Posts

Posted on

New Orleans, New Adventure

It’s a hot day in early August in New Orleans, Louisiana. The beads of sweat rolling from everyone’s foreheads are a permanent fixture in this humidity. A group of drummers are joined by some brass players and an impromptu jazz performance begins. This is my first time in the U.S.A. and I really don’t know how I feel; primarily because of the jetlag. I’ve flown to the other side of the world for the largest gathering of ecologists on earth. This is the Ecological Society of America’s 103rd annual meeting (ESA 2018), where researchers from all over the world gather to share their science. Thousands of people walked the halls of the convention centre and I wondered if I’d ever see anyone I knew.

I came to ESA 2018 with five goals:

  1. Share preliminary results of my research.
  2. Meet some potential collaborators.
  3. Soak up some awesome science.
  4. Practice talking to a ‘big name’.
  5. Have fun!

Here’s how it went down… Continue reading “New Orleans, New Adventure”

Posted on

The avifauna of Kabaena Island

Most of us start off in ecological research for the fieldwork. I always dreamed of following in the footsteps of Darwin or Wallace, discovering species and exploring new lands. While I haven’t quite reached the level of my august peers (yet!), my PhD has allowed me to take a step on the road towards following that dream. My PhD field work involved travelling around beautiful tropical islands in remote parts of Indonesia. Tough work, but someone has to do it. We moved site every week as part of our sampling regime, working in mountains, swamps and everything in between. We stayed with local families, sometimes in hovels, sometimes in veritable palaces, often with one following the other. I find it hard to pick my favourite site, I loved them all in their own way, but if I have a favourite it’s Kabaena Island, off the south-east peninsular arm of Sulawesi. In 2016 I spent three weeks there surveying bird populations as part of joint research by Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and Halu Oleo University team. This work complemented previous research by previous TCD teams in 1999, 2001 and 2003 which led to the discovery of a new species of the Red-backed Thrush, the Kabaena Thrush (Geokichla erythronota kabaena). Continue reading “The avifauna of Kabaena Island”

Posted on

Associate Editor Mentoring – 2019 applications now open

Annabel Smith writes on the Applied Ecologist’s blog about her experience as an associate editor and encourages other early-career scientists to apply. Read more in the blog snippet below or see the full post on the Applied Ecologist’s blog.

“We are now accepting applications for our Associate Editor Mentoring Opportunity, a chance for early career researchers to gain experience of working on a journal editorial board. Annabel Smith (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin) began her Mentoring Opportunity role in January 2018. Here she explains why she decided to apply and what she hopes to gain from the experience.

We’re often thrown in the deep end when it comes to learning new professional skills in a research career. Experience is a great teacher in the long term but it can take a lot of time to master new skills like reviewing papers and applying for grants. And the path can by windy, to put it lightly.

So I jumped at the chance to apply for the Associate Editor Mentoring Opportunity with Journal of Applied Ecology when I saw it advertised in 2017. I was drawn to the idea of working closely with a Senior Editor who would guide me on a hopefully less windy path than I’d experienced with learning other skills. I was delighted that my application was successful and I joined the Editorial Board in January 2018 for a two-year position…”

Read the full blog post on the Applied Ecologist’s blog.

______________

About the Author

Dr. Annabel Smith is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow in Yvonne Buckley’s research group in the Department of Zoology, Trinity College Dublin. Her current research focuses on the interaction between changing fire regimes and plant invasion. Find out more about her research here:

Website |  www.smithecology.org
Google Scholar |  Profile
ResearcherID |  Profile
ORCID | 0000-0002-1201-8713

Posted on

Little ants under big pressure

A recent study led by Sam Ross and published in the journal Biotropica, asks how selective logging interacts with habitat fragmentation to affect ant biodiversity in a Kenyan rainforest. Read more in the blog post snippet below, or see the full blog post on the IMECO blog:

“Our recent study asks how selective logging intensity affects ant biodiversity in Kakamega forest in Western Kenya. Building on fieldwork conducted by Paco Hita Garcia and Georg Fischer ~10 years ago, we aimed to uncover how logging intensity in the past and recently interacts with habitat fragmentation to affect ant communities. We found that recent selective logging matters the most, and that ant species that lived mainly in the forest were particularly affected by logging. Our work reveals how recent logging activity may overshadow any historic impacts in this forest in Kenya. Continue reading “Little ants under big pressure”

Posted on

FAMELAB: Like American Idol, but for Science Communication

As many of you know, the TCD parasitology group is well known for parasitic proselytism. Having tried a few other science communication challenges (PubHD, BioTweeps), I was looking for a new opportunity when I stumbled upon FameLab. This wonderful joint venture of the British Council and over 20 Irish partner institutions actually trains the next generation of science communicators. The competition/talent search is free to enter and is extremely easy to join at Trinity, which hosts its own heat. It seemed like an exciting new way to spread the parasite gospel, so I signed up and worked on a three-minute talk using only props that I could carry on stage. My first talk, on the Carter Center’s program for the eradication of Guinea worm, was exciting to write and prepare.

