tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79056383013207297292024-03-13T20:44:07.946-07:00Zoo VolunteerAlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.comBlogger395125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-25291587367007700642022-05-07T10:27:00.003-07:002022-05-07T10:27:40.142-07:00Part 7: Larger carnivores<p style="text-align: justify;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4WA059lkV6jraCTWVbQSR1mBLew99uAdnSj8O2eqeZTuFOg7_G5ruNhGuHMFDlrRGYHWW_zQND_rUKakiw7nE9wVEt7ZAz7RTMp2451hUz_UfpZMVTzlA6wwTSFYWx6E73TXKkR-ny-QIoLYgdWKK3b8Pg03FIYCa6FtoySPUdQ3hCGNHfbZcBSj/s3456/European_Brown_Bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4WA059lkV6jraCTWVbQSR1mBLew99uAdnSj8O2eqeZTuFOg7_G5ruNhGuHMFDlrRGYHWW_zQND_rUKakiw7nE9wVEt7ZAz7RTMp2451hUz_UfpZMVTzlA6wwTSFYWx6E73TXKkR-ny-QIoLYgdWKK3b8Pg03FIYCa6FtoySPUdQ3hCGNHfbZcBSj/s320/European_Brown_Bear.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Brown Bear</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Even though the mountains of the Carpathians are ideal
habitat for the largest terrestrial carnivore in Europe, the Brown Bear Ursus
arctos, as a result of human persecution the estimated population is less than
200 individuals. This compares with 1000 in neighbouring Slovakia and an
estimated 5000 in Romania. Despite their range across the entire northern
hemisphere (European Brown Bears are the same species as North Americas famous
Grizzlies) in Europe bears are in serious trouble, especially in more densely
populated and developed areas. They barely survive in Spain, Italy and western Europe,
with the bulk of the European population in Scandinavia and European Russia. This
is of course because they are potentially dangerous to humans and certainly dangerous
to livestock, although European Brown Bears tend to be more vegetarian than their
relatives in North America for example. In order to obtain sufficient food to
sustain their massive bodies, Brown Bears need vast ranges, with females having
home ranges of around 300 km2 in most parts of Europe and the larger males well
over 1000km2. They will often share that range with several adults, although
they are naturally solitary, but will meet at food sources such as wolf kills
or productive fruit areas in the autumn. <o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1c9gGL1ntFOtpruuQg-VziXf3CV2MZ6DVEjAPMM5AnQldKK9_JqCqELT_IALCFsAJqMr6RxdQ0MMyHf9n9WD00Fa3ZAzJbq11qU4n2XhDp1RRno0srNEQ5vaq1PzAlqhS2ZgvQJSbUSsyLQhPQxTmzmmrK-hgGzc8p-IGygj_Ptc6LT4wMtqjWsO/s3440/Eurasian_wolf_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2664" data-original-width="3440" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1c9gGL1ntFOtpruuQg-VziXf3CV2MZ6DVEjAPMM5AnQldKK9_JqCqELT_IALCFsAJqMr6RxdQ0MMyHf9n9WD00Fa3ZAzJbq11qU4n2XhDp1RRno0srNEQ5vaq1PzAlqhS2ZgvQJSbUSsyLQhPQxTmzmmrK-hgGzc8p-IGygj_Ptc6LT4wMtqjWsO/s320/Eurasian_wolf_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eurasian Wolf</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By contrast, in Europe the Wolf is making something of a
comeback. The Carpathians were always a stronghold, but changes in land use, a
decline in persecution and – in Ukraine and Belorus- the abandonment of areas
around Chernobyl have resulted in a great increase in population and a spread
to many parts of western Europe where they have been extinct for many years or
even centuries, In fact, there are more wolves in Europe than in the whole of
the continental United states outside Alaska. In recent years they have become
resident in the Netherlands and have been sighted in Belgium. The natural prey
of wolves in Europe are deer for the main part, but they will also prey on wild
boar and smaller animals such as hares, or even Beavers. Their kills may be
scavenged by bears or become a major food source for vultures or eagles.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5XVklckfecsZ8fsEaRxyOV2AQmT7m5nFycfUt8gHXR1gTvWaIJyrW8lNDpZTr3Vi-veSNPulnsRtpGEov2kTM7hp2HeCPY0UX_siz4-g6KAUMSz_71xIMuzBjfzr5aIb4J0X_l7ffTN8ZPFLssN2PX9qaZzSAnlsvzVsYIuFXfbGyVhQwDcZpojc/s2400/Budakeszi_Vadaspark_2021_07_Lynx_lynx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5XVklckfecsZ8fsEaRxyOV2AQmT7m5nFycfUt8gHXR1gTvWaIJyrW8lNDpZTr3Vi-veSNPulnsRtpGEov2kTM7hp2HeCPY0UX_siz4-g6KAUMSz_71xIMuzBjfzr5aIb4J0X_l7ffTN8ZPFLssN2PX9qaZzSAnlsvzVsYIuFXfbGyVhQwDcZpojc/s320/Budakeszi_Vadaspark_2021_07_Lynx_lynx.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carpathian Lynx</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Probably the rarest of Ukraines large carnivores, the Carpathian
Lynx, a subspecies of the widespread Eurasian Lynx, is thinly distributed in
the forests of north west Ukraine where it is a victim of persecution, disturbance
and habitat fragmentation. Unlike other lynx species, Eurasian Lynx specialise
in fairly large ungulate prey with Roe deer being a favourite, although they
will also take hares, birds and small rodents. Unfortunately, they will also
kill sheep which has driven their persecution and extirpation from much of their
former range.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOo9fw8SZdDnR6BmnT9Pb3w166fdYmZa78SHqTtICpf1EcDzjKor3e09_YF7FqUIj2Bb71QMOufsMslT8iOlUFV_BXHzdIBsBfCgXufP0jcYywiDBwYOooNlpNXVyqqy3WLEQ3sKqxKh817kzO3WzaY5M9P-7e7n6cuI-jOTL3ulKnD8nYc22MfSl9/s3500/Fox_-_British_Wildlife_Centre_(17429406401).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2333" data-original-width="3500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOo9fw8SZdDnR6BmnT9Pb3w166fdYmZa78SHqTtICpf1EcDzjKor3e09_YF7FqUIj2Bb71QMOufsMslT8iOlUFV_BXHzdIBsBfCgXufP0jcYywiDBwYOooNlpNXVyqqy3WLEQ3sKqxKh817kzO3WzaY5M9P-7e7n6cuI-jOTL3ulKnD8nYc22MfSl9/s320/Fox_-_British_Wildlife_Centre_(17429406401).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Fox</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Far morse successful is that paragon of adaptability, the
Red Fox. Found everywhere in Europe, often in cities, and capable of living on almost
anything animal or vegetable that is remotely edible, foxes are probably the
most familiar of Europes predators. Outside of the urban environment foxes feed
mainly on rodents and hares, with fruits in the autumn being also significant
in the diet.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvF2OO1_kYEuOLhiuyd1DoHubSz7NC98rIJf-Nv_psy2UFkKXvdC-bWbG5KObmhVeEVuA8jO5KSX9_B1UitEOvGFC_4IjG5CeF0IonHooaqGlu1UsWNdKd8dt2uIa_PgC8W2AY--Ylmgnkc_8M5Du7tYDJcbSb1aheDVLbfLmTIr_n8KYTt0QJfS0/s4085/Felis_silvestris_silvestris_Luc_Viatour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4085" data-original-width="2723" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvF2OO1_kYEuOLhiuyd1DoHubSz7NC98rIJf-Nv_psy2UFkKXvdC-bWbG5KObmhVeEVuA8jO5KSX9_B1UitEOvGFC_4IjG5CeF0IonHooaqGlu1UsWNdKd8dt2uIa_PgC8W2AY--Ylmgnkc_8M5Du7tYDJcbSb1aheDVLbfLmTIr_n8KYTt0QJfS0/s320/Felis_silvestris_silvestris_Luc_Viatour.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eurasian Wild Cat</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The chief threat faced by the Eurasian Wild Cat Felis
sylvestris in Ukraine, as in many other places, is hybridization with domestic
cats, with about 70% of the population of apparent Wild Cats in some areas
being hybrids. Pure Wild Cats are mainly found in more remote areas away from
human settlements, especially in western Ukraine. Their main habitat, as the
scientific name suggests, is forested areas, especially deciduous woodland
where they mainly prey on whatever small rodents are around, but they will also
take birds and rarely larger animals such as Rose deer fawns.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtj2fgb3H6ex317uaGu3DNHzaZmV7ZYNzjbw-lWg48aPSfYLc2Y03zVruGQvQW_0j-f1OYb9A-AuSrgTtac0Hdi-uDSQRV1Vd6_nZ6aoPiZJE-DXSBXYkg0YPgddssXwROEgiMOgqCIVIyyYE_1dZATMwWiT6SvphgsNb9YHfHHchd8LfFwkdGsWSd/s478/Kl%C3%A1ra_Py%C5%A1kov%C3%A1_et_al._ZooKeys_641_151%E2%80%93163_(2016)_Golden_jackal_2_(cropped).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="478" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtj2fgb3H6ex317uaGu3DNHzaZmV7ZYNzjbw-lWg48aPSfYLc2Y03zVruGQvQW_0j-f1OYb9A-AuSrgTtac0Hdi-uDSQRV1Vd6_nZ6aoPiZJE-DXSBXYkg0YPgddssXwROEgiMOgqCIVIyyYE_1dZATMwWiT6SvphgsNb9YHfHHchd8LfFwkdGsWSd/s320/Kl%C3%A1ra_Py%C5%A1kov%C3%A1_et_al._ZooKeys_641_151%E2%80%93163_(2016)_Golden_jackal_2_(cropped).png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Jackal</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Two other carnivore species are recent arrivals to the
region. The great recent success story in the modern European ecosystem, the
Golden Jackal Canis aureus was first reported from the Ukraine in 1998. Since
then it has spread across the whole country, but is commonest in the south
around Odessa and the Black Sea coast. In the last 50 years Golden Jackals have
spread north from their ancient homelands in the Middle East and Southeast
Europe and have spread increasingly west and north, reaching France in 2018 and
Finland in 2019 . Ironically, the historic persecution of wolves may have
helped this expansion, as they are intense competitors and the presence of
wolves significantly reduces the numbers and activities of jackals. As wolves
once more expand in Europe it will be interesting to see what happens to the
jackals. In their behaviour and diet they strongly resemble the Coyote of
America, another canid success that has spread rapidly in recent years away
from its historic range, probably also as a result of wolf elimination.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexQUtETnoQbnAX37BiOT1VzB6lfqiHKqko-MORVDn7EX-I8_LSW7Vq2hAygkNy8M1Z6PU_vqhFsb0Q_Da9_1aRU3MDN9qjFEzu2nxKKfUhla34GGN7AP2n40DjuIlEZL-oaZL1oy9rBKuTfCCBeSgRbC3BwI6u-HerwdI-FE8aTK7kVm0cKMP2Qp0/s5148/%D0%84%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B0_(Nyctereutes_procyonoides).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3737" data-original-width="5148" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexQUtETnoQbnAX37BiOT1VzB6lfqiHKqko-MORVDn7EX-I8_LSW7Vq2hAygkNy8M1Z6PU_vqhFsb0Q_Da9_1aRU3MDN9qjFEzu2nxKKfUhla34GGN7AP2n40DjuIlEZL-oaZL1oy9rBKuTfCCBeSgRbC3BwI6u-HerwdI-FE8aTK7kVm0cKMP2Qp0/s320/%D0%84%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B0_(Nyctereutes_procyonoides).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raccoon Dog</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a controversial addition to the list of Ukraines
predators is the Raccoon Dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides. This is one of Europes
most successful invasive species and was originally introduced as a new animal
for the fur trade. They are now a highly successful omnivore across much of
Europe, especially in forested regions and wetlands, where they are voracious
predators of the eggs and young of ground nesting birds. Part of the reason for
their success is their adaptable diet, which changes with the seasons but is
mainly vegetarian when fruits and nuts are available in the fall. They are also
prolific, with 8 young or more frequent in litters. They are preyed upon by
various carnivores, especially wolves, but this is insufficient to slow their
spread.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-89751974816210835592022-04-30T09:33:00.001-07:002022-04-30T09:33:18.538-07:00Part 6: Small Carnivores and Insectivores<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAfyisxuIr2gn7HNU1ROIopzUKOQiXSDNxpyo_rl9-LzmHK-nb00VO0HMLfR2eevMJHb1qQXojGqm7hzIR3sv-v3VyxYT_UpjDy3EtNuhrNUe_z98LgMg0KAUuWX3Wg6-7KsennskGYs-6BUXOocv7DfcMBMBKkea3ohyUpNKHX5lh-i7nIJbFqzI/s4800/Erinaceus_roumanicus_2013_G5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3200" data-original-width="4800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAfyisxuIr2gn7HNU1ROIopzUKOQiXSDNxpyo_rl9-LzmHK-nb00VO0HMLfR2eevMJHb1qQXojGqm7hzIR3sv-v3VyxYT_UpjDy3EtNuhrNUe_z98LgMg0KAUuWX3Wg6-7KsennskGYs-6BUXOocv7DfcMBMBKkea3ohyUpNKHX5lh-i7nIJbFqzI/s320/Erinaceus_roumanicus_2013_G5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern White-breasted Hedgehog</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As one might expect from such a large and diverse country, Ukraine is home to a
wide range of small and medium sized insectivores and carnivores. These pursue
insects, small rodents, various lagomorphs and in some cases fish and amphibians
depending on the habitat. Many are similar to those we would find in Britain and
northern Europe, others are unique to the region. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To begin with a familiar
species, the Northern White-breasted Hedgehog Erinaceus roumanicus was formerly
classed as a subspecies of the Southern White-breasted Hedgehog E.concolor but
has since been split. It is very similar to the species found in western Europe,
the European Hedgehog E.europaeus, and has a similar fondness for human modified
habitats such as parks, gardens and arable fields where a plentiful supply of
insects and worms can be found. Unlike their western relative, they do not dig
dens, instead making nests deep in grass. For the winter hibernation period they
find dry areas under logs or other concealed and protected areas where they can
sleep the winter away. They give birth in summer to 4-6 young, sometimes more,
and have a lifespan in the wild of only a few years. Given its large range and
generalist ecology, it is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie62RQaRSxB3xoosawslrwhplui14mhTVT7PPt4pU_pNXj99JQq5wmXzxk-uXIJsLnYWusj27KjVjBbGoSwYQK8X3iGFd7_xXIC7Wvv-hmcon0IX9DD_an_ST3VjG5PH8dSmEhwBEV8XbgThQ71VaNPy5DVqFndFfzu4iIG9Z0nkL_wtngJH-K3aX6/s1088/Neomys_anomalus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1088" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie62RQaRSxB3xoosawslrwhplui14mhTVT7PPt4pU_pNXj99JQq5wmXzxk-uXIJsLnYWusj27KjVjBbGoSwYQK8X3iGFd7_xXIC7Wvv-hmcon0IX9DD_an_ST3VjG5PH8dSmEhwBEV8XbgThQ71VaNPy5DVqFndFfzu4iIG9Z0nkL_wtngJH-K3aX6/s320/Neomys_anomalus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southern Water Shrew</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There are at
least seven species of shrew to be found in Ukraine, feeding voraciously as with
all shrews on insects and sometimes small vertebrates. This last is especially
true of the larger species such as the Southern Water Shrew Neomys anomalus,
which regularly preys on frogs and small fish. As with many shrews it has
venomous saliva, which incapacitates its prey. It is slightly smaller than the
Eurasian Water Shrew Neomys fodiens, which tends to exclude it in areas where
both are found. A wetland species it is vulnerable to habitat destruction and
has a somewhat patchy distribution making local extinctions more likely, but is
stall classed as Least Concern. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxSP9apOAYvSj19FZ09EngHFG2VdJveWEom848BcnEyFnHttLtU9VwuRMgKaeuU3VG-eXUjsmRj_OvUGym76rRp7Htck265OTlT_VkU_3cheKXy_FazI3rd11iB7erh3O7fC4XICJDmofY4567JguvJyEOguL8wBi2YLD6kJ-8i454sROBTDV9qIJ/s7125/Desmana_moschata_MHNT.INS.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2589" data-original-width="7125" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxSP9apOAYvSj19FZ09EngHFG2VdJveWEom848BcnEyFnHttLtU9VwuRMgKaeuU3VG-eXUjsmRj_OvUGym76rRp7Htck265OTlT_VkU_3cheKXy_FazI3rd11iB7erh3O7fC4XICJDmofY4567JguvJyEOguL8wBi2YLD6kJ-8i454sROBTDV9qIJ/s320/Desmana_moschata_MHNT.INS.10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russian Desman</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Unlike the solitary shrews, the strangest of
Ukraines’ insectivorous mammals, the Russian Desman Desmana moschate seems to
live in small social groups of up to five individuals. Technically a mole rather
than a shrew, this semi-aquatic animal is functionally blind but compensates
with a highly sensitive sense of touch. Although its main diet comprises various
aquatic insects, they also feed on fish and amphibians and even take some plant
material. Unfortunately they have quite specific habitat requirements,
preferring shallow lakes or slow-moving rivers with dense waterside vegetation
backed by primary forest, and this is in increasingly short supply. As a result
the species is classed by the IUCN as Endangered. In Ukraine it is restricted to
the north and west of the country. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUv8qDHUGPzdkU2NVsNhMky6i79-mPCWNhdEX_z3ziqn0DGFPHL_Lm9-OGP-wj0qz1hkuUSNq3Jxot5GKlB_JZmB6xP3TB0n4A5D9Kn6hgRvNj6_9KhMJVh-hWtDEmVU93oAHg0r9TcqaThAZCYoWfYcbJCcBoCxiWAhOcrJciIXL0jtFGSzqZZ7tT/s1252/Wild_steppe_polecat_(cropped).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="1252" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUv8qDHUGPzdkU2NVsNhMky6i79-mPCWNhdEX_z3ziqn0DGFPHL_Lm9-OGP-wj0qz1hkuUSNq3Jxot5GKlB_JZmB6xP3TB0n4A5D9Kn6hgRvNj6_9KhMJVh-hWtDEmVU93oAHg0r9TcqaThAZCYoWfYcbJCcBoCxiWAhOcrJciIXL0jtFGSzqZZ7tT/s320/Wild_steppe_polecat_(cropped).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steppe Polecat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The other large group of small carnivores in
Ukraine are a wide variety of mustelids. Rivers and lakes are home to European
Otter Lutra lutra, which in Ukraine may be locally threatened by pollution and
habitat loss, but globally is Least Concern. Bother the Steppe (Mustela
eversmannii) and European (M.putorius) Polecats can be found in Ukraine.
