue that that the government’s approval of the National Mitigation Plan in 2017 was in violation of Ireland’s Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, the Constitution, and human rights obligations. Basically, climate change is a thing, and Ireland hasn’t acted adequately to decarbonise the economy, putting the lives of its citizens at risk. Today the state was responding, so I went along to hear how they were going to defend their record. Continue reading “A Scientist Goes to Court”