Trinity College Dublin, Ecology and Evolution
Natural history museum collections are invaluable snapshots of history. Research collections can be used to trace how animals have changed over time. Collections are also a reflection of the people and attitudes at the time it was curated. There is a well-represented collection of native Australian animals in the Zoology Museum at Trinity College Dublin. …
Natural history museum collections are invaluable snapshots of history. Research collections are snapshots of the animals and plants collected in history. Research collections are also a reflection of the people and attitudes at the time it was curated. There is a well-represented collection of native Australian animals in the Zoology Museum at Trinity College Dublin. …
Continue reading “Home and Away: Would a Rosella by any other name smell as sweet?”
This post is based on the paper ‘The avifauna of the forest mosaic habitats of the Mariarano region, Mahajanga II district, north-west Madagascar’, just published open-access in Bothalia: African Biodiversity and Conservation. The header image by Jamie Grant-Fraser shows White-faced Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna viduata) responding to the appearance of a Madagascar Harrier-hawk (Polyboroides radiatus).
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “PhD Retrospective: Finding new bird species in Sulawesi”
Zoology TY week is a programme of events put on for 24 transition year (4th year) students per year, drawn from schools across Ireland. Gaining a place is a competitive process, with 90 or so applications in each year so far. The winners get to experience what it’s like to be a zoology undergraduate, participating …
Continue reading “How to be a zoologist – Transition Year Week 2019”
Final-year undergraduate students summarise their undergrad thesis projects in TCD Zoology and Botany.
Fishermen and politicians have been calling on the Irish government to initiate a seal cull. Fionn Ó Marcaigh examines the evidence.
From pelicans to shrews to barnacle geese, the medieval zoologists had some very strange ideas about animals. Fionn Ó Marcaigh delves into what used to pass for science.
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 …