M.putorius seems to prefer damper areas given the choice and in many parts of
its range specialises in amphibians, whereas Steppe Polecats are true steppe
specialists, feeding on ground squirrels, hamsters and marmots. They are highly
nomadic, travelling miles each day in search of food and mostly staying in one
place only until the local rodents have been reduced in numbers. It is likely
that at some point in the distant past Steppe Polecats crossed the Bering land
bridge to North America, where they became the ancestors of an iconic American
small carnivore, The Black-Footed Ferret. They may also be the species
domesticated as the domestic Ferret, much used in the past to hunt rabbits in
England. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAp0-wU428x8U4kkdXA0I8RnjBvh4rvuHGlPPPRbGZoUZal1kiLBw37YVTwnRE4Svw5GQp1cPuVRqUkhLof8oieKXzDKKV-AahnnU8CG1HqSrTwu3_nVVBmZdqiWmliLS0yZA2f1lcoOOIO04pkCxoedWFqWQOWHvU7eucm2ZA43sQvA5n40YIuoF/s586/Mustela_lutreola-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="586" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAp0-wU428x8U4kkdXA0I8RnjBvh4rvuHGlPPPRbGZoUZal1kiLBw37YVTwnRE4Svw5GQp1cPuVRqUkhLof8oieKXzDKKV-AahnnU8CG1HqSrTwu3_nVVBmZdqiWmliLS0yZA2f1lcoOOIO04pkCxoedWFqWQOWHvU7eucm2ZA43sQvA5n40YIuoF/s320/Mustela_lutreola-cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Mink</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite its name, the European Mink Mustela lutreola is not at all
closely related to the American Mink, but is instead a good native European
species in its own right. Unfortunately a combination of habitat destruction and
competition from American Mink has severely impacted its population, and it is
now classed as Critically Endangered. At present only a few remnant populations
can be found in a few of the rivers of the Carpathians in Ukraine. Part of the
reason for its decline may be that it appears to be something of a dietary
specialist on crayfish, and pollution and agricultural development has severely
impacted wetlands and crayfish numbers in its range. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWZ7FU7Qc-Z163DxkIPeeMhr-tvkFFlHRLfWTIhinvOFw7P23M6GTq9FqWtq1OcR7CMCIF5Y3lgBQwztxh_Gf6I-QbG-FNN2WMcL3xRyop3Ry7Fa1jnaYCnrytBCud15GPPZsHhJjlIWHpKVZbBa_WpGxPaOKdVgV2hs5fJ4UFs0kWGyCpHIMBLKa/s400/Marbled_polecat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="400" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWZ7FU7Qc-Z163DxkIPeeMhr-tvkFFlHRLfWTIhinvOFw7P23M6GTq9FqWtq1OcR7CMCIF5Y3lgBQwztxh_Gf6I-QbG-FNN2WMcL3xRyop3Ry7Fa1jnaYCnrytBCud15GPPZsHhJjlIWHpKVZbBa_WpGxPaOKdVgV2hs5fJ4UFs0kWGyCpHIMBLKa/s320/Marbled_polecat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marbled Polecat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, the most colourful
of Ukraines mustelids is the Marbled Polecat Vormela pregusna. This has a range
from eastern Europe across central Asia to China and south through the middle
east as far as the Siunai Peninsula. It has a similar diet to the Steppe
Polecat, but is more an animal of deserts, semi-desert and rocky areas where
they feed on rodents, birds, and whatever they can catch. Destruction of steppe
habitat has resulted in a population decline across its large range, which has
put it in the Vulnerable category. The barren habitats where it mostly lives are
not very productive of prey, so they need large ranges and have a
correspondingly low population density.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next time, I will look at the larger
carnivores of Ukraine.</div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-74458330944587001102022-04-08T17:00:00.002-07:002022-04-08T17:00:00.180-07:00Ukraine Part 5: Dormice and Field Mice<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsu3nxbIuZ8Ntzl95F7U_HJjxIoDpkCar34qumHp2G9fs6eK4L71P2Pde2upVSObXgE3WdaNkOAXZ2SF_ygx2BblMb4ux_7ed6g4Re0cfpsIJZMKjXwMfKn9tvSuuF2g4xv_7qmXXnrd2oXGgY-J_prjGDsmNYqZFFjTFissT7IDWV7pa-OmwLJYPg/s2816/Haselmaus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsu3nxbIuZ8Ntzl95F7U_HJjxIoDpkCar34qumHp2G9fs6eK4L71P2Pde2upVSObXgE3WdaNkOAXZ2SF_ygx2BblMb4ux_7ed6g4Re0cfpsIJZMKjXwMfKn9tvSuuF2g4xv_7qmXXnrd2oXGgY-J_prjGDsmNYqZFFjTFissT7IDWV7pa-OmwLJYPg/s320/Haselmaus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazel Dormouse</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Until I started this series I had no idea how rich eastern
Europe and especially Ukraine is in rodents. Aside from this last group Ukraine
also holds Eurasian Beaver and Red Squirrel, both widespread species. As well
as those Ukraine is home to four different species of dormouse in the Gliridae and
nine different true mice in the Muridae. The two groups are not very closely
related and have quite different life strategies, with dormice often being very
long lived and with fairly low reproductive rates, while true mice are short
lived and are famously prolific.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dormice are forest rather than grassland rodents, and as a
result in Ukraine their range is concentrated in the north and west of the
country, often in mountainous areas. They avoid steppe and agricultural fields,
though some species will use orchards and scrubland and even enter houses. <o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWvSkQQKEjPNlMh_F_vwizIsZMH5t7QT3Gylt9u3QlICxcCO7selE3dNQ5Ma_3PPr6hfRsFNHd_AbnlscldSsmr-Kg0m0skcOaXIm36SyTls0e0B8zNIszMg5rutQdGWYC1udqWSIowZ5-K224WgJPyZh-n8OJtnvnC2Uxi6obnhdkjYLI2fCoBqO/s456/Hazel%20Dormouse%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="456" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWvSkQQKEjPNlMh_F_vwizIsZMH5t7QT3Gylt9u3QlICxcCO7selE3dNQ5Ma_3PPr6hfRsFNHd_AbnlscldSsmr-Kg0m0skcOaXIm36SyTls0e0B8zNIszMg5rutQdGWYC1udqWSIowZ5-K224WgJPyZh-n8OJtnvnC2Uxi6obnhdkjYLI2fCoBqO/w463-h307/Hazel%20Dormouse%20range.jpg" width="463" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazel Dormouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">With a range extending from Britain well into Russia, and
from Sweden south to Greece and northern Anatolia, the Hazel Dormouse as a
species is currently listed as Least Concern. In parts of its range however,
particularly in Britain, destruction of its habitat of deciduous woodland
especially Hazel scrub has seriously impacted local populations and it is seriously
endangered in Britain despite conservation efforts. Part of the problem is that
Hazel Dormice do best in dense scrub with a rich variety of different shrubs
and trees (they never feed on the ground but remain in the canopy) which
provide a continually changing supply of high energy food, and in the past the
practise of coppicing provided this easily. Coppicing is a means of ensuring a
continual supply of growths from the stump of a still living tree. On a 10-20
year cycle “poles” would be harvested from the “stools” of the coppiced trees,
which were usually hazel or sometimes willow, and used for agricultural fencing
or charcoal production. This resulted in continuously regenerating hazel scrub,
ideal for dormice. Today this has been abandoned except for conservation
management and the dormice have lost their habitat. Although they mostly stay
within 5m of the ground, they are quite squirrel-like in many ways and do not
hesitate to climb high into the canopy if there is food there.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Beginning in spring, on emerging from their famously lengthy
hibernation dormice first visit shrubs and vines such as Hawthorn and
Honeysuckle to gain energy from nectar and pollen. In summer they eat vast
amounts of insects, including aphids, and in the autumn they turn to berries
and nuts, including Yew berries. Especially in summer food can be scarce in bad
weather, and they handle this by going into torpor as they do in the winter.
This energy conserving strategy means reproduction is delayed, and in Britain
at least they only raise one litter of around four young a year, with perhaps
only one or two surviving to breed. To compensate they are long lived, with
survival over five years far from unknown. By comparison most wood mice and voles
live less than a year on average. Aside from habitat destruction climate change
is a potential threat. Ironically, warm winters, especially with variable temperatures,
are very damaging as they interrupt the animals’ hibernation strategy which
relies on near-freezing constant temperatures. Wet weather in summer also
interrupts the life cycle as dormice have trouble feeding in periods of
prolonged rain.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhVg5mKqLX5v8TRM8vav7GaXPP_dmEEZMbV-LawBHqbopVPbpjZhf4zaB87z8aobsDJ-HBUwGrGiSHt2xKimBdkbUlBjIf-SY07gp5GX1pvKYchfDdC35PhyTVUAxP6XV5xW7U_SGDiFNZB1sLzpDNNjHCYq_Ug_uPym6TX8hiknqkQcLEIulHEjs/s1200/siebenschlfer-im-geo-naturpark-bergstrae-odenwaldjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhVg5mKqLX5v8TRM8vav7GaXPP_dmEEZMbV-LawBHqbopVPbpjZhf4zaB87z8aobsDJ-HBUwGrGiSHt2xKimBdkbUlBjIf-SY07gp5GX1pvKYchfDdC35PhyTVUAxP6XV5xW7U_SGDiFNZB1sLzpDNNjHCYq_Ug_uPym6TX8hiknqkQcLEIulHEjs/s320/siebenschlfer-im-geo-naturpark-bergstrae-odenwaldjpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edible Dormouse</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While the mouse-sized Hazel Dormouse is a British native,
the squirrel-sized Edible Dormouse Glis glis was introduced to Britain in 1902
to an aristocrats’ estate in the Chiltern hills in southern England. The
species gets its English name from the ancient Roman fondness for eating them
as a delicacy. Apparently in Croatia and Slovenia this custom persists to this
day, and they are extensively trapped.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhRbLCy0YQJG2OLncNTT55iU8LilWf67MKwqAjJDylVUwPtcTbt9k5Vx3mVkiSpjz8SXY5SWFx8HppPM2cZAelVRJh8eCZ9x0yf7u9almLjCq_2pBn9H21rDbg_6JBpzrxp4a11-IocCbRoE2MFfX4EPib2nm4wzbk-Q2fXWnvF1RpUvAOUx6PIlS/s933/Mapa_Glis_glis.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="933" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhRbLCy0YQJG2OLncNTT55iU8LilWf67MKwqAjJDylVUwPtcTbt9k5Vx3mVkiSpjz8SXY5SWFx8HppPM2cZAelVRJh8eCZ9x0yf7u9almLjCq_2pBn9H21rDbg_6JBpzrxp4a11-IocCbRoE2MFfX4EPib2nm4wzbk-Q2fXWnvF1RpUvAOUx6PIlS/w387-h294/Mapa_Glis_glis.png" width="387" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edible Dormouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Edible Dormice prefer mature forest rather than Hazel scrub,
and are particularly associated with Beech forest. Beech mast (seeds) are important
for successful breeding and in poor years the animals may not even come into
breeding condition – which is apparently triggered by the adults feeding on
beech flowers in the spring. As with their smaller cousins they are quite
omnivorous and shift their diet through the year. Before entering hibernation,
which can last seven months or more, they put on a lot of weight, giving their
alternative name of Fat Dormouse. Hibernation sites may be shared and where
available often include crevices in caves, and they can descend deep into them
in search of the right conditions. Failing that they can excavate their own
burrows in dry soil and are reported from studies on the British population to
seal themselves in entirely as protection against predators such as mustelids</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As with other dormice they are long lived, over 12 years
having been recorded even in the wild. Associated with this they take some time
to reach maturity, probably not breeding until their third or fourth calendar
year. There are usually only 4 or five young in a litter, and usually only one
litter a year. They are quite territorial and are also quite vocal, with adults
calling from high branches to mark territory. Natural enemies would be
mustelids such as Beech and Pine martens and various raptors, especially owls.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZr8FN-CpmakJPMBjgJAwQn5qo9mugm7cF0t0sgG9qCPrXIc9Md437TLsxXQmF-s5lcf6mauNI6I9z4JBoz5kASDobVrSST7s7Jx6LczWnI5I32FMimvRVqc6rbGP1mmOfqWPwAkXygzXZkXYlptT-jps6P2r-DBTFMden9H0ibmmSKM7TkLcvgJQQ/s350/Dryomys_nitedula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="350" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZr8FN-CpmakJPMBjgJAwQn5qo9mugm7cF0t0sgG9qCPrXIc9Md437TLsxXQmF-s5lcf6mauNI6I9z4JBoz5kASDobVrSST7s7Jx6LczWnI5I32FMimvRVqc6rbGP1mmOfqWPwAkXygzXZkXYlptT-jps6P2r-DBTFMden9H0ibmmSKM7TkLcvgJQQ/s320/Dryomys_nitedula.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest Dormouse</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Midway in size between the Hazel and Edible Dormouse, the
Forest Dormouse Dryomys nitedula is found away from agricultural areas in a
variety of forest types, including coniferous forest, and often at high
elevations. In Europe the densest population is in Moldova, but its range
extends eastward through Iran and Afghanistan into western China. As with other
dormice it is omnivorous and long lived. The specific name nitidula “nest
builder” refers to the large nests, similar to the drey of a squirrel, that they
construct from twigs to give birth in. Whether or not they hibernate, and for
how long, depends on the local climate, with individuals in Israel remaining
active year-round.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSWQmlRf4CYwCaadRMbzxI4EyV8WrVkC2lVZufpUf_1stj3mpS1tP3pKZCIXHgBD4EWCzmWf8zbL9fFsafycxAKuj8UHBEQfWCcbYe4EGLuSntkbadXoiGD5SQ3p4j8gYaFs_7j2TXcdDQ0uI1TrHkKKsp9etyJUGPtNg-JfDxt7Vd9EOxUGB3rOb/s3507/DryomysNitedulaIUCNver2019-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="3507" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSWQmlRf4CYwCaadRMbzxI4EyV8WrVkC2lVZufpUf_1stj3mpS1tP3pKZCIXHgBD4EWCzmWf8zbL9fFsafycxAKuj8UHBEQfWCcbYe4EGLuSntkbadXoiGD5SQ3p4j8gYaFs_7j2TXcdDQ0uI1TrHkKKsp9etyJUGPtNg-JfDxt7Vd9EOxUGB3rOb/s320/DryomysNitedulaIUCNver2019-3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest Dormouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8awoJMplg2dR5WhoLySCECybxBUs-GRk6LAVsbEddi11GNrxZ99jqHkpMY-_wjSIATsr7n77WdZwX3IwzNzxBxLUci2Tr8eUIdVZ5QczA1iOAXHG_oyNRWsNdAXU7NdTd_d2B3k1TiBHyKtUK2JQHPNN1Cx3KeFFtYZo5lcbB9mBSlbUdaILEgem/s1024/Eliomys_quercinus01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8awoJMplg2dR5WhoLySCECybxBUs-GRk6LAVsbEddi11GNrxZ99jqHkpMY-_wjSIATsr7n77WdZwX3IwzNzxBxLUci2Tr8eUIdVZ5QczA1iOAXHG_oyNRWsNdAXU7NdTd_d2B3k1TiBHyKtUK2JQHPNN1Cx3KeFFtYZo5lcbB9mBSlbUdaILEgem/s320/Eliomys_quercinus01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden Dormouse</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Of a similar size to the Forest Dormouse, the Garden
Dormouse Eliomys quercinus is slightly more terrestrial than other dormice and is
often found in rocky areas. It is commonest in warmer climates around d the
Mediterranean, and several islands have endemic subspecies. It has declined
more than any other European rodent, especially in the east, and in Ukraine
there are only a few areas whgere it can be found. As a result it is classed as
Near Threatened by the IUCN, whereas other European dormice are all least
Concern. Although omnivorous like its relatives, its diet does seem to include
more animal protein than vegetable. It preys upon large insects, birds eggs and
nestlings, and even smaller rodents, but will also feed on various fruits and
nuts.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPLKxyl5rahEpS8-61ziZWWnfutp4KUMnJPAY78Xo6Ebbv33QgTSPu7pdUNumo8kNgC9wl0SAjpGoLZIokp2WarZ3qgpSNRFItP-jw6Dp0QY54tldsSLaeSeenPY6fGeyMBbjSyxC3tbEsS885fjnkLxb53t0FwxnaiJxCceEJfNMAqgVYRmnextD/s1137/Garden%20Dormouse%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1137" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkPLKxyl5rahEpS8-61ziZWWnfutp4KUMnJPAY78Xo6Ebbv33QgTSPu7pdUNumo8kNgC9wl0SAjpGoLZIokp2WarZ3qgpSNRFItP-jw6Dp0QY54tldsSLaeSeenPY6fGeyMBbjSyxC3tbEsS885fjnkLxb53t0FwxnaiJxCceEJfNMAqgVYRmnextD/w469-h283/Garden%20Dormouse%20range.jpg" width="469" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden Dormouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmxPyJAvxe_d2-DdXYhyvdXmSjw6liwAGd7UH9PzY_Re4egARXfvJOetjyc4DSDSjhe2wcAQDa8ZYcq_ObkieLp5TrYsMkI7mRsjW6TFfLyLEpgmCVRJGOLutctu2ruorgmmIfwurif4jA6ksssImqw1S4QLSQMmMGOdbCQZxw-YEe76M5WXsvi8r/s1024/Sicista_betulina_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmxPyJAvxe_d2-DdXYhyvdXmSjw6liwAGd7UH9PzY_Re4egARXfvJOetjyc4DSDSjhe2wcAQDa8ZYcq_ObkieLp5TrYsMkI7mRsjW6TFfLyLEpgmCVRJGOLutctu2ruorgmmIfwurif4jA6ksssImqw1S4QLSQMmMGOdbCQZxw-YEe76M5WXsvi8r/s320/Sicista_betulina_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Birch Mouse</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Most closely related to the jerboas, although of a far more
normal small rodent appearance, two species of birch mice are found in Ukraine.
Although closely related, the Northern Birch Mouse Sicista betulina and the Nordmanns
Birch Mouse Sicista loriger prefer different habitats and have different
ranges.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUmSTLbV7vlJhO_OFTvFcl8OkIZGUbUcFOGUQGhP6BN6FtPSuVp3FCCqD9imR448B690JCaxjC3hCxMejsa429A_5KUhDMenmQv3YBTtSbprYi5-pAvjYz6hgWxvNRW24lsmAW3IpYc1G9NbdXvac_khXVeM-h19xMEEuBEpJ9h9WxCtxAZtP15AP/s1193/Northern%20Birch%20Mouse%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1193" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUmSTLbV7vlJhO_OFTvFcl8OkIZGUbUcFOGUQGhP6BN6FtPSuVp3FCCqD9imR448B690JCaxjC3hCxMejsa429A_5KUhDMenmQv3YBTtSbprYi5-pAvjYz6hgWxvNRW24lsmAW3IpYc1G9NbdXvac_khXVeM-h19xMEEuBEpJ9h9WxCtxAZtP15AP/w482-h244/Northern%20Birch%20Mouse%20range.jpg" width="482" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Birch Mouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Northern Birch Mouse has a range extending from
Scandinavia east to Lake Baikal, and south to the Carpathian mountains. As a
result it is on the southern edge of its range in Ukraine, where it lives in
coniferous or mixed deciduous woodland and wet scrub. It hibernates in the
winter for seven or eight months, and during the summer produces usually only a
single litter of up to six young. They feed mainly on various plant material
but also take insects, earthworms and snails. In the western part of its range
it is uncommon, but it is frequent in the east and as a result is classed as
Least Concern. Its only real threat would be deforestation and possibly climate
change.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyzU6Hi08iEdVU7XJRe-kr7AaWtdbdZnXQII59bho15U9AGC5YVU_p0ZEWfuUvon3_ZhAU2vzOfv4EmEIcfbmkQgQcg7WC2PpKSYv4nfWphdC6G7cvpybFUNxCn_uczoPQGaPd_t_OOiP2LaocPaos-PdAItlkcTJsz1VjtTTTvgtdtntmFzPSine/s200/Nordmanns%20Birch%20Mouse%20image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyzU6Hi08iEdVU7XJRe-kr7AaWtdbdZnXQII59bho15U9AGC5YVU_p0ZEWfuUvon3_ZhAU2vzOfv4EmEIcfbmkQgQcg7WC2PpKSYv4nfWphdC6G7cvpybFUNxCn_uczoPQGaPd_t_OOiP2LaocPaos-PdAItlkcTJsz1VjtTTTvgtdtntmFzPSine/s1600/Nordmanns%20Birch%20Mouse%20image.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nordmanns Birch Mouse</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By contrast Nordmanns’ Birch Mouse is an animal of much more
open habitats, preferring steppe, open woodland, and even semi-desert. They do
not dig their own burrows but use natural holes or crevices. Like their
northern relatives they hibernate many months each year. Also unlike their relatives,
they have a very restricted range mostly in the grasslands east of Odessa with
a few isolated populations known in Moldova and Romania, plus one part of
southern Russia. As a result of this fragmented and probably declining
population they are listed as Vulnerable, and are at risk of agricultural
development and habitat destruction.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyFb_UxK2qTXKG8td6aC3z5rhwmeqebYErLGWukkfafbX2GtruMal0U-OlZl0tDsKp7xNwDPh-ltFyHesKIDDeSwpN92TlhF0AS9StXALBqT6p0QHNATSWbYMYzHNpLktjOvrueLcqMFCT1n1swveRm-8kSWyOvLKQTI67jGfuizfc58q3bBIkhlQ/s1192/Nordmanns%20Birch%20Mouse%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="1192" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyFb_UxK2qTXKG8td6aC3z5rhwmeqebYErLGWukkfafbX2GtruMal0U-OlZl0tDsKp7xNwDPh-ltFyHesKIDDeSwpN92TlhF0AS9StXALBqT6p0QHNATSWbYMYzHNpLktjOvrueLcqMFCT1n1swveRm-8kSWyOvLKQTI67jGfuizfc58q3bBIkhlQ/w577-h292/Nordmanns%20Birch%20Mouse%20range.jpg" width="577" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nordmanns Birch Mouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dormice and Birch mice are both old groups of rodents, with
various Birch mice known from as long as 17 million years ago, and various dormice
from even longer ago. These ancient groups of rodents tend to have fairly low
reproductive rates and long lifespans, a life strategy adapted to relatively constant
and predictable habitats. During the Pleistocene the rapid climate fluctuations
has suited the evolution of species with high birth rates and short lives that
can rapidly take advantage of new conditions, and in Europe the various
Apodemus Wood Mice are classics of this type. Ukraine is home to five species, which
between them exploit habitats from grassland to closed canopy woodland,
although woodland edge with its wide variety of food usually hold the greatest
numbers. Apodemus species are mostly terrestrial, although they are agile and
will climb into bushes for berries and nuts as well as insects and other food.