From the moment I walked into the TCD heat, I was excited. The other speakers were enthusiastic and talked about everything from lasers to dinosaurs (unfortunately no lasers on dinosaurs). I focused on the current efforts to eradicate Guinea worm. Steeling my nerves, I went on stage, spoke about my topic, carried a giant stick, and was selected as the winner of the heat. Continue reading “FAMELAB: Like American Idol, but for Science Communication”

Posted on

The thesis collection 2018

One of the best parts of my PhD in the Zoology Department at TCD has been working with undergraduate students. The strength, creativity, and dedication of the students shines brightest in their fourth-year theses. Like many programmes, TCD requires final year students to plan, conduct, analyse and report a novel piece of science- whether it’s an experiment, field study or meta-analysis. The results of these projects often blow us all away and EcoEvo@TCD would like to highlight some of the excellent work done by our awesome undergraduate co-workers. The following summaries were submitted by the authors listed- feel free to contact the authors with job offers/congratulations. Continue reading “The thesis collection 2018”

Posted on

Delicious Cuscus

Studying island bird biogeography in the tropics for my PhD has presented me with many weird and wonderful opportunities. None more so than accidentally becoming a mammologist along the way. My study region of Sulawesi, Indonesia, is home to the westernmost marsupial species in Asia, the Cuscus. Cuscus are like marsupial sloths, living life in the slow lane and spending most of their time foraging on leaves and digesting. The absence of large mammalian predators from Sulawesi means that they have few natural predators to disturb this sedate lifestyle. In a recent collaborative paper in Australian Mammalogy we report on the distribution and status of the endemic marsupials on the offshore islands of South-east Sulawesi.

Sulawesi Cuscus remain poorly studied; little is known about their ecology, the threats they face, and even their distribution within Sulawesi. The main focus of the cuscus research in South-east Sulawesi has been Buton Island, where researchers with Operation Wallacea have monitored populations for the past 15 years, revealing the Bear Cuscus (Ailurops ursinus) to be common, and providing the first evidence of the Small Sulawesi Cuscus (Strigocuscus celebensis) on the island. Both species are designated as Vulnerable (Helgen and Jackson 2015). Buton is likely one of the key sites for these species, retaining the largest tracts of lowland forest in the Sulawesi region, with 77% of the island’s 560 000ha still forested. Continue reading “Delicious Cuscus”

Posted on

Outfoxing the fox: an urban/wild conflict

Featured post by Adam Fowler, Connected Nature Intern at Trinity College Dublin.

An outlaw, a scoundrel, a trickster… the cunning fox. From Roald Dahl’s depiction of Mr. Fox, the tricky, shrewd thief in Fantastic Mr. Fox, to Jason Bateman’s voicing of the ‘shifty and untrustworthy’ Nick Wilde in the 2016 movie Zootopia, foxes are often portrayed as a scourge to human living. Is it a warranted portrayal, or should we be more open to them?

No matter how they are depicted in the literature, some do view the urban red fox (vulpes vulpes) as a welcome visitor to their gardens. Young foxes look appealing, they are playful and almost majestic. Some people even offer food to try and encourage repeat visits. Continue reading “Outfoxing the fox: an urban/wild conflict”

Posted on

Research White Day Greetings

Inspired by the sciency Valentines from Twisted Doodles and E/V Nautilus the researchers at Trinity College decided to spread a little research love this Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, we missed the boat on Valentines Day so a month later we are celebrating the romantic holiday of White Day, celebrated across Asia! White day is a chance for those who received valentines gifts to return the favour, but since milk or dark chocolate is usually given on valentines, white chocolate is given on white day to show that the gifts are not simply being recycled from the previous month.

So, with our undying love for our research at the front of our minds, we put together this collection of our most eye-wateringly romantic scientific sentiments, perfect to send to your loved one this White Day.

“Acanth live without you” – Paula Tierney

“If I had the whole zoo, I would still choose you!” – Andrew Mooney Continue reading “Research White Day Greetings”

Posted on

Firehawks: waking up to stories of the Dreamtime

Fire is an essential part of the ecology of many savannah and grassland ecosystems. In some cases, fire is the only way of removing older grasses that are no longer profitable for herbivores to consume. As well as having benefits for local ecology, grassland fires also offer great feeding opportunities. I have seen large groups of raptors and insectivorous birds gather at the fringes of bushfires in Kruger National Park, to take advantage of the animals flushed into the open by the moving fire front. In Australia, a number of raptors are frequently seen around bushfires. These birds; black kites (Milvus migrans), whistling kites (Haliastur sphenurus), and brown falcons (Falco berigora) are known as firehawks. In Malamalak, an Aboriginal language, the black kite is known as Kerrk, a reference to its call “kerrk-kerrk-kerrk“.There is an intriguing story about Kerrk:

“In the creation period or dreamtime, Kerrk stole fire sticks from the Dingo, so that he could cook the Cheeky yam. Kerrk is still attracted to fires and occasionally he can be seen carrying burning sticks from an existing fire to start more fires further away.” Continue reading “Firehawks: waking up to stories of the Dreamtime”