They can have five litters a year of six or more young, so populations can
rapidly explode in good conditions.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsl_geEsBgHETdpcdd_nAhIwpWfhZF7N5BJ5O0Zbnals8dOdjl2utC4jIbNBE8myQtxbpYHGgUwHxxTecRywD_yEQ24ZezZWpHLiooxZBAiPDuMOC6DkwN9Ry_lQRU_xYeSZpN-zvSck-K5U4yJuQRxf4LQksS9sv0RHE8DpEpr8jN8wWKC-SCBpmr/s1064/Striped%20Field%20Mouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="1064" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsl_geEsBgHETdpcdd_nAhIwpWfhZF7N5BJ5O0Zbnals8dOdjl2utC4jIbNBE8myQtxbpYHGgUwHxxTecRywD_yEQ24ZezZWpHLiooxZBAiPDuMOC6DkwN9Ry_lQRU_xYeSZpN-zvSck-K5U4yJuQRxf4LQksS9sv0RHE8DpEpr8jN8wWKC-SCBpmr/s320/Striped%20Field%20Mouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Striped Field Mouse</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">An example of this type is the Striped Field Mouse Apodemus agrarius,
which seems to be currently expanding its range westwards (it reached Austria
in the 1990’s) Fairly large for an Apodemus species, it can weigh 50g and 120mm
long. As well as being a serious agricultural pest on occasion they also harbour
a variety of dangerous viruses which are a risk to human and animal health. It
exists in two separate parts of the world, an eastern population in eastern
China and the second population centred in eastern Europe west to Italy and
Germany. The range expansion is most likely due to creation of farmland from
forest, which opened up new habitat.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXm9DGhfhRI7foO0FPYMG4xi-VKA2UumlmIbP1U-0V_E9lEae8oKCXfqouN_drwQywKAtpok1PWrcGMPoq87lO0xIqqo_TQYPHDdLIkIA0hXHJRYBpzZ56aWDFx9QWWbjUS5ZjhR-TDZ7H4mMBP5qJCNrdUOKF2RBk2ent4wqQJrImcZRlo9EaB9TW/s3507/ApodemusAgrariusIUCN2019-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="3507" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXm9DGhfhRI7foO0FPYMG4xi-VKA2UumlmIbP1U-0V_E9lEae8oKCXfqouN_drwQywKAtpok1PWrcGMPoq87lO0xIqqo_TQYPHDdLIkIA0hXHJRYBpzZ56aWDFx9QWWbjUS5ZjhR-TDZ7H4mMBP5qJCNrdUOKF2RBk2ent4wqQJrImcZRlo9EaB9TW/s320/ApodemusAgrariusIUCN2019-3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Striped Field Mouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cDAq0wDZfAh_89Kir0cCiXAusEMOVtvYgfKPNQq89ATVLVFl3P75v3NicQ-egZkmyYr3KzY68wIFevXHmHLmPxhTJ3yjZpWyks3XKJj1L3V7x_ef0Yw7Q2p1LcWKhTXZvKJdotrLcfsgyIVzfZ9_L9DdqKiz7la0qCEw1a_ubq7WgWib6oqHikAh/s640/Apodemus.flavicollis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cDAq0wDZfAh_89Kir0cCiXAusEMOVtvYgfKPNQq89ATVLVFl3P75v3NicQ-egZkmyYr3KzY68wIFevXHmHLmPxhTJ3yjZpWyks3XKJj1L3V7x_ef0Yw7Q2p1LcWKhTXZvKJdotrLcfsgyIVzfZ9_L9DdqKiz7la0qCEw1a_ubq7WgWib6oqHikAh/s320/Apodemus.flavicollis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-Necked Mouse<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>By contrast the Yellow-Necked Mouse Apodemus flavicollis is a
true European species. With arrange from southern Britain into Russia west of
the Ural Mountains. They prefer woodland or forest edge and are great hoarders
of acorns, hazel nuts and other large seeds. They dig extensive burrow systems
and will also climb into bushes or even enter houses.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeqNw-DUAYnYg50RhMk2AQbKyG0dYacba631Pf9eMlTCOtDZsJJaYGW_ljSj1--vI_qQusNWPM-iMEk0NHXB1eSOw-sAQkmKcweQ4sIY8gszSImO8eJlE67deGsWFr6mmv2AS6n_ZwBcRJAS3nihAzumzTPm0XYnaI6mGuYdXImYKpdaOMpTEZska/s577/Mapa_Apodemus_flavicollis.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="577" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeqNw-DUAYnYg50RhMk2AQbKyG0dYacba631Pf9eMlTCOtDZsJJaYGW_ljSj1--vI_qQusNWPM-iMEk0NHXB1eSOw-sAQkmKcweQ4sIY8gszSImO8eJlE67deGsWFr6mmv2AS6n_ZwBcRJAS3nihAzumzTPm0XYnaI6mGuYdXImYKpdaOMpTEZska/s320/Mapa_Apodemus_flavicollis.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-Necked Mouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-nrzjakY2PkenVPDepq_HTOJWfWwFzLe_aBsdXeHPWyTBYNvdu4qOxtkF_VSbSa2aa8tQGcm6SSf51xDWuZa4gzpjy-7uew1ZboCEKrSSfZVv-qElDm9JK_ayoTsmQF4wyb4-q5RfKji_3vd5IyEA2K2Z9ZljjeN1ubUz-gy1UKYMCmxCqFTXkYE/s659/Micromysminutus1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="659" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-nrzjakY2PkenVPDepq_HTOJWfWwFzLe_aBsdXeHPWyTBYNvdu4qOxtkF_VSbSa2aa8tQGcm6SSf51xDWuZa4gzpjy-7uew1ZboCEKrSSfZVv-qElDm9JK_ayoTsmQF4wyb4-q5RfKji_3vd5IyEA2K2Z9ZljjeN1ubUz-gy1UKYMCmxCqFTXkYE/s320/Micromysminutus1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eurasian Harvest Mouse</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Given its truly gigantic range – it extends from Britain to
Vietnam – The Eurasian Harvest Mouse is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern.
Despite that, changes in farming practises have caused declines in many parts
of their range and in Britain they are a protected species. Their original
favoured habitat was probably tall grassland and reedbeds, which they still
favour today. They need permanent dense vegetation to make their winter nests
in and large agricultural fields are useless to them in the winter. In the spring
they climb up, helped by their prehensile tails, and make their nests suspended
in the grass or reeds in which they raise their large litters of young. They
are truly tiny animals, no bigger than 11g and usually half that.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs7PbtUd2zhLkX9hhsUE14xirEZqSXfraMAnNvkvWLQHYjY7ZCdT7V-4s1s3BAo5kXk7dpKDFbp7zbH6FPYg66sD3kyHlC3RfE-QVJbq2VG15YemkKfew29hbhZZCJPxbzr098y6iBzh2zK8IzD5gx-JC2xC7G73EYSw6V5-Pt-A9BZbkgRcEaOD3/s1165/Harvest%20Mouse%20Range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1165" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs7PbtUd2zhLkX9hhsUE14xirEZqSXfraMAnNvkvWLQHYjY7ZCdT7V-4s1s3BAo5kXk7dpKDFbp7zbH6FPYg66sD3kyHlC3RfE-QVJbq2VG15YemkKfew29hbhZZCJPxbzr098y6iBzh2zK8IzD5gx-JC2xC7G73EYSw6V5-Pt-A9BZbkgRcEaOD3/s320/Harvest%20Mouse%20Range.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvest Mouse range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNacaHQrlkVNxjXETjHeinlbyzT2UxE6UEaEdz5FIrKXGSOUkN5DXc-_fuP_xo174H-n8sDgi1mBoWOFev-bMiylujOmmiBdLKHir7yVRKDWDxn3htTcbwvU51e0MiPAE6Izsv6QU60nJGXhb1GXOF6S5Tuab8PGkjV-ykJbxeM613fqWCNrPkcMX/s400/Mus%20spicilegus-400px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNacaHQrlkVNxjXETjHeinlbyzT2UxE6UEaEdz5FIrKXGSOUkN5DXc-_fuP_xo174H-n8sDgi1mBoWOFev-bMiylujOmmiBdLKHir7yVRKDWDxn3htTcbwvU51e0MiPAE6Izsv6QU60nJGXhb1GXOF6S5Tuab8PGkjV-ykJbxeM613fqWCNrPkcMX/s320/Mus%20spicilegus-400px.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steppe Mouse</td></tr></tbody></table>One final rodent to be found in Ukraine is the open-country
relative of the common House Mouse, the oddly-behaving Steppe or Mound-Building
Mouse Mus spicilegus. They are classic steppe and open country animals, found
from Austria east into southern Ukraine and south into Greece. These animals
are hard to tell apart from House Mice until they are observed in the autumn.
At this time of year up to fourteen mice cooperate in gathering a mound to
protect their winter food stores. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24za8CTHOH4nbUqNh7-7yZEbfrK3XZ1AeWY0_o8fQ6Oi4dNCYWtSzmyMAHgHcimjMGGWh--GYqKAZzCFWGnMBM2DdcCZIZaQoO7Rr5FFMOtImGUL9hcFAIlneBZzZz8Jaxn5cEtth0-ef4E4qGL5wHaimTpD6kFLZQe8KakedK3AGBfxUaZ7L5iVp/s1000/Mus_spicilegus_mound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24za8CTHOH4nbUqNh7-7yZEbfrK3XZ1AeWY0_o8fQ6Oi4dNCYWtSzmyMAHgHcimjMGGWh--GYqKAZzCFWGnMBM2DdcCZIZaQoO7Rr5FFMOtImGUL9hcFAIlneBZzZz8Jaxn5cEtth0-ef4E4qGL5wHaimTpD6kFLZQe8KakedK3AGBfxUaZ7L5iVp/s320/Mus_spicilegus_mound.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steppe Mouse mound</td></tr></tbody></table>These mounds are usually one or two metres
across, but mounds up to 4m across have been recorded, and when freshly built
can be 50cm high. Given the short life spans of these rodents the mounds are
actually built by the young of the year when they are only a few weeks old. The
storage chambers within the mounds can hold 10kg of food. Vegetation is also
incorporated into the structure of the mound, and it is possible that fermentation
of this generates heat to keep the nest builders warm. They are only social in
the winter – during the summer breeding season they become at least socially
monogamous with significant paternal care and females become quite aggressive
to rival females.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5ls4LqO9OHSGWpCnZRknuUDdG-U6q6XuY5Epvcz6AYMv1J9uQ1m8kEfEWD20n1uqn3QKVP7NyjkHJtqbzMNuSgZKdH_lUZiZ1lhY_-xRaoeDfgojgyHJKYg-ZzVrdRIIogh9Vp89o7k1CSv0ca59n3v2A2RRKeaRiV9P_wot-SZ36eWePbZ27UXe/s1167/Steppe%20Mouse%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="1167" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5ls4LqO9OHSGWpCnZRknuUDdG-U6q6XuY5Epvcz6AYMv1J9uQ1m8kEfEWD20n1uqn3QKVP7NyjkHJtqbzMNuSgZKdH_lUZiZ1lhY_-xRaoeDfgojgyHJKYg-ZzVrdRIIogh9Vp89o7k1CSv0ca59n3v2A2RRKeaRiV9P_wot-SZ36eWePbZ27UXe/w555-h285/Steppe%20Mouse%20range.jpg" width="555" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steppe Mouse range</td></tr></tbody></table>This concludes the survey of the rodents of Ukraine – next time
I will turn to the small carnivores that prey on them.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><br />Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-50908601944722067882022-04-01T17:00:00.001-07:002022-04-01T17:00:00.188-07:00Ukraine Part 4: Hamsters, Voles and others<p style="text-align: justify;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxGrKxcWwFjNj696Ace7wA7Tn6xhKduxkpLmI54I3NvvW8UEKFFut-MsqpmDFoC94LWaaDceuk64psWTqJ7jcJb7CztxkMOMqd5pYqm85CvNWgxAe52sEdsPrk9W5MvpYfTgv0qWEt6cPnvqXSddSeTmi2FbqOOx24fJS69jUh2e-CK9tco-OpUjv/s330/Common%20Hamster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="330" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxGrKxcWwFjNj696Ace7wA7Tn6xhKduxkpLmI54I3NvvW8UEKFFut-MsqpmDFoC94LWaaDceuk64psWTqJ7jcJb7CztxkMOMqd5pYqm85CvNWgxAe52sEdsPrk9W5MvpYfTgv0qWEt6cPnvqXSddSeTmi2FbqOOx24fJS69jUh2e-CK9tco-OpUjv/s320/Common%20Hamster.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Hamster preparing to attack</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Golden Hamster is a popular pet with children, although
to be honest other rodents are better choices, and when I was a child we had a
succession of them in the house. Definitely not suitable as a pet is the cavy
sized (maximum 450g) Common Hamster Cricetus cricetus, which is notorious for a
decidedly aggressive disposition. Try to pick one up and it will not sit
placidly in your hand but rather try to bite it off. This is probably an inevitable
result of being a handy sized meal for basically every carnivorous mammal or
bird in Europe, and being decidedly territorial and solitary as well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Common Hamsters despite their name are becoming increasingly
uncommon, to the point of being classed as Critically Endangered. Their range before
their recent decline extended from eastern France to Kazakhstan, and Poland to
Georgia. A classic grassland animal, they adapted well to the rise of
agriculture to the point of becoming a serious pest, and as a single hamster
can store as much as 65kg of grain in the depths of its burrow then it easy to
see how it has historically been persecuted. The recent rise of industrial
agriculture however has had a serious effect, not least because modern crops
tend to be cleaned of the agricultural weeds that are vital to its diet – in fact
a lack of vitamin B3 in the diet due to living exclusively on maize is
associated with behavioural abnormalities including infanticide. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In normal circumstances Common Hamsters live in a burrow
that during the winter may be several metres deep. They prefer deep, heavy
soils where burrow construction is easiest. Each hamster has its own burrow which
it defends vigorously, only meeting another hamster to mate. After a very short
pregnancy of only 18 days the female gives birth to up to 15 pups, although
usually less, and in the course of a summer usually has two litters. Clearly
maximum productivity is potentially very high, and they need to have this
ability as foxes, mustelids, various raptors both diurnal and nocturnal, and
probably many snakes will prey on them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In Ukraine until the 1990’s Common Hamsters were widespread
and common, especially in the forest steppe zone away from the drier soils of
the south east. Densities reached up to 7 burrows per hectare. Since then there
has been a major decline, and they are effectively extinct over much of the
country. The chief reason for this is probably changes in agricultural crops – they
much preferred alfalfa fields to cereals and decline in cattle with inevitable
decline in need for alfalfa forage has removed habitat. Burning of fields and
use of pesticides and herbicides has also removed much of their food and
habitat.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiVx7Y-HFGuFbcS8Rsi8CfC0TLwLgMh4pSJHU4qwkP9Z2v5q3FK9dUNo9DV-hjVn-uN4_0_Qd8eMWzixdgKf1y6VZOdlT3eT7GH3PCdRi64d_CYQwxMDiJ5UMhPTGa3pgNWvzT0Wf6beKTOsoRPHq-M11YhAppq0JCx6nEbdENLOWVsreZDYYwWud/s587/cricetulus_migratorius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="493" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiVx7Y-HFGuFbcS8Rsi8CfC0TLwLgMh4pSJHU4qwkP9Z2v5q3FK9dUNo9DV-hjVn-uN4_0_Qd8eMWzixdgKf1y6VZOdlT3eT7GH3PCdRi64d_CYQwxMDiJ5UMhPTGa3pgNWvzT0Wf6beKTOsoRPHq-M11YhAppq0JCx6nEbdENLOWVsreZDYYwWud/s320/cricetulus_migratorius.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Dwarf Hamster</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Also present in Ukraine is the much smaller Grey Dwarf
Hamster, Cricetulus migratorius. A much smaller animal, it averages around 10cm
long and 40g or so – about 1/10 of a Common Hamster. This is much more a dry
country animal, living in areas of open vegetation and semi-desert, often at
high altitudes and avoiding wetter areas. In many parts of its range, which extends
east from Ukraine into western China and south into the Middle East it is
associated with people, sometimes even living in houses, Unlike its giant
relative it is listed as Least Concern, and as it is not so dependent on good
farmland that state is unlikely to change. In other ways it is similar in
behaviour, being a solitary animal living in burrows and making extensive
stores of food for hard times.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_mMc2HCGrYeLRL2wUqVArBxP13cKufc6358VL2SaNQA4rOGwS_1S2eKWmBReim6eGJkKFPDbzGmmbQC2hSrko9nHbBEwv4a9-hHFqYEteXcWv8Znb3Mu5I3ZItWJhlgJF90OrITV9nE7sLfLkP57vOql5pEA_z_8PmAaBJkvRPqXoZyCcnQTTMAK/s500/Steppe%20Lemming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_mMc2HCGrYeLRL2wUqVArBxP13cKufc6358VL2SaNQA4rOGwS_1S2eKWmBReim6eGJkKFPDbzGmmbQC2hSrko9nHbBEwv4a9-hHFqYEteXcWv8Znb3Mu5I3ZItWJhlgJF90OrITV9nE7sLfLkP57vOql5pEA_z_8PmAaBJkvRPqXoZyCcnQTTMAK/s320/Steppe%20Lemming.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steppe Lemming</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Much less solitary than hamsters are the so-called Steppe
Lemmings Lagurus lagurus. Technically a vole, these tend to live in family
groups with each family having a main domicile burrow with several entrances
and a nesting chamber. Each family will stay close to the burrow, usually
within 6m of their home. As with their Arctic counterparts they have extreme
fluctuations in population, and can build up their numbers rapidly when
conditions are good. As they can have six litters of up to seven young a year population
explosions can occur, and when this happens large numbers will disperse in
search of food in the form of seeds, bulbs and other plant material. Today it
is an eastern species with Ukraine marking the western end of a range through
Mongolia into China, but fossil remains show that in the cold and dry habitats
south of the ice sheets during the Ice Ages its ranged extended as far west as
the British Isles.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzGwvkSRaop34mdPKgUspY23INkwu1X6rT4GO5KnXNDlrVYFslsTeUhtUcWQXv3enGM9feZi0SEMba1zR5BA8erLz9_Wbnrwokn7d3H2IGeEPN79SF-HPpXOGoqozHg-9Zga3V11AYvcwdCWRdYYsYTpm61Wo6giBQSdaa9ma3pzuKUazImzgeIJC/s570/Microtus_tatricus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="570" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzGwvkSRaop34mdPKgUspY23INkwu1X6rT4GO5KnXNDlrVYFslsTeUhtUcWQXv3enGM9feZi0SEMba1zR5BA8erLz9_Wbnrwokn7d3H2IGeEPN79SF-HPpXOGoqozHg-9Zga3V11AYvcwdCWRdYYsYTpm61Wo6giBQSdaa9ma3pzuKUazImzgeIJC/s320/Microtus_tatricus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tatra Vole</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Many species of Microtus voles are found in grasslands and
fields across Europe. Ukraine is home to six species, but one of the least
known is the Tatra Vole Microtus tatricus. Ukraine and Romania share a unique
subspecies M. tatricus zykovi. Unlike the previous species, this very much
avoids farmland and is only known from natural habitats such as alpine meadows,
often at high elevation.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ONARGQEn_VVBI6U40H6yo42hGjGOB8KDjIzY2ST4zrSRNxg5ACoSzRAnR5CLSVZdqWdGz7OJKKu8xFzlUKjT-h8RimNaZMypNtoioX6NeCG0opQnwXvP7ZrQEpOA8XvvAG0SS7pXGgZVUHbbiU3py3RiIxsqoct1GDWmOs-iVTLw7414AoMCrAXl/s255/Snow%20Vole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="255" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ONARGQEn_VVBI6U40H6yo42hGjGOB8KDjIzY2ST4zrSRNxg5ACoSzRAnR5CLSVZdqWdGz7OJKKu8xFzlUKjT-h8RimNaZMypNtoioX6NeCG0opQnwXvP7ZrQEpOA8XvvAG0SS7pXGgZVUHbbiU3py3RiIxsqoct1GDWmOs-iVTLw7414AoMCrAXl/s1600/Snow%20Vole.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow Vole</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Living well away from the grassy fields of the lowlands, the
Snow Vole Chionomys nivalis is an animal of rocky areas above the tree line. As
with many small rodents it is mostly solitary and territorial and feeds on
green plants, seeds and a few insects. They tend to use scree slopes and dig
burrows among the rocks. They are active both by day and by night, and may bask
in the sun on occasion. They have a wide range in European and Asian mountains,
as far west as Portugal and as far east as Turkmenistan</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXykK7wNYh1VCKvaBTx0rMMRchRv1gDZGm5j0EIolBxB18hS6obFRiaPcv9eXc12WWLQBRdJgfZB5WUXCs-SI2nhms11vlZjiucVipl-xqz3jdeLmGdqtcgRaYK4HPmXhkApdtwa1E4aqxZLb2vxWdzAyNxyDUPWIiZNzfLSaxvVSkDYPvwDfJg9x/s278/Stylodipus_telum_(cropped).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="235" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXykK7wNYh1VCKvaBTx0rMMRchRv1gDZGm5j0EIolBxB18hS6obFRiaPcv9eXc12WWLQBRdJgfZB5WUXCs-SI2nhms11vlZjiucVipl-xqz3jdeLmGdqtcgRaYK4HPmXhkApdtwa1E4aqxZLb2vxWdzAyNxyDUPWIiZNzfLSaxvVSkDYPvwDfJg9x/s1600/Stylodipus_telum_(cropped).jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thick-tailed Three Toed Jerboa</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Not related to the various members of the hamster and vole
family, a Ukraine species that is hard to confuse with any other small rodent
is the Thick-Tailed Three Toed Jerboa, Stylodipus telum. Growing to abody length
of around 11 cm, with a tail as long again, the rather unwieldy name is at
least descriptive of a species that has a method of locomotion that is
instantly recognizable – they hop. They live in deserts and desertified
steppes, and Ukraine is at the west end of their distribution which extends through
central Asia into China. They live in complex burrows with multiple entrances/
exits. . The reproductive rate is low for a rodent, with only a single litter
of up to six young each year. They are almost entirely nocturnal, leaving their
burrows to hunt for seeds and insects. Although fairly widespread, the
subspecies found in Ukraine S. telum falz-feini is fairly rare and at risk from
agricultural development and pesticides.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Next time I will look at the remaining variety of rodents in
Ukraine. The dormice and field mice<o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-38489148435305857222022-03-25T20:00:00.006-07:002022-03-25T20:00:00.183-07:00Ukraine Part 3: Rodents underfoot<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm_6qD1vJzKykdd_nEjWeALyOR_Beu21zy9kPDPfwZtlHfiy2g8UgF4A-1M6PhR987LfZEyge4ZXTz8zMOS-niX3a3fBZNZMG3lQ2lqEs0St_nJIF0RsVR7pcQv6omUQkUxgxb0612rMlero5JUKSqhoGO7v7iZUKjzXB35wXDzMDJ41wWYUxs4V-/s4608/Sandy_mole-rat_activity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm_6qD1vJzKykdd_nEjWeALyOR_Beu21zy9kPDPfwZtlHfiy2g8UgF4A-1M6PhR987LfZEyge4ZXTz8zMOS-niX3a3fBZNZMG3lQ2lqEs0St_nJIF0RsVR7pcQv6omUQkUxgxb0612rMlero5JUKSqhoGO7v7iZUKjzXB35wXDzMDJ41wWYUxs4V-/s320/Sandy_mole-rat_activity.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signs of the Sandy Mole Rat</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the dry habitat of steppe the main sources of plant food
are the leaves, flowers and seeds of the steppe vegetation and their
underground storage organs in the form of roots and rhizomes. The ground is
usually very hard however, which makes the kind of tunnelling moles are famous
for difficult. Rodents on the other hand come equipped with perfect tools for
not so much tunnelling as gnawing through the ground, and several groups of
rodents have adapted to the lifestyle. In Europe and Asia these are the blind mole
rats in the family Spalacidae. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These weird rodents get their name from the complete absence
of eyes, which are covered by skin. Ukraine is home to five species. They have
a similar lifestyle, digging extensive burrow systems containing nesting
chambers, latrines and storage chambers, often many tens of metres across and
many metres deep, which is where they survive the cold winters deep underground
and protected from frost. Fairly large for rodents, they are mostly around the
size of a brown rat or larger. They tend to be solitary animals, only meeting
for the breeding season, and as they spend almost their entire lives
underground their main natural enemies are snakes and animals such as foxes or other
animals that can dig. Not quite as long lived as the famous (and unrelated)
Naked mole rat of Africa, some individuals are still on record as reaching 15
years in captivity.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFkMFthqV3Zh8o1GL-J0Sz0zg5IvmSsVmltJheO6xk9TOh0SC1A2j7ZpbxSkzAWMs4JX2JIk-_BB0UJDeK2Fgcz4_lj_dTOQeym5CL6B9XHzLfh0jeGLNeqrvyb7b9OAJunKQJJuNmJ8R4D6bMnMU3IaMdQyWoSL3P8d7RYtsdiTrzYEFGb2taBt1/s1000/Spalax%20arenarius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="1000" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFkMFthqV3Zh8o1GL-J0Sz0zg5IvmSsVmltJheO6xk9TOh0SC1A2j7ZpbxSkzAWMs4JX2JIk-_BB0UJDeK2Fgcz4_lj_dTOQeym5CL6B9XHzLfh0jeGLNeqrvyb7b9OAJunKQJJuNmJ8R4D6bMnMU3IaMdQyWoSL3P8d7RYtsdiTrzYEFGb2taBt1/s320/Spalax%20arenarius.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandy Mole Rat Spalax arenarius</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the rarest of Ukraine’s mole rats, and endemic to the
country, the Sandy Mole Rat Spalax arenarius is found east of Odessa around the
lower Dnepr in sandy soils, mostly within the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve.
Outside the 55km2 of total area where it can be found the few remaining
populations are highly fragmented and threatened by conversion of habitat to
forestry. A solitary species, as far as is known, it breeds only once each
year. Currently classed as Endangered by the IUCN, the assessment is 14 years
old and needs updating.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVxprUy5Cu1Pcz8kpsH-roRzWy_u4rhJGQJV1vVzbrPG_vMn3pu6BTohfFTGe2Ps9Pm5k1xZY43tn4dB9WzOHWnT66g2Uy_hedb5Rovp8roZaMOcl2ElWecnj-WbbsZ5me9bcbAbFrmEwAaKjGJY2ziFtNxMnHrtgLzEV_fAQzAMNGxIyBy_e3Azo/s1156/Sandy%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1156" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVxprUy5Cu1Pcz8kpsH-roRzWy_u4rhJGQJV1vVzbrPG_vMn3pu6BTohfFTGe2Ps9Pm5k1xZY43tn4dB9WzOHWnT66g2Uy_hedb5Rovp8roZaMOcl2ElWecnj-WbbsZ5me9bcbAbFrmEwAaKjGJY2ziFtNxMnHrtgLzEV_fAQzAMNGxIyBy_e3Azo/w569-h300/Sandy%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" width="569" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S.arenarius range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1S8VcfewBG1VVOp5IGg72F7Za2DHy6BBe-OQtbPk9g7UdL2C63nR6DgA790jnFgMq4SRu2Rsk6Qdg8mWY3FxQqcd7YC3PDVtOzizQ9S_lOfiPxDglAslisXEpCclVNwu7vjlYU8yOuyGy_r6ebo96ZIWUGUcXgrYctQCjv_e7iDBafgD_vcsm3XU-/s634/Spalax%20graecus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="634" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1S8VcfewBG1VVOp5IGg72F7Za2DHy6BBe-OQtbPk9g7UdL2C63nR6DgA790jnFgMq4SRu2Rsk6Qdg8mWY3FxQqcd7YC3PDVtOzizQ9S_lOfiPxDglAslisXEpCclVNwu7vjlYU8yOuyGy_r6ebo96ZIWUGUcXgrYctQCjv_e7iDBafgD_vcsm3XU-/s320/Spalax%20graecus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balkan Mole Rat Spalax gracus</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Not quite as threatened, but still classed as Vulnerable, the
Balkan Blind Mole Rat Spalax graecus is slightly misnamed, as it does not come
from Greece but rather has a range just east of the Carpathian mountains
overlapping Ukraine, Romania and Moldova. Not quite as specialised as
S.arenarius, it inhabits steppes, pastures and orchards, often with northern
exposures. It occurs at low densities of usually only a few individuals per
hectare.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWi9v0sGFyEV8A49mv7N12cu6Lz2e3lZh7arJ9whpCtqGiu8QJqLx6sCR1r057SGr2AyIB5QB5i8E_-dVUD7Ts6whtYd3Dczj9mcYNNbqJ6dwnrv_R-S_r1W--TS02qWwi4jGyGqb7Lu-0blMz9JNRrDECq-yimm6IU80mBX60H-BtcSkRuYYNZm1/s1138/Balkan%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="1138" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWi9v0sGFyEV8A49mv7N12cu6Lz2e3lZh7arJ9whpCtqGiu8QJqLx6sCR1r057SGr2AyIB5QB5i8E_-dVUD7Ts6whtYd3Dczj9mcYNNbqJ6dwnrv_R-S_r1W--TS02qWwi4jGyGqb7Lu-0blMz9JNRrDECq-yimm6IU80mBX60H-BtcSkRuYYNZm1/w626-h332/Balkan%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" width="626" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S.graecus range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rsBnZlHZWMRjHOwRqyOYNdMYL_ArEHrLcWJlG2ZUaJJKRJsllT3q82E9Mo4aGKKq4BLrfpkR-Dy0ha3l6hcUO5xA1qB91DfmC1bDUlaCVwWxiM0An2v2YhvEnSPUlEI8XhfiPOhNmbVw4p94AGao5h7vEystqaWY-Eq3C3EmUo9KyNjHsjoIexC2/s1024/Spalax%20zemnii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="1024" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rsBnZlHZWMRjHOwRqyOYNdMYL_ArEHrLcWJlG2ZUaJJKRJsllT3q82E9Mo4aGKKq4BLrfpkR-Dy0ha3l6hcUO5xA1qB91DfmC1bDUlaCVwWxiM0An2v2YhvEnSPUlEI8XhfiPOhNmbVw4p94AGao5h7vEystqaWY-Eq3C3EmUo9KyNjHsjoIexC2/s320/Spalax%20zemnii.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Podolsk Mole Rat Spalax zemni</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHB5rGZ5tDWqwzHVC7hun9L-QpeAiAf3ziv7WeccrrSNjfvWjjYATRgQP755J5I8Onlw7U3JXgBa_lx1obC9wvZXYIuh_31H21ofQvK1Iek5l88mCvEIsKI09cFIdJU8ZLqq5sxw53v1nzhDwEG5CiCRwXgo_FCuBsIxT79mXSm6MYpVx926XhqEar/s359/Spalax_zemni_26623146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="359" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHB5rGZ5tDWqwzHVC7hun9L-QpeAiAf3ziv7WeccrrSNjfvWjjYATRgQP755J5I8Onlw7U3JXgBa_lx1obC9wvZXYIuh_31H21ofQvK1Iek5l88mCvEIsKI09cFIdJU8ZLqq5sxw53v1nzhDwEG5CiCRwXgo_FCuBsIxT79mXSm6MYpVx926XhqEar/s320/Spalax_zemni_26623146.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S.zemni mounds in habitat</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the more widespread of Ukraine’s mole rats, the
Podolsk mole rat S.zemni has a range that extends over much of central and
northwest Ukraine. It is mainly found on virgin steppes, but does not mind some
woodland and indeed feeds on the roots of tree seedlings, although it also
feeds on roots of many other plants including agricultural crops. Very little
is known of its behaviour, as with other mole rats, and although it has a large
range it is classed as Vulnerable and is probably declining as a result of
agricultural intensification.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdsRb1eAICp1N-iOgDOpfCkl5GtvZGziyavZcfQR5h3pii7Od2VJ0crGGjv3Yba3z6uH6mlZ6BScogJ5SbskMltX_zcberPcrZpqurL6YTma5tkaxJSsgSqUf2_0ilbaXxqCZg4t4YR8A9YYVEjiNfEDDjlJOGjTIRUEeg277tOgrbmc0Cv3yr-Jv/s1142/Podolsk%20Mole%20rat%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1142" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdsRb1eAICp1N-iOgDOpfCkl5GtvZGziyavZcfQR5h3pii7Od2VJ0crGGjv3Yba3z6uH6mlZ6BScogJ5SbskMltX_zcberPcrZpqurL6YTma5tkaxJSsgSqUf2_0ilbaXxqCZg4t4YR8A9YYVEjiNfEDDjlJOGjTIRUEeg277tOgrbmc0Cv3yr-Jv/w575-h298/Podolsk%20Mole%20rat%20range.jpg" width="575" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Podolsk Mole Rat range</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-98slKmvfbMTtEedfmysogw0-cVxU6D5cdZYHaMxnP_vXmEscHCUNIoySvDJfqsFCRiUBbO60fXMjBNq6qwiFm9czjODL5faJ2YreIC4cKrk5E7v6zh9kwfZq5EbOqJOA-Iy3efJsHFTXd3tvLAFUxF8iBrKYuiKigPhTKmeGmxaJfxNOjEtR8FI0/s3215/Greater%20Mole%20Rat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2433" data-original-width="3215" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-98slKmvfbMTtEedfmysogw0-cVxU6D5cdZYHaMxnP_vXmEscHCUNIoySvDJfqsFCRiUBbO60fXMjBNq6qwiFm9czjODL5faJ2YreIC4cKrk5E7v6zh9kwfZq5EbOqJOA-Iy3efJsHFTXd3tvLAFUxF8iBrKYuiKigPhTKmeGmxaJfxNOjEtR8FI0/s320/Greater%20Mole%20Rat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greater Mole Rat Spalax micropthalmus</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the largest of all mole rats, the Greater Mole Rat S.micropthalmus
can reach 30cm long and 570g in weight. It favours softer soils with black
earth, avoiding sandy or loamy soils, and can be a pest. As a single individual
can cache 15kg of food in its store chambers the impact of a large population
can be large. Its main range is in the east of Ukraine extending into Russia.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggz0mQcMVel-FALWZBv3tu_LEc_yH4DE-S3gnoBxYwL30UbHrzKtQoFsbJ5Pq0HmQPLzeFxjjKl1NbtdmmNiFqTNT7XghSLAgv1E2tqz_hVqWbsFede6nDMGZFAgEPalNAl_JNPpqT4syRMZAOXP_quMZlr6W1DD8jync0G-FILdcw51dw6sRfn7Gk/s1142/Greater%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="1142" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggz0mQcMVel-FALWZBv3tu_LEc_yH4DE-S3gnoBxYwL30UbHrzKtQoFsbJ5Pq0HmQPLzeFxjjKl1NbtdmmNiFqTNT7XghSLAgv1E2tqz_hVqWbsFede6nDMGZFAgEPalNAl_JNPpqT4syRMZAOXP_quMZlr6W1DD8jync0G-FILdcw51dw6sRfn7Gk/w574-h300/Greater%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" width="574" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greater Mole Rat range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtFqGB6U6lWR6Y_MXK-KPGHak_RvvCBWEPm1rLRiQrMZb2D9xV4a9JupXtvjru0kctEi2GLb-9Z1kUTDJpIbIcf25Vg05uxLF4_EFj3KitIZunWm5MNv12cvKhEUCIjF9rWl4KlV9bFM-Z2qSA_umu-mV8aaSN_634-xfrdhpDIR1wvcl7LpvglHv/s584/Nannospalax_leucodon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="584" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtFqGB6U6lWR6Y_MXK-KPGHak_RvvCBWEPm1rLRiQrMZb2D9xV4a9JupXtvjru0kctEi2GLb-9Z1kUTDJpIbIcf25Vg05uxLF4_EFj3KitIZunWm5MNv12cvKhEUCIjF9rWl4KlV9bFM-Z2qSA_umu-mV8aaSN_634-xfrdhpDIR1wvcl7LpvglHv/s320/Nannospalax_leucodon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesser Mole Rat Nannospalax leucodon</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Classed in a separate genus, the Lesser Mole Rat Nannospalax
leucodon may actually be a complex of cryptic species. It has a large range
mostly to the south of Ukraine through Greece and the Balkans, where it prefers
loose soils to dig extensive burrows. As with the other species ploughing is
destructive to its burrows, but it can use orchards and pastureland as well as steppe
grassland. Given its range it is probably not a threatened species as a whole,
but as with its relatives is probably at least locally threatened by conversion
of habitat for agriculture and construction.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRqc42U-785lqXju5MY3QYgbouxYlDPFpR5YN-Bsm_mhLqPnQnqanFTQbvn2l7JJD4hARTkHcN25ol5-EnMFDJqHjPdIxib1e7a-L8owTiId4-6dePB9unlw87TQecY8wauAi0IQUJst9sLhhsKPcTCFmzy3feM82jGv38PQUuHCR4FJY9Y5-0AeT/s1131/Lesser%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="1131" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRqc42U-785lqXju5MY3QYgbouxYlDPFpR5YN-Bsm_mhLqPnQnqanFTQbvn2l7JJD4hARTkHcN25ol5-EnMFDJqHjPdIxib1e7a-L8owTiId4-6dePB9unlw87TQecY8wauAi0IQUJst9sLhhsKPcTCFmzy3feM82jGv38PQUuHCR4FJY9Y5-0AeT/w571-h298/Lesser%20Mole%20Rat%20range.jpg" width="571" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesser Mole Rat range</td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCe9lvq5V7jTdF0vMM1hKJ0iKHviXN11JfCVhV6jIinTnXdNNtvjrl2ylWS0jZxYO_jQdNgOC7Thkb_udSRPZXqrSO10nUmrV-xXqSxmTOhkPJOkUOjqbj1PBy82uTpSTDs5z1D6Ny7EpFgfafTvogSZFSnDsmmkYE6xur3j3HLQdA4ruvcJd7uzwh/s500/Ellobius_talpinus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="500" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCe9lvq5V7jTdF0vMM1hKJ0iKHviXN11JfCVhV6jIinTnXdNNtvjrl2ylWS0jZxYO_jQdNgOC7Thkb_udSRPZXqrSO10nUmrV-xXqSxmTOhkPJOkUOjqbj1PBy82uTpSTDs5z1D6Ny7EpFgfafTvogSZFSnDsmmkYE6xur3j3HLQdA4ruvcJd7uzwh/s320/Ellobius_talpinus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Mole Vole Ellobius talpinus. Note the beady eyes</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Not at all closely related to the blind mole rats, but with
a similar lifestyle, the Northern Mole Vole Ellobius talpinus is much smaller, around
13cm long and a weight of 70g. Unlike the blind mole rats it has well developed
eyes. It is also more sociable, with colonies usually consisting of a queen,
several males plus one or two litters of young, with a maximum group size of up
to 20 individuals, though half that is more usual. Within Ukraine it is found
in the southeast of the country.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVQypWqf-qgpnqKTVovQVWDQNk2SkvsKBzRXNkK2N50r6sqAFLL1mRDsJbDShRvurmXCMVSTAbIcdS5rimXt8As7waCYRXPrTMANJIQvl7MrLgXHyQ2goVXR7HiX5jnApn6rUkpR2FopEOT4ZbCO_dvm2Qj_qX4rc7M6Ve_VVPI7X_cb_m5mFf0gM/s1171/Northern%20Mole%20Vole%20range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1171" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVQypWqf-qgpnqKTVovQVWDQNk2SkvsKBzRXNkK2N50r6sqAFLL1mRDsJbDShRvurmXCMVSTAbIcdS5rimXt8As7waCYRXPrTMANJIQvl7MrLgXHyQ2goVXR7HiX5jnApn6rUkpR2FopEOT4ZbCO_dvm2Qj_qX4rc7M6Ve_VVPI7X_cb_m5mFf0gM/w570-h294/Northern%20Mole%20Vole%20range.jpg" width="570" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Mole Vole range</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So much for subterranean rodents. Among the grasses above
ground there is also a large variety of rodents of various sizes, and those are
what I will cover next.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-19633928920970121482022-03-19T11:02:00.004-07:002022-03-19T11:02:51.728-07:00Ukrain Part 2: Squirrels of the grasslandsAlthough from the perspective of a resident in Britain or most of western Europe the word “squirrel” immediately conjures up a picture of an animal in a tree, terrestrial and usually burrowing squirrels are widespread across the world in semi-deserts and grasslands . Most of these belong to the tribe Marmotini, which includes the highly colonial prairie dogs of North America and the less sociable, but larger, marmots. Ukrains with its extensive grasslands is home to four species, the large Bobak Marmot Marmota bobak and no less than three species of smaller ground squirrels or sousliks in the genus Spermophilus. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSvZsESOVYbEzQngCiOR99QVZ5SNdJHLxDK2Gv5iIR5XXivSXYS6lCIzJqniNec0d76qRFyEP0_0Cb984bBr3B_GZAD3X99IHpPXpA5plmg_FyUzEabZWikLWHAIzYDE-DYNH5gwF-WhA8HO86S7iWRF0Q3uIBbw26FrMJjp89v7xzlmkT-pF_-a_L=s1212" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1212" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSvZsESOVYbEzQngCiOR99QVZ5SNdJHLxDK2Gv5iIR5XXivSXYS6lCIzJqniNec0d76qRFyEP0_0Cb984bBr3B_GZAD3X99IHpPXpA5plmg_FyUzEabZWikLWHAIzYDE-DYNH5gwF-WhA8HO86S7iWRF0Q3uIBbw26FrMJjp89v7xzlmkT-pF_-a_L=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bobak (Steppe) Marmot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div>Bobak Marmots are very large for a squirrel – reaching over 7kg and a body length approaching 60cm, and like their relatives are keen burrowers. Their burrows can reach 3m deep and over 20m long, and constitute important refuges for other steppe animals, as well as affecting hydrology of the steppe. They are vegetarian, feeding on grasses, seeds, and various herbs, and are active by day. </div><div><br /></div><div>They are sociable creatures, with a typical family group consisting of an adult male, a few females, plus offspring of various ages. Young disperse to start families of their own at around 3 years old. Within a given area the families will usually be within visual or auditory contact, as they need to keep a sharp lookout for predators. These might include wolves, foxes, and various birds of prey such as Eastern Imperial Eagle, and in the east of their range even Snow Leopards. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYWf1PanWp0AiRHB3f6X4VUfdaEuTYVFhP74qLsJGdTK7n22ObkpxIKvk7WMJaMInM09NT-wC4D42kgk0pyiTQl87aVWAdWBX9cMKZxPxG8crQJE9fN5rLZa-rXh7lua4uZ8oEd-OEAqS54IPuqm7uqLwfkbgXiI_bX1YvxNfKIDF8R_7PW4vL6fP-=s1136" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1136" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYWf1PanWp0AiRHB3f6X4VUfdaEuTYVFhP74qLsJGdTK7n22ObkpxIKvk7WMJaMInM09NT-wC4D42kgk0pyiTQl87aVWAdWBX9cMKZxPxG8crQJE9fN5rLZa-rXh7lua4uZ8oEd-OEAqS54IPuqm7uqLwfkbgXiI_bX1YvxNfKIDF8R_7PW4vL6fP-=w554-h296" width="554" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M.bobak range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The range extends from Ukraine in the west, where ploughing up of grasslands has severely impacted the range, into central Asia, with most of the modern population being found in Kazakhstan. In history they are most important as, along with related species, being a natural reservoir for bubonic plague. </div><div><br /></div><div>Much smaller than marmots are the various species of susliks. These small ground squirrels are mostly around 25cm long or less. Like the marmot they hibernate for long periods – often more than half the year – which is how they avoid the long cold winters. Given its location Ukraine is home to no less than three species, although they are adapted to slightly different habitats and climates and consequently mostly do not compete directly.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ1hEO5DVLMtd5xOwUc5jX459MpwwJDuLMHZ_Bqe78ym61JkNz0DS7mrfh_afWajeDbw2TMegz-kmgzwGCBdXpkVkbeEHUQWEm_iwsmeokA8IMU1UJgIGELl1RtN0Z-oWIPaXx2H4Kerpc0Tttr1mQy3KhPn_R4EOfEvUcbZZjxPS20hEwGY8YreWW=s882" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="882" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ1hEO5DVLMtd5xOwUc5jX459MpwwJDuLMHZ_Bqe78ym61JkNz0DS7mrfh_afWajeDbw2TMegz-kmgzwGCBdXpkVkbeEHUQWEm_iwsmeokA8IMU1UJgIGELl1RtN0Z-oWIPaXx2H4Kerpc0Tttr1mQy3KhPn_R4EOfEvUcbZZjxPS20hEwGY8YreWW=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Souslik</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Currently classed as Endangered, The European Souslik S.citellus has the most westerly range, extending as far west as Austria and north into Poland. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYJmAX1WTxIebZ5lrr4lyIO4sFHEPtBThQiJFXEL_3AraE4-hzHlPk2b8BPXEg_sDKHVFpY9fiSPB8NfBnHfICFB8BiEwa-AZqnCPyA9kloD4fzUiyN-EZkhc02SrYhnnCb3UdE_hm8ks19SWPbSwfMWspIYjIPfV70Oy6aAEFdJUB-BcuVPn5YygR=s1127" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1127" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYJmAX1WTxIebZ5lrr4lyIO4sFHEPtBThQiJFXEL_3AraE4-hzHlPk2b8BPXEg_sDKHVFpY9fiSPB8NfBnHfICFB8BiEwa-AZqnCPyA9kloD4fzUiyN-EZkhc02SrYhnnCb3UdE_hm8ks19SWPbSwfMWspIYjIPfV70Oy6aAEFdJUB-BcuVPn5YygR=w566-h306" width="566" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Souslik range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Like their larger relatives the marmots they feed on grasses, seeds and flowers, but also feed on various invertebrates. They are dependent on short vegetation which enables them to keep watch for predators such as raptors, foxes, or weasels and agricultural intensification has seriously impacted their range. They can spend 6 months of the year in hibernation in their burrows. These are not as deep as those of the marmots but can still extend for many metres underground. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlRcqfCWXYed03sjwkhzjNwcc84j7bNCpjztHC9wLnKVHv-1zmqw_0eB1sdYDbe_gmPANHyUiAf8MbPaptn6Su57JeiMHnkbEYc97brIAy4I4uoQZ7TGX2JQmoABTTqU3oT4kkipbhHRie40N43Iw45djVyTSU1T9ZlOse7yMjzCyGd11SwJIWhMh=s400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGlRcqfCWXYed03sjwkhzjNwcc84j7bNCpjztHC9wLnKVHv-1zmqw_0eB1sdYDbe_gmPANHyUiAf8MbPaptn6Su57JeiMHnkbEYc97brIAy4I4uoQZ7TGX2JQmoABTTqU3oT4kkipbhHRie40N43Iw45djVyTSU1T9ZlOse7yMjzCyGd11SwJIWhMh=s320" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted Souslik</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Preferring taller and coarser grassland than the European Souslik, Spotted Sousliks otherwise have a similar lifestyle. Their range extends more to the north and east into European Russia and Poland where grassland can be found. It faces the same sort of problems as its relative, and is currently classed as Near Threatened. </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_wh2FWW24gEhOs_O0C2U902xP_kO_sBJfOLbLJqWHkTPOrqfabJ_7SsbIydar47GQar7HZRXO4Y8yrVnJ9CsmAPcKYz3VuJ3uS4NjOiytuIMathKqcWUg5w-QRwA8UCLl41sg5dKieXyvSN_fZ7AX-MiaqbRkM1p2jhvNVgp2qMx9UD0TiBTsrFD6=s1106" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="1106" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_wh2FWW24gEhOs_O0C2U902xP_kO_sBJfOLbLJqWHkTPOrqfabJ_7SsbIydar47GQar7HZRXO4Y8yrVnJ9CsmAPcKYz3VuJ3uS4NjOiytuIMathKqcWUg5w-QRwA8UCLl41sg5dKieXyvSN_fZ7AX-MiaqbRkM1p2jhvNVgp2qMx9UD0TiBTsrFD6=w579-h311" width="579" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spooted Souslik range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNmqhy3SBjl48SX-MU2tajE_KE8B1Fr9E7yms_InTEpnZjTNYO302z43yiNwka2okMX0p3Pr9rf_pfdj-di-Ta6G-Go3lxeCwWxNHUF-5dTA2QYtTL8EU-G4aMGLIzK07Xg1iL0a54LaUYcl7nt1ywPd9w8JqZkGyFA9_2IEeDS2UN8_50JuMnNZLv=s814" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="814" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNmqhy3SBjl48SX-MU2tajE_KE8B1Fr9E7yms_InTEpnZjTNYO302z43yiNwka2okMX0p3Pr9rf_pfdj-di-Ta6G-Go3lxeCwWxNHUF-5dTA2QYtTL8EU-G4aMGLIzK07Xg1iL0a54LaUYcl7nt1ywPd9w8JqZkGyFA9_2IEeDS2UN8_50JuMnNZLv=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Souslik</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>Not actually much smaller than its relatives, the Little Souslik is the most arid-adapted of the three species, and is found in dry grassland and semi-desert into central Asia. Given the extremes of climate it has to deal with it not only hibernates but also aestivates in the summer, with the result it may only be active above ground only a few months out of each year. The years of excavation of their burrows results in characteristic mounds used by generations of animals, and these can be many metres in diameter. From these low mounds the souslik keeps watch over the surroundings, ready to give a warning whistle when danger is seen. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMavHIHLfIUZMX_NHiWAcazrWZe5ksO4rCsuw7FLOSMLlHQ6y_yxwL6pvN1bcOMlrB_Csm22LIelTE_Hefhrl9JaXP0iRUdO0OJh6GNFu1mVsKELGgPWVB2EBm7UBCdkL-juS5KfsthziYzyHg25Irz3Y7PK8Yc5oyr_AQdZb7rrrxU9zfUIktTsxm=s1131" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1131" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMavHIHLfIUZMX_NHiWAcazrWZe5ksO4rCsuw7FLOSMLlHQ6y_yxwL6pvN1bcOMlrB_Csm22LIelTE_Hefhrl9JaXP0iRUdO0OJh6GNFu1mVsKELGgPWVB2EBm7UBCdkL-juS5KfsthziYzyHg25Irz3Y7PK8Yc5oyr_AQdZb7rrrxU9zfUIktTsxm=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Souslik range</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Ploughing up of the steppe and changes in farming practises, especially grazing and livestock numbers, is the main threat to all these grassland rodents. At least they are diurnal and consequently known to local people. Below ground, another set of rodents is far less obvious, and it is to these I will turn next time.</div></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-22045858920367310752022-03-12T10:52:00.004-08:002022-03-12T10:53:16.235-08:00Wildlife of Ukraine Part 1 - ecology and background<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiyeu-uD6AEjUreNdBPe_E3cLHTlfW6gBsegB82f8-DOiO1_9d5ZCC1ZTXQOoxCFzZQUCKmq98sP9TVA4qLZRSsinuddA71jboF_Nlc36WDfMX2BSz8gdAeQeykSsykXQDsq5FqIsAfun_D4twXQrqXT41H6dorgCy2R0st4yxUkfCYqi47vOT-2Rl=s650" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="650" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiyeu-uD6AEjUreNdBPe_E3cLHTlfW6gBsegB82f8-DOiO1_9d5ZCC1ZTXQOoxCFzZQUCKmq98sP9TVA4qLZRSsinuddA71jboF_Nlc36WDfMX2BSz8gdAeQeykSsykXQDsq5FqIsAfun_D4twXQrqXT41H6dorgCy2R0st4yxUkfCYqi47vOT-2Rl=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In view of the terrible situation in Ukraine at the moment I
decided that my next series of posts will be dedicated to the wildlife, both obvious
and not-so-obvious, to be found in that country. I hope my readers appreciate
this and will be inspired to aid as they can the people and nature of this
often misunderstood country.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To start with the general layout of habitats, in terms of
its ecosystems Ukraine can be divided into three bands of habitats running
southwest to northeast. In the south, including the Black Sea coast, dry steppe
grassland covers about a third of the country, and extends eastward into
central Asia. North of that is a forest steppe zone, with rather more rainfall
and at least some tree cover in places. Finally, the north and west of the
country is (at least before deforestation from agriculture) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>comprises mixed deciduous and coniferous
forest, with extensive bogs and wetlands in the north on the border with Belorus
and Poland. Most of the country is more or less flat, but in the west the
Carpathian mountains are steeper and densely forested, and extend from Ukraine
through Poland into Slovakia and south into Romania.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpNLUmJt5Hjjw2LMcw225nSBFYEdambRbeMulBJQlw96VaBS2mXyVh-lFdmi4elE_XNCH4kTWUyHVFO-JBeGCqtlZew1K-IAOzH4nV9QV34MEKgHcWm52jT5nt46FqTR01lxA0NF-Edm1psE1HK3ytnTRbB_bMd8OsVV3ayoN-n0DSmaRdBGlMznrd=s1200" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpNLUmJt5Hjjw2LMcw225nSBFYEdambRbeMulBJQlw96VaBS2mXyVh-lFdmi4elE_XNCH4kTWUyHVFO-JBeGCqtlZew1K-IAOzH4nV9QV34MEKgHcWm52jT5nt46FqTR01lxA0NF-Edm1psE1HK3ytnTRbB_bMd8OsVV3ayoN-n0DSmaRdBGlMznrd=s320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demoiselle Crane</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ukraine is a land of rivers – over 23,000 in fact. Most of
course are fairly small, but they include a short section of the Danube and the
second greatest (by volume) river in Europe, the Dnieper. These both eventually
form major river deltas on the Black Sea which are important wildlife areas. These
large rivers are the natural habitat for some of the worlds most famous (and
largest) freshwater fish, the multiple species of sturgeon that produce caviar.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOre8j2dGykL-akQ-HvE3VUtS4IwITu3IrVpPkC2a8ebUqTNwyoPF-v1lzzvmFWJTvW2uqkZtdVdB9bozOP897yLR7WxCpqk74dmoVReDBjhXRiJJN7BNNXDUL8vUvEG2BuUdPWPutrlNsLs-tlLDXkfJbFaQcK22JQQFpJLXj64PnWbuCYb3VRhdD=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="1024" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOre8j2dGykL-akQ-HvE3VUtS4IwITu3IrVpPkC2a8ebUqTNwyoPF-v1lzzvmFWJTvW2uqkZtdVdB9bozOP897yLR7WxCpqk74dmoVReDBjhXRiJJN7BNNXDUL8vUvEG2BuUdPWPutrlNsLs-tlLDXkfJbFaQcK22JQQFpJLXj64PnWbuCYb3VRhdD=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beluga Sturgeon</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the past the steppe grassland in the south was wide open
to repeated waves of invaders from the east, most famously Genghis Khan and his
successors, and before that in the last days of the Roman Empire the peoples
that became known to history as the Huns. Being too dry for most forms of arable
farming without irrigation, the grasslands were natural horse and livestock country.
In more recent times arable farming has covered most of the country, resulting
in extensive conversion of steppe and grassland for growing wheat and sunflowers
for oil among other crops. Much of the wetland has been drained as well for farming
and this has inevitable impacted the native wildlife. In addition to this building
of hydroelectric dams has impacted fish migrations. and most famously of all the Chernobyl Power station,
which was built on the banks of the Pripyat, a river which also flows through
Belarus before joining the Dnieper, has serious implications for radioactive pollution of the rivers and eventually the Black Sea itself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This agricultural expansion, along with hunting and other
forms of persecution, has resulted in localised extinction within Ukraine of
several large mammals in particular. Eurasian Wild Ass, Wild Horse, Saiga
Antelope, European Bison have all become extinct, although reintroduction projects
are now in place for some of them. In the prehistoric period lions also lived at least in the south, preying on the then-abundant wildlife.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtLAcqFxLs7WNn9l705XZs8_jOa6-TAkQLY45oiXbWrYDf7PTw8-E74c6nijI0ftF_4eu9KxzGaQUBL3dAhtmy6yI1tPI8GcZ1RYlcvnk_Bc4mbJ-7JcPCqLVGG__Wiyf-pQHF5L-c97IecWyZ8eJ3PrRY4QrOxTAB8XnMhAZhDv8HkBIN-14um0mh=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1024" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtLAcqFxLs7WNn9l705XZs8_jOa6-TAkQLY45oiXbWrYDf7PTw8-E74c6nijI0ftF_4eu9KxzGaQUBL3dAhtmy6yI1tPI8GcZ1RYlcvnk_Bc4mbJ-7JcPCqLVGG__Wiyf-pQHF5L-c97IecWyZ8eJ3PrRY4QrOxTAB8XnMhAZhDv8HkBIN-14um0mh=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saiga Antelope</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In this series of posts I cannot cover every species found
in Ukraine, but I aim to cover as wide a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles
and insects as I can. I hope my readers appreciate this primer.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Next time I will start with the multitude of rodents, some specialised or unfamiliar, that call Ukraine home.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br />Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-22557394136202939122022-02-26T09:06:00.000-08:002022-02-26T09:06:35.894-08:00Of syrup and large carnivores<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLEzjscygAyVLiGYDPQx3xNA3GJyF-k_MK2cVrmXK4FYgosF_NDFpw1tsLcvEUSd7RpRDYW4fS9siHFXKG8dFzsEbdn0ZvTX0fVUTf9P-ietkh50CT4FJrOH9knk8eQWPolEAo64En_REqKXG_yUkcIhlacYG03QQJbqqM1wYoMDcJd9zmb-DQZNWt=s5184" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLEzjscygAyVLiGYDPQx3xNA3GJyF-k_MK2cVrmXK4FYgosF_NDFpw1tsLcvEUSd7RpRDYW4fS9siHFXKG8dFzsEbdn0ZvTX0fVUTf9P-ietkh50CT4FJrOH9knk8eQWPolEAo64En_REqKXG_yUkcIhlacYG03QQJbqqM1wYoMDcJd9zmb-DQZNWt=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asiatic Lions, Gir Forest, India</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Sitting on many pantry shelves in Britain is a tin of Tate
& Lyles Golden Syrup, much employed in the creation of puddings, poured on
porridge, and many other uses. Only when you examine the label will you find a
rather strange picture – a dead lion surrounded by buzzing insects, and the
motto “Out of the strong came forth sweetness”. Using a dead and decaying predator
for liquid sugar seems a rather odd advertising gimmick, especially one that
has not been changed since 1883, so what is going on? This post is dedicated to
the curious history of lions outside Africa, and how they wound up on a tin.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To start with, where do lions come from? Genetic analysis
suggests the lineage of all modern big cats split from other felids around 10
or so million years ago, with ancestral lions appearing around 2 million years
ago in Africa, at about the same time our own lineage started to look more like
present day people rather than bipedal chimpanzees. These ancestral lions
dispersed out of Africa across Asia, eventually even reaching the Americas
where the American form, Panthera atrox, is frequently found at the famous
Rancho La Brea site (which by the way is in the middle of Los Angeles
surrounded by traffic). However, as part of the mass extinction at the end of
the last glaciation these Northern and American lions died out, leaving only
the living species. These were not just confined to Africa though – they lived
in open country across Arabia, into the Middle East as far as central India at
least. How far east they ranged is not clear as they became part of human
stories and mythology practically from the start, but the famous Lion Dances in
China and various references in many South Asian cultures suggests they were
certainly not unknown. <o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6RIkcr4eP5Yelw8PtnKyShyhlnUEzvJ13CYouTCIjRNjh7WIA4iZWjh5WwdEnkTSK90taOiHxn7bua63p2OVkKaOqv4Sk-5Kv05cWbkqPDHv4nB9N7jndPJqI1PJOCMITU-xbJs9X5jTrbGBPhlObf9Dm8ekQlu5LBEFPV8llh0CUgIADrY0UZy7d=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="1024" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6RIkcr4eP5Yelw8PtnKyShyhlnUEzvJ13CYouTCIjRNjh7WIA4iZWjh5WwdEnkTSK90taOiHxn7bua63p2OVkKaOqv4Sk-5Kv05cWbkqPDHv4nB9N7jndPJqI1PJOCMITU-xbJs9X5jTrbGBPhlObf9Dm8ekQlu5LBEFPV8llh0CUgIADrY0UZy7d=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaic depicting Heracles and the Nemean Lion</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By the earliest historical period though lions outside
Africa lived in the Middle East, Iran, Anatolia and northern India, and were
much persecuted. They also just survived in Europe in the Balkans and possibly
further east into Central Asia – lions figure in decorative Scythian art from
the earliest historical period, and they were definitely present in the steppes
and grasslands of Europe as far west as Hungary well into the Bronze Age. In
Greek mythology the first of the twelve labours of Herakles ,in penance for the
murder of his wife, was to kill the invincible Nemean lion (he trapped it in a
cave and strangled it with his bare hands). Other lions appear in other Greek myths,
and it was alleged that lions attacked the camels supplying the troops of the
Persian invasion in 480BCE.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the Middle East however lions survived in greater
numbers, and that is how they came to wind up on a syrup tin. The quotation is
from the Bible, as part of the story of Samson in the Book of Judges.
Incidentally, I cannot help feeling that “Judges” is a really bad translation
of the original Hebrew, as it conjurs up pictures of a courtroom and someone passing
sentence – “Champions” or even “Superheroes” would seem to give a better
approximation of the contents of the book to me. Judges details the
semi-legendary figures from the period between Moses and the establishment of
the Israelite Monarchy under David. The story starts with Samson going down to
Timnah – Philistine Territory – because he had fallen for a girl he had fallen
for:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 20.4pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->When he came to the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly
a young lion roared at him. The spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and he tore
the lion apart barehanded as one might tear apart a kid. But he did not tell
his father or mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the
woman, and she pleased Samson. After a while he returned to marry her, and he
turned aside to see the carcase of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in
the body of the kion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands, and went on,
easting as he went.”<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0HzI-OxPc9bUIKaZsjGBOFywhmVLLbGmZIhp6HN7hOvBe1Sm9txpnjLSU-I9qaPZEY03FH15CBiobZFA-pv7qFdTqXb8UlAb-VUft-lr8KrX50psTvloNMAu_Q7YriqyJJ5mkIZwblgKPPgJ-BRdlqMKjOsoO8OfW8CV7n0ob8l423sYrXfsKpX20=s3644" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3644" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0HzI-OxPc9bUIKaZsjGBOFywhmVLLbGmZIhp6HN7hOvBe1Sm9txpnjLSU-I9qaPZEY03FH15CBiobZFA-pv7qFdTqXb8UlAb-VUft-lr8KrX50psTvloNMAu_Q7YriqyJJ5mkIZwblgKPPgJ-BRdlqMKjOsoO8OfW8CV7n0ob8l423sYrXfsKpX20=s320" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samson and the Lion</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 20.4pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">The wedding feast does not go well. Samson makes a bet with
the young men of his wife’s relatives:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 20.4pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Samson said to them” Let me now put a riddle to
you. If you can explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find
it out, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments. But
if you cannot explain it to me, then you must give me thirty linen garments and
thirty festal garments. So they said to him “Ask your riddle, let us hear it.”
He said to them “Out of the eater came something to east, out of the strong
came something sweet”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Unable to guess the riddle, they finally persuade Samsons new
wife to wheedle the secret out of him, and that is when things go really wrong:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 20.4pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The men of the town said to him on the seventh
day before the sun went down “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than
a lion?” And he said to them “If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would
not have found out my riddle”. Then the spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and
he went down to Ashkelon. He killed thirty men of the town, took their spoil,
and gave the festal garments to those who had explained the riddle. In hot
anger he went back to his fathers’ house. And Samsons wife was given to his
companion, who had been his best man.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A pretty horrible story, as I am sure you agree, but it does
show that in this early period at least lions were familiar enough to figure in
popular stories. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Later, the boy David volunteers to Saul to fight Goliath,
explaining why he is not afraid: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 20.4pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“Your servant used to keep sheep for his father;
and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went down
after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned
against me I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down and kill it. Your
servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine
shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God” (I
should point out that at this point the said armies are holed up in the hills,
scared to come to open battle against a vastly better equipped Philistine
army.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To go back to the beginning of this post, in 1881 an
enterprising sugar refiner named Abram Lyle found he could sell the syrup
produced as part of his cane sugar refining process to grocers all over London,
and invented the label that the tins carry to this day. The business later
merged with another sugar refiner, Henry Tate & Sons (The Tate Gallery in
London was founded with a donation from the family). In 2010 the whole business
was sold to American Sugar Refining, Inc, leaving the famous tins as simply a
brand label.<o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-12244861944667647462022-02-18T17:00:00.005-08:002022-02-18T17:00:00.224-08:00Part 8: Losses and recoveries<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5dwqvqbH9rYmWDVOzYHu_jwV6RMWjowxAHlc_rj3_brNxlfregVPIVaT26t0bYbBG1whZqN0689pZ7JoSLtrJam2GeJXu0jGjG-sCGzgIv9gn3KPr6vqaZQccatb1Oq-jFEIq-_ArEFjApAactn2fPEayAtP6nYpKxsljRhoxMrFk25wjZqs5jJu5=s1440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5dwqvqbH9rYmWDVOzYHu_jwV6RMWjowxAHlc_rj3_brNxlfregVPIVaT26t0bYbBG1whZqN0689pZ7JoSLtrJam2GeJXu0jGjG-sCGzgIv9gn3KPr6vqaZQccatb1Oq-jFEIq-_ArEFjApAactn2fPEayAtP6nYpKxsljRhoxMrFk25wjZqs5jJu5=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skylark</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Around 40,000 years ago the last glaciation culminated in
the Last Glacial Maximum. Modern humans by this time had already reached
Australia, and this time saw the end of the Neanderthals, Denisovans and other
pre-modern humans who had lived all across the world. They did not disappear
entirely however – before they vanished as separate peoples they produced
children with modern type humans and their DNA lives on in all of us to this
day.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIM8aACqHkxv-uGHhLvmngg5PKLz-NGK42zyitKW53a-0H7wbd0V4mWphIC-CE_ZpULZ4aMszhw8DneDOKgbFaTxz_grwr-x2LxWSjNEwgNjQ07ufd-GOKmFe17TAXc9kQE0oomoqg53TYKacIfFx1vfcLlK8l0lU3Tnipok2OBw7vkgBf0WjpQbqP=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="640" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIM8aACqHkxv-uGHhLvmngg5PKLz-NGK42zyitKW53a-0H7wbd0V4mWphIC-CE_ZpULZ4aMszhw8DneDOKgbFaTxz_grwr-x2LxWSjNEwgNjQ07ufd-GOKmFe17TAXc9kQE0oomoqg53TYKacIfFx1vfcLlK8l0lU3Tnipok2OBw7vkgBf0WjpQbqP=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Partridges</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">How much modern humans were the direct cause of the total
extinction or range restriction of the animals I have talked about is not
always clear, but a combination of rapid climate change and the selective
targeting or large animals by modern humans (who unlike Neanderthals had
developed distance weapons such as arrows and other sophisticated technology) must
be a main contender. The extinction of elephants and rhinos especially would
have resulted in massive expansion of close-canopy forest as the climate warmed
compared to earlier periods, a disaster for animals and birds adapted to warmer
grasslands. Ironically, it was the invention of agriculture that might have
helped them, as fields would have sufficiently emulated the old
elephant-created open grassland to provide habitat for what we now think of as
“farmland” birds such as Skylarks, finches, buntings, partridges or even Great
Bustards.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIPxPvMWRjsdy5hYgbzaKd8psVfYDe7Qr57_TnCNu48oKPm795PY_3rogoM6qhnzGr16iuFUHg7BoBLBQsjy9K4vTSIH1pCRoeLsDCoipijjrYN1y2MB4IAxumGxmE2umBU0QZz6Uaa4Fu3iE_1QYS9-911R1AH6X5FhjmVpCG5ys0SPS7obd4E7mW=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIPxPvMWRjsdy5hYgbzaKd8psVfYDe7Qr57_TnCNu48oKPm795PY_3rogoM6qhnzGr16iuFUHg7BoBLBQsjy9K4vTSIH1pCRoeLsDCoipijjrYN1y2MB4IAxumGxmE2umBU0QZz6Uaa4Fu3iE_1QYS9-911R1AH6X5FhjmVpCG5ys0SPS7obd4E7mW=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Bustard</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In the past few decades an increasing number of different
species rendered extinct in this country being reintroduced or having their
numbers greatly supplemented by additional released animals. For example, Red
Kites were restricted entirely to Wales and were on the verge of extinction
until a carefully planned and monitored release programme extended them across
the UK and they are commonly seen along many of our motorways as they scan for
roadkill. More recently an equally successful reintroduction of White-Tailed
Eagles has restored them to Scotland, and a release programme has started on
the south coast of England where the first released juveniles are approaching
breeding age.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOUzVi8qZRR_G1LZthk0tUNgde2URXdH7MAVfSffv86RggT9PnA-9yi0G86sJDKdMm05mxSnSaVkrQbj1Uf_PLqHv5bRKFxZtOcZQ9YT7ygr0VpZmaHQnp97sh4e8vjzvXp_RcytorEjk2Ua6Dg8JoIXVs3oRJqQNN9Fog0Tz5o0wwW2qYnuGDoid2=s2694" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1898" data-original-width="2694" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOUzVi8qZRR_G1LZthk0tUNgde2URXdH7MAVfSffv86RggT9PnA-9yi0G86sJDKdMm05mxSnSaVkrQbj1Uf_PLqHv5bRKFxZtOcZQ9YT7ygr0VpZmaHQnp97sh4e8vjzvXp_RcytorEjk2Ua6Dg8JoIXVs3oRJqQNN9Fog0Tz5o0wwW2qYnuGDoid2=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Tailed Eagle</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">More problematic is the reintroduction of mammals. Beaver reintroductions were controversial for
a long time – not without reason from the point of view of a farmer whose
fields of maize border a river – but they are now in several areas as either
fully wild animals or at least as self-supporting animals in fenced areas. The
next big areas will be carnivores, of which Wild Cat and Lynx are
possibilities. True Eurasian Wild Cats are almost extinct in Scotland as a
result of persecution and hybridisation with domestic cats, but their natural
range was throughout the UK. There are discussions of possible reintroductions
either in Wales or the South West. Lynx are key predators of Roes Deer, which
will certainly get them points with arable farmers and foresters, but they are
unfortunately also quite capable of killing sheep and as a result sheep farmers
are putting up a lot of opposition. Larger predators such as Wolves are talked
about, but outside of a fenced enclosure I cannot see wild Wolves being let
loos in the UK sadly, although in western Europe Wolves are actually doing very
well at the moment – in fact they have already reached the North Sea coast and
if they were only slightly better long distance swimmers they would be showing
up in southeast England in the next few years.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsq_yauYRIiTy2Yuwbd7YwZBAEE61p0I1zkTkj6gSYHx-qHPJ2Y4sK-rWQ7tLtxx0gOdU9JwQcOIbG1hxa76jYabkTPrgrzH5_PKJpUf-o92H0v6oXlOFTvFgAy4WVx0OZA2OTEevDYeq7q7Rjcd1QPlMC_JKIIZEOBS_9eF5o96g8FwPSZXK9r1h-=s711" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="711" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsq_yauYRIiTy2Yuwbd7YwZBAEE61p0I1zkTkj6gSYHx-qHPJ2Y4sK-rWQ7tLtxx0gOdU9JwQcOIbG1hxa76jYabkTPrgrzH5_PKJpUf-o92H0v6oXlOFTvFgAy4WVx0OZA2OTEevDYeq7q7Rjcd1QPlMC_JKIIZEOBS_9eF5o96g8FwPSZXK9r1h-=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eurasian Beaver</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The crowded and heavily farmed areas of Britain make
rewilding over truly large areas in this country very difficult, but on a
smaller scale quite a lot can be done. Conservation grazing is standard
practise on reserves to preserve habitat, but usually this involved domestic
livestock of various “primitive” breeds such as Exmoor Ponies, Highland Cattle,
or indeed, as in the Avon Gorge, Domestic Goat. In 2022 the Wilder Blean
Project in Kent plans to use European Bison (inside a large, fenced enclosure)
for the same purpose. However, the largest rewilding type project in the UK is
currently the Knepp Estate, which has pioneered many new ecological practises
by using a mixture of domestic livestock (Longhorn cattle, Exmoor Ponies,
Tamworth Pigs) plus deer (Red, Roe, Fallow) to affect the habitats. As a
result, Knepp is now home to the largest colony of Purple Emperor butterflies
in the UK, and is also a successful site for the Turtle Dove. Knepp is also
home to a reintroduction project for White Stork, which became extinct in the
UK in the Middle Ages and has now bred successfully (14 chicks fledged in 2021). Knepp is now a role model for what rewilding might look like in a crowded island like Britain in which there is little room for majopr landscape-scale projects in much of the country.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZZ5bZbo_Gza27CeObGgeYpSwRUhfN6HlA8RWfF1RT21C35DdOTnus29vW8AVCvUwCqQaGR7TXOGDwC3_DwKPmvFMcYiYw97NEQ_TI8ZbbXqc2UDwQSTupUSmZjw6vA-FFleLQt2duv0g5mjDmtA26UD2ihV72UlnBLCN4q5Z3W5HIsaYO5i_TrxW7=s2451" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1961" data-original-width="2451" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZZ5bZbo_Gza27CeObGgeYpSwRUhfN6HlA8RWfF1RT21C35DdOTnus29vW8AVCvUwCqQaGR7TXOGDwC3_DwKPmvFMcYiYw97NEQ_TI8ZbbXqc2UDwQSTupUSmZjw6vA-FFleLQt2duv0g5mjDmtA26UD2ihV72UlnBLCN4q5Z3W5HIsaYO5i_TrxW7=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Stork in Sussex</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">This brings an end to this series of discussions, I hope readers have enjoyed them, over the next few months I will be looking at the histories of reintroductions in the UK and the lessons that can be learned from how they turned out.</p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-76127761965710121402022-02-11T17:00:00.001-08:002022-02-11T17:00:00.189-08:00Part 7: Butterflies and other insects<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUbOl7Xp0eQwAmTJE2GoTNXMfsYe4_CknDuPOOQZmMuspktUI_NcFz0mGn64VueqMH6PIDMths6qiqulR-NPorRD1w43fviTnNdHfNzp4aFznK4iEc5BkdssmdGGczPgcXLhn0s2mRK42yjI4FoxFmk6BnXOtmXA_W6HU-sk_EJYVevZJ0yQM1xI4J=s513" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="513" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUbOl7Xp0eQwAmTJE2GoTNXMfsYe4_CknDuPOOQZmMuspktUI_NcFz0mGn64VueqMH6PIDMths6qiqulR-NPorRD1w43fviTnNdHfNzp4aFznK4iEc5BkdssmdGGczPgcXLhn0s2mRK42yjI4FoxFmk6BnXOtmXA_W6HU-sk_EJYVevZJ0yQM1xI4J=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British Swallowtail</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">With the exception of beetles,
whose tough exoskeletons are often preserved, insects do not often fossilise so
the insect fauna of Britain is mostly speculative. In most ways it probably
resembled the modern fauna, although the slightly warmer summers and more
seasonal climate might have meant that it had more in common with central and
western France than it has today. One way we can determine the structure of the
habitat is from those beetles, as they are quite specific in their habitat requirements.
The high incidence of certain types of dung beetles indicates that the British
landscape in many areas was open countryside with large numbers of large
herbivores shaping the habitat – the picture of primeval Europe being one vast
forest is itself unnatural and is probably a consequence of the extinction of
megafauna across the planet at the end of the last glaciation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Many insects are migratory, and
no doubt Painted Lady, Red Admiral and other butterflies made annual visits to Britain
for the summer before migrating back south in the autumn, just as they do today.
Dragonflies are also long-distance migrants in many cases, so the beaver and
hippo- created wetlands would have swarmed with them as well. Without
pollution, mayflies would likewise have swarmed over the water providing ample
food for insectivorous birds.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Britain has very few endemic
insects but they include our largest and most specialised butterfly, the
British subspecies of the widespread Common Swallowtail Papilio machaon. There
are several species across Europe, and the mainland subspecies sometimes
migrates into Britain and even sometimes breeds (Swallowtails are strong flyers
and the mainland form feeds on many plants in the carrot family). The British
form however is highly specialised for feeding on a single foodplant – Milk Parsley-
and this only grows in marshy areas. This specialisation cannot be a recent development
since the end of the last glaciation so presumably the original habitat was the
extensive marshland where the North Sea now covers the land, and in the Eemian
it might well have been widespread across the wetlands of southern Britain. Milk
Parsley needs to grow to a large size before it becomes attractive to
egg-laying females, and a specific reed-cutting and grazing regime is needed to
maintain the habitat it optimum condition in the few sites it still survives.
In the past grazing by large animals, occasional fires, and more extensive
wetlands would have made its survival much less of a problem,<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgg04HdZxPozE-agOdG1gfUh6_ZeKS9r8VQ3OQ-RHmCa1AD9UiNhWipEv5Ki9iTOGLz5ULGcrF3OQWZvNNEw_f10AdFcoU3YlCorizg85Bq9RD-u-fW7isejCisBD7-3XfuMk-P6aK-6Ju9maHKiNwadjWJ3Tj9Cx_6TQMSDQtOxOI70sgcPrAh0BCL=s341" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgg04HdZxPozE-agOdG1gfUh6_ZeKS9r8VQ3OQ-RHmCa1AD9UiNhWipEv5Ki9iTOGLz5ULGcrF3OQWZvNNEw_f10AdFcoU3YlCorizg85Bq9RD-u-fW7isejCisBD7-3XfuMk-P6aK-6Ju9maHKiNwadjWJ3Tj9Cx_6TQMSDQtOxOI70sgcPrAh0BCL=s320" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large Copper</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Using the same habitat would have
been the Large Copper, whose native British subspecies is now sadly extinct. Attempts
have been made to reintroduce the continental form, but with limited success.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgybT8NXmLtoKttdV6wrlwYqI5IC3BbiN_HOlJJ8VW4z8tdM9nbvxtdoKGUgbf6Gjb5oKZyRCwFqfAXEh7sDYpqccmzmtWw5QIWUGC9rgc3XnQtz1vRvZv0dBBYfZJJA4FD0ChgJ-hV9tvH06sc-ctmsWNDsdb3xGs4M88KB4W3hBGfLhcMyCSdJrQ2=s3366" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2524" data-original-width="3366" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgybT8NXmLtoKttdV6wrlwYqI5IC3BbiN_HOlJJ8VW4z8tdM9nbvxtdoKGUgbf6Gjb5oKZyRCwFqfAXEh7sDYpqccmzmtWw5QIWUGC9rgc3XnQtz1vRvZv0dBBYfZJJA4FD0ChgJ-hV9tvH06sc-ctmsWNDsdb3xGs4M88KB4W3hBGfLhcMyCSdJrQ2=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarce Swallowtail</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another swallowtail butterfly
found in Europe is the Scarce Swallowtail, which got its name from rare
specimens obtained by early collectors in southwest England. These may have
been a tiny surviving population or recent immigrants, but in the Eemian they
might well have been widespread as the larvae feed on many common and
widespread species of Prunus, Malus and Crataegus among other plants. With a similar
range of foodplants the Black-Veined White, formerly native to the UK but now only
found on the continent, would have also been found on the edges of woodlands
and in scrub.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglnpZG3moMU2U_znnQU4F9csuH2YzLNW9yJ2mjKxoW6jei1isz19Zu7hMQwfhUAT8bAjm8qaUKU6ye_SHhqU1YH6rJHk57m0k5Wei3Otz7MzqZ8NSPynN3qvktyd8hzII0PZDgUtq-y3e-e-MlOZiOgAE4BO4BemKPUvHnjtgcSo5zIln3EnKpSaIO=s2950" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2590" data-original-width="2950" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglnpZG3moMU2U_znnQU4F9csuH2YzLNW9yJ2mjKxoW6jei1isz19Zu7hMQwfhUAT8bAjm8qaUKU6ye_SHhqU1YH6rJHk57m0k5Wei3Otz7MzqZ8NSPynN3qvktyd8hzII0PZDgUtq-y3e-e-MlOZiOgAE4BO4BemKPUvHnjtgcSo5zIln3EnKpSaIO=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purple and Lesser Purple Emperors feeding</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After the Swallowtail, Britain’s
largest extant butterfly is the Purple Emperor, but they might well have been
joined by its only slightly smaller relative the Lesser Emperor. This
continental species favours damp woodlands where poplars (its main foodplant)
grow. Both these species are well known for being attracted to animal dung, so
the territorial middens of rhinos and piles of elephant dung would have been a
magnet for them.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiD4K48b1h0BB82sL9eIIqE-45n18Mhujoain0xuRM6hTyWhkb90HZiZVbYnwwdZndBK3nJBr4q4EoH3OKturt0w1Q6Ryr-OPs5YhNV7HdvI2ah2oQSTRgJ4MmUUpJ4BcPnPAPLKldeQR5RMUYzORhWqzYPiitSBbGfIUy9_DDmVgocgOtDxCpHSwgQ=s3284" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2464" data-original-width="3284" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiD4K48b1h0BB82sL9eIIqE-45n18Mhujoain0xuRM6hTyWhkb90HZiZVbYnwwdZndBK3nJBr4q4EoH3OKturt0w1Q6Ryr-OPs5YhNV7HdvI2ah2oQSTRgJ4MmUUpJ4BcPnPAPLKldeQR5RMUYzORhWqzYPiitSBbGfIUy9_DDmVgocgOtDxCpHSwgQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camberwell Beauty</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The more seasonal climate would
have made Britain much more habitable for what is now a rare immigrant to this
country, the large and impressive Camberwell Beauty (known as the Mourning
Cloak in the US). The butterfly was named from where it was first caught by an
early collector, but all those seen in the UK are the result of individual
hitching a lift with imported wood from the continent.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Glanville Fritillary has a
toehold on the south coast today and might well have been more widespread in
the south given the more continental climate.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Among moths, the habitat would
have been ideal for those that love flowering meadows such as the various Burnet
moths, and various hawkmoths like Broad-Bordered Bee Hawk would have been far
more widespread than it is today.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This completes my survey of
Eemian Britain. Next time I will look at the consequences of these discoveries
for conservation and rewilding in Britain today.<o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-4594203853706098772022-02-04T18:00:00.002-08:002022-02-04T18:00:00.179-08:00Part 6: Eemian Reptiles and Amphibians in the UK<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZjGDBVrxLC_Epkwl53g4pjzq_YSw-n2PKsBaCINIGW2rECh-iNzD4EgLBdlGgS7Mue5S4KZFb_XiqroO3KcVWM-Qo7KZvDoWfRllcXdWqCoAd3j08YGyslv0wPfdowok030PTOoChnlJorwhF2ZzNbc4GKoWwpNDq-KiStgIZYk8SIeYnu966ND5H=s5184" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZjGDBVrxLC_Epkwl53g4pjzq_YSw-n2PKsBaCINIGW2rECh-iNzD4EgLBdlGgS7Mue5S4KZFb_XiqroO3KcVWM-Qo7KZvDoWfRllcXdWqCoAd3j08YGyslv0wPfdowok030PTOoChnlJorwhF2ZzNbc4GKoWwpNDq-KiStgIZYk8SIeYnu966ND5H=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dice Snake</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The modern British herpetofauna is
rather impoverished compared to mainland Europe, with many species certainly
capable of living and breeding in Britain reaching the North Sea and Channel
coasts but going no further. This is due to the separation of Britain from the
continent – by the time southern European species had spread north far enough
the sea was in the way. However, at least a few species made it to Britain
early but then disappeared as the climate became cooler and wetter during the Holocene.
As the Channel was formed prior to the Eemian Interglacial the same situation
would have applied as the weather warmed up, and the herpetofauna of the British
Isles would also have been limited compared to the European mainland.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Among the reptiles as well as the
Grass Snake, Smooth Snake and Adder that are resident today there have been
found fragmentary remains of at least one, possibly two other species. The Dice
Snake Natrix tesselata is a small relative of the Grass Snake and like it feeds
on fish and amphibians. The Viperine Snake Natrix maura has a very similar diet
but seems to prefer slightly warmer conditions, making it perhaps less likely
to be the small Natrix species known from a few Eemian sites. Grass snakes are
very fond of using compost heaps and manure piles on farms for egg laying, so
they might have made similar use of the territorial middens of the various
rhinos,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Lizards like the Viviparous
Lizard, Sand Lizard and Slowworm that are resident in Britain today are all
known from the Eemian. Other species such as Western Green Lizard or Wall
Lizard (both introduced to the UK today) may have been present but whether they
got to Britain before the rising seas isolated Britain is not known.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv6fYqxCR2Hu3jktzRFJ1X5DFdNNVqoOzHjaOEqlovfzWJPzSLXvy6B6ndR7vzL_xDu7abu6joT4v2J97bC5DBE65_racPxBCwG_XvRQ2gopex3pSDb239av1nVpXPFg3pq68Wa8wdvbNP9HmtLJWGkop5qxVUhkxi5B6_lK42aYdsG3X3vGdKDNlM=s2149" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1433" data-original-width="2149" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv6fYqxCR2Hu3jktzRFJ1X5DFdNNVqoOzHjaOEqlovfzWJPzSLXvy6B6ndR7vzL_xDu7abu6joT4v2J97bC5DBE65_racPxBCwG_XvRQ2gopex3pSDb239av1nVpXPFg3pq68Wa8wdvbNP9HmtLJWGkop5qxVUhkxi5B6_lK42aYdsG3X3vGdKDNlM=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Pond Tortoise</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One reptile that did make it to
Britain is the European Pond Tortoise, which is known from several sites.
Britain is very marginal for this species and it could only breed successfully when
summers were long and warm enough for the eggs to incubate successfully. They
also made it to Britain at the end of the last glaciation, but then died out
early in the Holocene.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Among amphibians their remains
are usually very fragmentary which makes identification difficult. However, the
three newt species (Great Crested, Palmate and Smooth) that live in Britain
today were certainly present, as were Grass (Common) Frog, Common Toad and
Natterjack Toad – as the Natterjack specialises in disturbed habitats and
temporary pools the wallows and other excavations by hippos, elephants and
others would have made it fairly widespread compared to its status in Britain
today. Also present were at least one member of the Pool Frog/ Marsh Frog
complex. Pool Frogs were a resident in East Anglia in the Holocene but the last
colonies sadly became extinct in the 20<sup>th</sup> century, as they were
believed to be introduced and were therefore not protected. Today there is an
introduction programme for Pool Frogs, but the most widespread and successful
introductions are Marsh Frogs, now present at many sites across the south of
England.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another frog species, the Moor
Frog Rana arvalis, has a mainly eastern distribution today but has been found
from Eemian sites. They were present in Britain in the early Holocene, but then
died out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Finally, fragmentary remains of
Green Tree Frogs are also known from the Eemian, and in the south at least
might have been widespread in waterside vegetation and scrub.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsbzDN9kEn1vHoOpdT4kCg7k3S7uKy8Cnfds-NH4ffdIJI19RlxWfFmaC6oJXqwgl8OFuZ5V0PWPwcyNYuCssIi0hxjlMR_agG69ElGjOusx_ODFNsBZuEq43dokmiFZaLm-X_KUVB6p4d7f0wA8b8N453R2Mnj1OBOFef5NhQpyJP6n-d8VNfOyyl=s3677" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2737" data-original-width="3677" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsbzDN9kEn1vHoOpdT4kCg7k3S7uKy8Cnfds-NH4ffdIJI19RlxWfFmaC6oJXqwgl8OFuZ5V0PWPwcyNYuCssIi0hxjlMR_agG69ElGjOusx_ODFNsBZuEq43dokmiFZaLm-X_KUVB6p4d7f0wA8b8N453R2Mnj1OBOFef5NhQpyJP6n-d8VNfOyyl=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Tree Frog</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If Green Tree Frogs made it to
Britain before the sea rose it is possible that several other European amphibians
made it to Britain but have not yet been found as fossil remains. Midwife
Toads, Yellow-Bellied Toads and Fire Salamanders are also possibilities and can
survive and breed in a British climate today.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Even less likely to leave remains
are most invertebrates, so the next section will have to be mainly speculative.<o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-56950178882009153362022-01-28T21:00:00.001-08:002022-01-28T21:00:00.185-08:00Part 5: Interglacial birds<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmSTL4PqB9AXhNeqius-aahKSDgP8IgKz3R00Qbffdg0rA5OMF9LFhF-ZHKRFqhGSNkoQu7UbK7VT4hygr1XJWvfQjSCol0OEJDIxo4xY0Ko5NwvqptUKYl9anN3jtGMC4omyYIN4rlNWg-icjqnxZxygwJ-aFCCqg-DQrZGDqCZCpUXsIxZJqtJuJ=s1365" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1365" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmSTL4PqB9AXhNeqius-aahKSDgP8IgKz3R00Qbffdg0rA5OMF9LFhF-ZHKRFqhGSNkoQu7UbK7VT4hygr1XJWvfQjSCol0OEJDIxo4xY0Ko5NwvqptUKYl9anN3jtGMC4omyYIN4rlNWg-icjqnxZxygwJ-aFCCqg-DQrZGDqCZCpUXsIxZJqtJuJ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Oriole</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The avifauna of the British Isles
during the Eemian would have been similar to that of today, with the addition
of species now more often found further south in Europe as the climate was
slightly warmer. We can imagine as well as the current birds of Britain such
species as Golden Oriole, Hoopoe, Serin and Melodious Warbler in the woodlands.
Some birds such as House Martins, Swallows and Common Swifts that are strongly
associated with human houses as nest sites would have been restricted to their
original habitat of cliffs and rocky outcrops, but might have been joined by
Red-Rumped Swallow.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9rDjsGiaIvwm_hqmIrC7lqr9DPChGirsjKLEkgTITBkPL_RuIleTVcicwgRFUEU1lKGq8q-dtexdwv_BFXmyVF90lSEqsg2GC50Pzjoh6FZyh8hp_JA_pW-2APKAWjLR9fqXe52sUBusnL__I6Y4DTaQYrMIpreBYj3jT8Y6Ru-UhZaov4MC_vFfJ=s2366" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1572" data-original-width="2366" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9rDjsGiaIvwm_hqmIrC7lqr9DPChGirsjKLEkgTITBkPL_RuIleTVcicwgRFUEU1lKGq8q-dtexdwv_BFXmyVF90lSEqsg2GC50Pzjoh6FZyh8hp_JA_pW-2APKAWjLR9fqXe52sUBusnL__I6Y4DTaQYrMIpreBYj3jT8Y6Ru-UhZaov4MC_vFfJ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-Rumped Swallow</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Birds today that are associated
with farmland, such as most of the finches, Skylark, Grey Partridges and Great
Bustard would have been using their original habitat of elephant and large
ungulate grazed grasslands, and would probably have been less numerous than in
modern times (at least before intensive farming after WWII reduced their
numbers)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8ZdfwiOCJVqNQyCOOZWy-8SKHp0tERyOJqEIH4TRkjsxsVpXQrgXbCaoeHd5B9p7_wZOnbwY20czE_O0GSO7vFBZdWezL1DA-PArXqmdmQy_dg3b-dyoT5u2oHFDyymAPEDxb29-efetsmUi5i3_u4-j8sjv4Ke09XlXNSzmIkj4anPzs9eClicWo=s3938" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3938" data-original-width="2616" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8ZdfwiOCJVqNQyCOOZWy-8SKHp0tERyOJqEIH4TRkjsxsVpXQrgXbCaoeHd5B9p7_wZOnbwY20czE_O0GSO7vFBZdWezL1DA-PArXqmdmQy_dg3b-dyoT5u2oHFDyymAPEDxb29-efetsmUi5i3_u4-j8sjv4Ke09XlXNSzmIkj4anPzs9eClicWo=s320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Stork</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">White storks formerly bred in the
UK in historic times and are currently the subject of a reintroduction project.
As well as these Black Stork must be a strong possibility as a British breeding
species. Unlike the sociable and farmland loving White Stork the Black Stork
loves woodland and wetland and has a vast range from Spain across to China,
migrating south to Africa and India for the winter. Glossy Ibis is another
likely resident, as well as many of the various southern herons that have
recently begun colonising Britain in response to climate change. The exception
to that would be Cattle Egret – it has finally started breeding in the UK but
its current worldwide spread is a result of its adaptation to livestock
farming, and without that it would have probably stayed further south.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDYOAiqv8SB-9nJE9aebOqMbyYWkd4mW71n_K50We-A9p2llDGpJZ7TZpXocvX_e2sFTAi9th3PAf58EMa7WgKhpJRIjzCHIgYnYA3JyGWS8oR-JhzS_T8SQ5LwqnZ3DjG2fD8xLgZJQ3zuDjai_s_hETRA2BmshvBtCtlBV_mHzd1ax7wlnotmn9k=s3320" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3320" data-original-width="3320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDYOAiqv8SB-9nJE9aebOqMbyYWkd4mW71n_K50We-A9p2llDGpJZ7TZpXocvX_e2sFTAi9th3PAf58EMa7WgKhpJRIjzCHIgYnYA3JyGWS8oR-JhzS_T8SQ5LwqnZ3DjG2fD8xLgZJQ3zuDjai_s_hETRA2BmshvBtCtlBV_mHzd1ax7wlnotmn9k=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Swamphen</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Other specialist marshland and
reedbed birds would have included Western Swamphen, Zitting Cisticola,
Black-necked Stilt, and Penduline Tit. European Cranes are also known, but they
might have been joined by a now extinct, even larger species Grus primigenia.
This species has been variously placed as just a large form of the extant
Eurasian Crane, but might also have been a second crane species – in many parts
of the world multiple cranes species live in similar habitats and in east Asia
can be found several large species even today, for example, the Siberian Crane.
If it was a real species it might have survived as late as the early Roman
period, and remains from Malta suggest it might have been a rare migrant to
southern Europe.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0j_vlMzqxEmnGPCaSwzq6LVdr96FNax-egSdOEYghqQ0g8M7ZttWd7eI-toSoO-t9E21YLM3V3LOzI_cbGjCo4ReovJ7EsXrqejOT82WjfkgvDdMhoimure5sd3gmkP9HU3T8W-rBPI7ahGSJpGe6g4QL7FQHYn2nbUzMeEvAbubse7KoilTQPrCj=s2207" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1656" data-original-width="2207" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0j_vlMzqxEmnGPCaSwzq6LVdr96FNax-egSdOEYghqQ0g8M7ZttWd7eI-toSoO-t9E21YLM3V3LOzI_cbGjCo4ReovJ7EsXrqejOT82WjfkgvDdMhoimure5sd3gmkP9HU3T8W-rBPI7ahGSJpGe6g4QL7FQHYn2nbUzMeEvAbubse7KoilTQPrCj=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandarin Ducks</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Among ducks Ruddy Shelduck is
known to have been present – it now occurs only as a vagrant or escape. The
Garganey is a small migratory duck that is a very scarce breeder in Britain and
Ireland. It prefers to breed on shallow lakes surrounded by grassland, a
habitat that elephants and hippos would have helped create. One remote
possibility is Mandarin Duck. Although today they are only native to the Far
East, either Mandarin or a closely related species is known from a previous
interglacial and presumably became extinct as a result of elimination of
habitat by ice advances at some point. Today Mandarin is well established as a
feral breeding bird in Oak woodland in England and the Eemian interglacial
would have provided a very similar habitat.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTTT6RAC4ev5Mb2toVosfw7f0sDKUmSQW7-z1iozUrN2l9S9ZbHq_lNU1t0RPNuEhRJck8CCnWiApKRDYVSoI5a-6eYWjIr1Uyw1KINX1n1p7db1un-pctpIM0EHMENaKM6BFhiwMfxu1qDMVDUNRJh6QDUNuZfj_5EJhPAU5yPzBXuzEC9P5xvq5t=s4288" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4288" data-original-width="2848" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTTT6RAC4ev5Mb2toVosfw7f0sDKUmSQW7-z1iozUrN2l9S9ZbHq_lNU1t0RPNuEhRJck8CCnWiApKRDYVSoI5a-6eYWjIr1Uyw1KINX1n1p7db1un-pctpIM0EHMENaKM6BFhiwMfxu1qDMVDUNRJh6QDUNuZfj_5EJhPAU5yPzBXuzEC9P5xvq5t=s320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dalmatian Pelican</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dalmatian Pelican sounds like an
unlikely species for Britain – it is the largest living pelican and today has a
distinctly east European/central Asian distribution, but they had a much wider
range even in historic times and are known to have bred at several sites in
England up to at least the Bronze Age, so it is quite possible they were at
least briefly a British breeding resident during the warmest parts of the Eemian,
at least until the climate cooled towards the start of the next glaciation.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHTMxPVjruPOSOkQbsZwB_J61hTJt9xyfzWIGOzFO_WwXLk5CP1WNZ4x-EegRxA8cd701uVFlg8LVFeOZT7D0SFk8Bwu8wK_jb5E7LqcN-RTK0L_VM3zQ4jxAC9podzUnE6nSTVoLGz3bx5Kf4Y58veTIcemzEmfmvK1ZW4eHpbMV1YeDYrQNurTdD=s829" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="829" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHTMxPVjruPOSOkQbsZwB_J61hTJt9xyfzWIGOzFO_WwXLk5CP1WNZ4x-EegRxA8cd701uVFlg8LVFeOZT7D0SFk8Bwu8wK_jb5E7LqcN-RTK0L_VM3zQ4jxAC9podzUnE6nSTVoLGz3bx5Kf4Y58veTIcemzEmfmvK1ZW4eHpbMV1YeDYrQNurTdD=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capercaillie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Most of Britain’s grouse species are
today associated with the north of the island, especially moorland and pine
forest. There would probably have been similar extensive forests of pine and
birch in many areas holding the world’s largest grouse, the Western Capercaillie,
which in the males is turkey sized. Today these amazing birds are only found in
the Highlands, and even there they are a rare and declining reintroduced
species, having already gone extinct in the UK once, but we have records from
the Mesolithic of Capercaillie as far south as Wales. Also present would have
been the ancestors of the modern Red Grouse, an endemic subspecies of the circumpolar
Willow Grouse which is confined to the British Isles. When the British and
Irish Red Grouse developed its distinctive features is hard to determine, but
they can live quite happily in Arctic climates, so they probably survived the
heights of the last glaciation in southern England while their current Scottish
homes were a mile deep in ice.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrZsRg7Vt1ipcn5AZtCQlIHay1aNTE0iE2reSR4l_nYXqYfopAQtSxFZRkrWie524rkWw80rBc9om8ay2MMSxgZX8x202hwyImYyGSNO1JBPAu42UtC6rMdWp4pCUlHyWOZDAPBN2Lx8GRWv7MADnIha5eo-F1rlB4U-WJ4AHK9RmZvpssXuhRhlnH=s858" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="858" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrZsRg7Vt1ipcn5AZtCQlIHay1aNTE0iE2reSR4l_nYXqYfopAQtSxFZRkrWie524rkWw80rBc9om8ay2MMSxgZX8x202hwyImYyGSNO1JBPAu42UtC6rMdWp4pCUlHyWOZDAPBN2Lx8GRWv7MADnIha5eo-F1rlB4U-WJ4AHK9RmZvpssXuhRhlnH=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corys Shearwater</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Two seabirds in addition to those
found today would also have been present. The Great Auk is sadly no longer with
us, having become finally extinct less than 200 years ago, but it is known to
have bred in at least one island off the coast of Scotland in historic times
and would have fed in the offshore and inshore waters around Britain. The other
species is happily still with us. Corys Shearwater is only a visitor to the waters
around Britain today, but remains found in Welsh caves show that it once also
bred here.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_Xxip0d2C-zA1uZMQizWbffC864A25IS8L8Rrt0qkGYT6gvB3wL04uFI51H4ZvU_FVEW1ra-Xm5DeVEaWef1xi2gR-bk7t63Jm786_aqTWP3NOr0wtE8MTcPxRGlOCfD3SVeN_q8izYOLA70ShK0ZjF9aVCCb6ORWpZdScdtsifeI__V6ZhWO3ONl=s1623" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1623" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_Xxip0d2C-zA1uZMQizWbffC864A25IS8L8Rrt0qkGYT6gvB3wL04uFI51H4ZvU_FVEW1ra-Xm5DeVEaWef1xi2gR-bk7t63Jm786_aqTWP3NOr0wtE8MTcPxRGlOCfD3SVeN_q8izYOLA70ShK0ZjF9aVCCb6ORWpZdScdtsifeI__V6ZhWO3ONl=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lammergeier</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Among raptors Kestrel and Red
Kite are known to have been present, but it would be very surprising if the
other birds of prey found in Britain today were not also present. What is not certain
is if any of Europe’s vultures visited or bred in this country. In 2020 a
vagrant young Lammergeier from the ongoing reintroduction project in the Alps spent
several months in the north of England before returning south. It was well able
to look after itself by feeding on carrion and roadkill even in 21<sup>st</sup>
century England, and both Lammergeier and European Gryphon and Cinereous
Vultures are quite capable of surviving European winters where plenty of
carrion is available, so it is quite possible that they lived in Britain and
fed on the kills of Lions and Hyaenas just as their relatives do in Africa
today.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0v47Ve4ahcJd4YKbz1q2OIFPaZDKJnPD6kX66QXs4KxH4Lux_l8h3ZYAaf6k9lyGw7kwWDW-719QUrz6Jh8Ad4aX5Wv4bTeVLwz-P97ppZHF_4uEfu3poM8-MrGiykX6b4Cfq1ACwxYAlLPcwmFtHpNRHxDgmjkBrimiowK_TJJd_dkhCSVXQScWP=s1245" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1245" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0v47Ve4ahcJd4YKbz1q2OIFPaZDKJnPD6kX66QXs4KxH4Lux_l8h3ZYAaf6k9lyGw7kwWDW-719QUrz6Jh8Ad4aX5Wv4bTeVLwz-P97ppZHF_4uEfu3poM8-MrGiykX6b4Cfq1ACwxYAlLPcwmFtHpNRHxDgmjkBrimiowK_TJJd_dkhCSVXQScWP=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Junglefowl</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">However, one bird in Britain’s
woods would have been very surprising – a wild chicken! Today there are four
species of Junglefowl, of which the Red Junglefowl is the ancestor of the
domesticated bird. However, the genus seems to have possibly originated in
Europe and various species are known throughout the Pleistocene, with the form
in western Europe identified as Gallus europeaus. Junglefowl all have very
distinctive male plumages, but the life appearance of the British species is of
course unknown. Today the nearest ecological equivalent would be Common
Pheasant, but this is an introduced species originally native no nearer than the
Balkans and without the vast number released each year by the hunting
fraternity might not even survive long term as a British breeding species.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Bird fossils are always fragile and many species go unrecorded. Amphibians and reptiles have the same problem only more so, and it is to those I will turn next.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-3895195172270025082022-01-21T20:30:00.001-08:002022-01-21T20:30:00.189-08:00Part 4: Predators new and old<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE9m56LjsOXT-LBhipp6bcmgQ8DvTxRF_EmagiFRtqu_OxVMyHOCzKU_e6KaEbgb7kIdtIS41Y5s5-HHcIhJqdcGbqbPER-of_XNs0nw41Nq3lFEa-2dlZiUKf7AOX7PazvC99gEYs1WNa3ZK7jaIPKed2CRAer6EUEHlC7JvUm2nbqjXNJCP3bI6H=s679" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="679" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE9m56LjsOXT-LBhipp6bcmgQ8DvTxRF_EmagiFRtqu_OxVMyHOCzKU_e6KaEbgb7kIdtIS41Y5s5-HHcIhJqdcGbqbPER-of_XNs0nw41Nq3lFEa-2dlZiUKf7AOX7PazvC99gEYs1WNa3ZK7jaIPKed2CRAer6EUEHlC7JvUm2nbqjXNJCP3bI6H=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted hyaena, 20,000 years ago</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Europe today is home to a
diversity of predators large and small, most of which are either resident in
Britain or were at least present in historic times before being extirpated from
Britain for being a threat to humans, livestock or just because of destruction
of their habitat. However, as well as these there would have been at least two
additional species resident in the British Isles during the last interglacial.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPaAiHHVaVQACtDF23h6Syf617aHdYmYBb3MlGHsQl01IuameWCYSPQe4AiEYeolKLG7ufB1PaoiTDbqhxmhsVphdKfkO0VJiT1RtmsktPKiXxFcuXD53kTZwiToZm3EyOh1aCFJ6DKfm3-J7gtu-J4uKXbopoKuWNXZsjx9_BIXLr0LCyhlySWY01=s1200" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPaAiHHVaVQACtDF23h6Syf617aHdYmYBb3MlGHsQl01IuameWCYSPQe4AiEYeolKLG7ufB1PaoiTDbqhxmhsVphdKfkO0VJiT1RtmsktPKiXxFcuXD53kTZwiToZm3EyOh1aCFJ6DKfm3-J7gtu-J4uKXbopoKuWNXZsjx9_BIXLr0LCyhlySWY01=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Bear</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Starting with the largest and
heaviest, Brown bears were common and were large compared to modern European
bears – perhaps as large as Grizzly bears in the US. They would happily live in
both warm and cold climates as the various glaciations came and went, perhaps
only temporarily being driven out of Britain at the height of glaciations, when
they might be replaces by Polar bears. Brown bears were present in Britain in
the post-glacial period, only being finally removed from the British Fauna
around 2000 years ago.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEil4eXN4uq7uZg1JRcBQvNvXmRYAvo6yurCW65MdcyV4H8gZowCWZQ45WzrecvgtoY9HK8BXCR106-uhRG7AOeWCoyY9XO070rID49-aVKdBGof2ZPBLrMxrGd3OuBhkCHIyTs_KN-qUH9BvU4b0ROpaUkVlSZori9gT9nMzKomKA0HI-Ci0wq_UKmV=s2015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1721" data-original-width="2015" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEil4eXN4uq7uZg1JRcBQvNvXmRYAvo6yurCW65MdcyV4H8gZowCWZQ45WzrecvgtoY9HK8BXCR106-uhRG7AOeWCoyY9XO070rID49-aVKdBGof2ZPBLrMxrGd3OuBhkCHIyTs_KN-qUH9BvU4b0ROpaUkVlSZori9gT9nMzKomKA0HI-Ci0wq_UKmV=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lions painting, Chauvet cave</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Cave Lion is now classed as a
separate species to the living Lion, but it was plainly very similar in
appearance to them. The main difference is that from cave paintings we know it
had a very small or non-existent mane and was much larger. It would have
preferred open areas rather than closed woodland, but lived in both Glacial and
Interglacial periods – lions are not especially cold-sensitive animals as long
as sufficient prey is available. They preferred open country and would have
preferred the horses common in colder and drier periods, but would also have
taken Red and Fallow deer, Wild Boar, and might even have taken young rhinos
and Straight-Tusked Elephants.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Spotted Hyaenas are such a
characteristic animal of Africa that it is hard to imagine them living anywhere
else, but DNA from European Cave Hyaena remains makes it clear that they were
the same species as their living African relatives and interbred with them
where their ranges overlapped in the Middle East, although they were a larger subspecies..
They liked to use caves as dens, and the collection of bones that they brought
back are a valuable guide to animals living in the area of the den. An
adaptable species, they lived in both cold and warm periods. They seem to have
preferred lowland open country, with populations of wild horse and wild ass
which were their chief prey, and the loss of this habitat following the
extinction of the Straight-Tusked Elephant and other large herbivores may have
led to their extinction.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXANZbHKrS9GRk46W4Gv8QE1bjQ_ixQ-lLLF0RvD1bnrCyIwFmZkrg8vkW63yIoLaRiukvqb9u_OQzNJDp8pSYLea0w_02fKaHZX9lVdTXO-MwiiH3IUGHO0JYjsKMQaauSXhOr-80U1EDNFllDpHWFEI1BubH1ncDj6q6BaTwi5blFkW6yed_Voj6=s1354" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1354" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXANZbHKrS9GRk46W4Gv8QE1bjQ_ixQ-lLLF0RvD1bnrCyIwFmZkrg8vkW63yIoLaRiukvqb9u_OQzNJDp8pSYLea0w_02fKaHZX9lVdTXO-MwiiH3IUGHO0JYjsKMQaauSXhOr-80U1EDNFllDpHWFEI1BubH1ncDj6q6BaTwi5blFkW6yed_Voj6=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Wolf</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Definitely subordinate in the
carnivore guild to all of these would have been the Wolf. Faced with the other
large predators they would have had serious competition – in fact hyaena dens
have been found to contain Wolf bones which had been gnawed by hyaenas- so they
might well have been more restricted to forested areas where Lions and Hyaenas
at least would be at a disadvantage, although Bears would have certainly
sometimes robbed them of food as they do today. Today in mainland Europe Wolves
are major predators of Beavers, which in turn affects forest structure and
watercourse behaviour.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2UU-lRWb_rIWn1oI8ve7dmGQXxvPHoqFBjafgj1S1OmlwSUFE2d0n-6XLE9kzTcgbhoymMrlmdfg_d8gDUfbOlLYpXxBAq4xNsYa4b78BardBsLZiT2b2aEcDzL1NoA0ei7SjEFHFlQluLiy2UTPL4NWg8Uu3AhiMauVzaKOhKcBg-z87o_w2SCmJ=s6000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2UU-lRWb_rIWn1oI8ve7dmGQXxvPHoqFBjafgj1S1OmlwSUFE2d0n-6XLE9kzTcgbhoymMrlmdfg_d8gDUfbOlLYpXxBAq4xNsYa4b78BardBsLZiT2b2aEcDzL1NoA0ei7SjEFHFlQluLiy2UTPL4NWg8Uu3AhiMauVzaKOhKcBg-z87o_w2SCmJ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eurasian Lynx</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">More or less on a par with Wolves
in terms of prey size would be the Lynx. Eurasian Lynx like to feed on animals
the size of Roe Deer, but would also have taken Red Deer fauns, Wild Boar
piglets and smaller prey including various birds.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIMc5AMcpPq9BXU8sY9v5nLbLGliO_eQXHhc0sCAQntjjyEuXsRGIpp3QqE3xe_9vljMrA3TdX8EnRPamGHnPpi4Lzgjcf3MZpW8jgD1nLYjaZMCY5fmzXX4jD59cdWV70o3SUIz6Ww4_6l8z-oitsBwWRM6KHiw6jGxpKLP5beOvjseeHBV52puHv=s582" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="582" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIMc5AMcpPq9BXU8sY9v5nLbLGliO_eQXHhc0sCAQntjjyEuXsRGIpp3QqE3xe_9vljMrA3TdX8EnRPamGHnPpi4Lzgjcf3MZpW8jgD1nLYjaZMCY5fmzXX4jD59cdWV70o3SUIz6Ww4_6l8z-oitsBwWRM6KHiw6jGxpKLP5beOvjseeHBV52puHv=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Wildcat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Finally there would have been a
variety of small carnivorous mammals, including various mustelids, Red Fox and
the Wild Cat. These would have preyed on small rodents, birds, and in the case
of the Otter fish and amphibians.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This very complex set of
predators of all sizes would have interacted with each other in ways that are
difficult to determine from this point in time. For example, Lynx readily kill Red
Foxes, are vulnerable to Wolves, and lose kills to Brown Bears, which means
they have to kill more prey than they need just for themselves. Lynx are
primarily forest animals, but in open areas Wolves would have been in the same
position with regard to Lions and Hyaenas, perhaps relegating them to a more
Jackal-like role. One study of Cave Lion diet showed that the animals studied
had preferred to eat Reindeer, but Hyaenas preferred Horses, although they also
preyed upon various deer. In Africa today both Lions and Hyaenas sometimes prey
on young hippos, but adults are more or less immune to predations as they are
such dangerous opponents. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That covers the larger mammals of
Eemian Britain, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next time I will turn to
the birds of that period.<o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-6293200489401612972022-01-14T23:00:00.014-08:002022-01-14T23:00:00.188-08:00Part 3: A diversity of plant eaters<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVcFOtAtbN4hBQNChzFeihdlW4UrCc3hkSzBChG-ebXGzmU4msUqhehkNvLwdyhVfH_Anv_YdX2EwKbePsf6k9ki8X2W1rhhf9MrFhdZBHfX7lOqqJ_qsRCRp3tcqr_GvZNme0X5fo6sdawRX9tqDN3Ylm6lNgMmQLYiLRFQIshiKFwQuEZlxtKJ23=s2352" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2352" data-original-width="1970" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVcFOtAtbN4hBQNChzFeihdlW4UrCc3hkSzBChG-ebXGzmU4msUqhehkNvLwdyhVfH_Anv_YdX2EwKbePsf6k9ki8X2W1rhhf9MrFhdZBHfX7lOqqJ_qsRCRp3tcqr_GvZNme0X5fo6sdawRX9tqDN3Ylm6lNgMmQLYiLRFQIshiKFwQuEZlxtKJ23=s320" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megaloceros</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Large animals such as elephants and rhinos would have shaped
the landscapes of ancient Britain, but the forests and fields would also have
been home to many smaller animals, some of which still survive today, even if
not in the UK. Sadly, the most magnificent of these is no longer with us, the
gigantic "Irish" Elk. It was given the name from where its remains were first
discovered, but its range extended all across Europe and Asia. So recently
extinct that we have cave paintings showing its appearance in life, it stood
over 2m at the shoulder and was built for speed. Apparently related to the
living Fallow Deer (which is an introduced species in the UK), large stags of
the Irish elk had antlers over 3.5 m across. It seems to have liked open
country, but needed fairly rich and productive grassland to sustain its bulk
and huge antler growth. It survived in Russia until as recently as five or six
thousand years ago</p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjho3ofJIAugI3qCJtE4jnFbaS3JENDrdK2m8tB9_INUi3O8zJaSsyFHduFJ5stNp-Ictm4cuyE6E5Tt9UqERjhwTLtvnsjcLuMEfONBbXxEYwlH1P-qBh6U-66t-DFYGJL3fO2POoRS1T-5vXJz8jJMqLQkMfz_kAdxmDp6rQuHyr49ygg7N2boekZ=s1384" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1384" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjho3ofJIAugI3qCJtE4jnFbaS3JENDrdK2m8tB9_INUi3O8zJaSsyFHduFJ5stNp-Ictm4cuyE6E5Tt9UqERjhwTLtvnsjcLuMEfONBbXxEYwlH1P-qBh6U-66t-DFYGJL3fO2POoRS1T-5vXJz8jJMqLQkMfz_kAdxmDp6rQuHyr49ygg7N2boekZ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elk</td></tr></tbody></table><br />.Elk (Moose for American readers) are known but remains are
surprisingly uncommon. Moose prefer cooler climates and most of the sites for
the Eemian are in southern England, so possibly they preferred the Highlands to
the south of Britain. As the largest living deer they would have been important
prey animals for the various large carnivores also present in the country at
the time.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWY9UWmw5H1ABrrunWFYnVUwJZekpS2i61P7-pqXra4f_t6TVp2b94GKo0AeH8hxgU2KQtefdK-eHJGgs547cycH3T7xJkW-GTD_Jldf6-hPiQaKvdtrICxGH9Mf_G66wrTDdObhcrzLqXscNRuPF5n_YhaDcp9HCG_z76gRhT7qF0s_YGf-nw-jNx=s3246" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2255" data-original-width="3246" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWY9UWmw5H1ABrrunWFYnVUwJZekpS2i61P7-pqXra4f_t6TVp2b94GKo0AeH8hxgU2KQtefdK-eHJGgs547cycH3T7xJkW-GTD_Jldf6-hPiQaKvdtrICxGH9Mf_G66wrTDdObhcrzLqXscNRuPF5n_YhaDcp9HCG_z76gRhT7qF0s_YGf-nw-jNx=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Persian Fallow Deer</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Sharing the woodland and woodland edge habitat would have
been the Red and Roe Deer that are the only native deer in Britain today.
Joining them would have been Fallow deer, which are mostly in deer parks in this
country today having been first introduced by the Romans, with more brought in
by the Normans. Today the nearest truly wild Fallow deer are in Southeast
Europe.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY1254oyZiLIQMDkDwwyKxlmAPxXe1v5f7GrPidh96d9PmJ6Q1Y3ynKStiFxHH_cBv8J41KTgLViY07b4G9r6NWVkXUDi5LGKjk9GPPudcyw72Ynsj1Lso0T5bDMER_OLp-MaoQFhZ5ERtbQD9ifVdZ9wTQWK5ZsNqJdjjXmGkp0yE82y8-ZItV7Xk=s1191" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1191" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY1254oyZiLIQMDkDwwyKxlmAPxXe1v5f7GrPidh96d9PmJ6Q1Y3ynKStiFxHH_cBv8J41KTgLViY07b4G9r6NWVkXUDi5LGKjk9GPPudcyw72Ynsj1Lso0T5bDMER_OLp-MaoQFhZ5ERtbQD9ifVdZ9wTQWK5ZsNqJdjjXmGkp0yE82y8-ZItV7Xk=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ibex</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Although remains have not been found, there is a cave
painting from Nottinghamshire from 12,000 years ago that appears to show an
Ibex. As a mountain animal they seldom fossilise, so it is quite probable they
were also found before the last glaciation as well nd survived through it until
quite recently. Today various feral or semi-wild domestic Goats fulfil the same
function.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsgLDLruebq6OQDY2xLyB3H8fUeGKWp_YoYmAxl-XgN3MopHQ6Ej8nCUutx6LNG0R6f-x300sZdm3sEPLdwLBdYng3C9UCuVttyKs5JsXyA0Og4z3cEJpsvQEBFIVGosdRWIZ1fDb0iFlTFUnG3eFL8Pn57grIAiSwdVvuvkbizS2vl52SXwhqakA-=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsgLDLruebq6OQDY2xLyB3H8fUeGKWp_YoYmAxl-XgN3MopHQ6Ej8nCUutx6LNG0R6f-x300sZdm3sEPLdwLBdYng3C9UCuVttyKs5JsXyA0Og4z3cEJpsvQEBFIVGosdRWIZ1fDb0iFlTFUnG3eFL8Pn57grIAiSwdVvuvkbizS2vl52SXwhqakA-=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feral goat in Wales</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSnKaW9rAjFhU-WyR1Y-Y8Bn-WY8atOVhDbHJ-IoqpTmVbzgOa9vt-7HS3BLZyB-05dLqJ-HFY6yzRNeHyk73ldvTSy6D3ApMUB24Vxzqhb9QaE803Y6t3SA9rGrEo8WVHYouDrxGh7AqcAasflWToDTLbIkpbMhcyr0PY3TZDkrdFb1dgX4939UMD=s3188" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="3188" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSnKaW9rAjFhU-WyR1Y-Y8Bn-WY8atOVhDbHJ-IoqpTmVbzgOa9vt-7HS3BLZyB-05dLqJ-HFY6yzRNeHyk73ldvTSy6D3ApMUB24Vxzqhb9QaE803Y6t3SA9rGrEo8WVHYouDrxGh7AqcAasflWToDTLbIkpbMhcyr0PY3TZDkrdFb1dgX4939UMD=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Bison</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Remains of Bison have been retrieved from the North Sea and would
probably have been present in open areas. Which species is more difficult to
decide, as either the modern European Bison (or its immediate ancestor) or the
Steppe Bison, the species ancestral to both the European and American Bison,
are possible. Steppe Bison were even larger than their living descendants and
had long horizontal horns like those of long-horned domestic cattle rather than
the smaller, more vertical horns of modern Bison.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGZjqLWA1Y2v2GaXLDrrBUcd0UlwGmJsc4PlLnMbb5QSBJFwPWeHgsmPjR08k84ridt2cqMhl11VHA9AHHAi1Uw39EiefU7nxmpgynEeHk7HlgqdWTZGDVLckCe5Coa-Zghn39jmHmWJ6q4CPY_ftQbUlxCNxW09X0WXjx2UbeDLjvERhaMfHWoaGQ=s3820" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3820" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGZjqLWA1Y2v2GaXLDrrBUcd0UlwGmJsc4PlLnMbb5QSBJFwPWeHgsmPjR08k84ridt2cqMhl11VHA9AHHAi1Uw39EiefU7nxmpgynEeHk7HlgqdWTZGDVLckCe5Coa-Zghn39jmHmWJ6q4CPY_ftQbUlxCNxW09X0WXjx2UbeDLjvERhaMfHWoaGQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steppe Bison mummy, Alaska</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Wild horses have been part of the British landscape in both
glacial and interglacial periods, and would have been present in open habitats.
Horses tend to be associated in Ice Age faunas with colder habitats and they
might therefore have been commoner in the north of Britain. The spread of
forests, and possibly hunting by humans, seems to have resulted in the
extinction of wild horse in Britain after the end of the last Ice Age. Modern
native horses, even the ancient breeds such as the semi-wild Exmoor pony, are descended
from domesticated horses brought to Britain around 4,000 years ago.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTkHbDyeqsKcJtyMUgke774YiYH4fDMIP84HrlOCgfg0c5yStiWSTgopynibkiWckZD3qQip65w4AqUTF67gBDFGEosnA13Kq-GEWhA4MP_YJ7bax_3Tink-YLyWnF_5ji6w6cEzaObW1BWJKr9FmTcyWCthkfh8T7ItUoTrmpRA2DHjJCYx1MziK7=s2560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTkHbDyeqsKcJtyMUgke774YiYH4fDMIP84HrlOCgfg0c5yStiWSTgopynibkiWckZD3qQip65w4AqUTF67gBDFGEosnA13Kq-GEWhA4MP_YJ7bax_3Tink-YLyWnF_5ji6w6cEzaObW1BWJKr9FmTcyWCthkfh8T7ItUoTrmpRA2DHjJCYx1MziK7=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exmoor Pony</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In the wooded areas a key prey animal and ecosystem engineer
would have been Wild Boar. These both distribute seeds, excavate the forest
floor and constitute a key prey species for the various large predators that
would also have been present. In Britain today the European Robin is associated
with gardeners as it looks for worms as they dig their gardens. In the
human-free world of Eemian Britain, they would have followed the Wild Boar for
the same reason. As a woodland animal, during major ice advances they would
have been greatly restricted in Europe to around the Mediterranean. Although Wild Boar became extinct in Britain a few hundred years ago, escapes from boar farms mean that several woodlands in Britain now once more hold them. However, lack of predators other than humans means that they cause a great deal of disturbance and as they can host serious diseases of pigs the pork industry does not like this situation at all.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhts3swzdwAjF9za6ZbEkd8qzUN79njRvsEHlohET4C_JKp_xUT6w-CGQNm9Ok5jZW4IeGu3Jqo8HptEoBC_pCiP-1rZ1lswjKoh6EkB-u7kLxw_70rg_8nUMGdEWKnMGHBGptK4trjqZGg-r8dcBuakHrCfBtxpGX8iaQlHolkv78oCD0cgs_5fpmH=s3081" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2103" data-original-width="3081" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhts3swzdwAjF9za6ZbEkd8qzUN79njRvsEHlohET4C_JKp_xUT6w-CGQNm9Ok5jZW4IeGu3Jqo8HptEoBC_pCiP-1rZ1lswjKoh6EkB-u7kLxw_70rg_8nUMGdEWKnMGHBGptK4trjqZGg-r8dcBuakHrCfBtxpGX8iaQlHolkv78oCD0cgs_5fpmH=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Boar</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">One animal common today that would definitely not have been
present is the rabbit. During the Pleistocene rabbits of the modern species
have been around at least half a million years, but they never naturally moved
north of the Iberian peninsula and southern France and Italy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All these herbivores would have sustained a large variety of
predators and scavengers, and I will look at those next time.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-47335243083513656052022-01-07T13:21:00.002-08:002022-01-07T13:22:48.130-08:00Part 2: Ecosystem Engineers<p> <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Last time I started to outline the kind of animals that
lived in the UK before the last Ice Age, which we can consider a baseline of
what would have lived in this country when the climate last resembled that of
today. Most people are familiar with the Woolly Mammoth and other ice age
fauna, which in warm periods have been confined to the high Arctic and dry
grasslands in central Asia. South of them and in western Europe would have been
animals that preferred woodland and warmer open country. Starting with the
largest, the undoubted major influence on the habitats of Britain would have
been elephants.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5yGYjDNPBY0Gz7uvUOeGUAzD2hkV5OB1fNnWN_5SjgYlfXJPQ8eKjPYoFEG3OCxJYNyzYSHn8dhwtd9qW-IMa83LvY9vBDVib6rUj3N8cPVf6iwNIjbkV-fEtjBd97zvBuUljGUdnDmWvFmzbla9mw1iD1f-sf_6kBakQQAeq0HVxfbeO8R2PvS18=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5yGYjDNPBY0Gz7uvUOeGUAzD2hkV5OB1fNnWN_5SjgYlfXJPQ8eKjPYoFEG3OCxJYNyzYSHn8dhwtd9qW-IMa83LvY9vBDVib6rUj3N8cPVf6iwNIjbkV-fEtjBd97zvBuUljGUdnDmWvFmzbla9mw1iD1f-sf_6kBakQQAeq0HVxfbeO8R2PvS18=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Seriously. The Straight-Tusked Elephant survived until only
30,000 years ago and lived in the temperate forest belt across the whole of
Europe and Asia as far as Japan. Closely related to, but even larger than, the
living African elephants, it would have opened up the forests, pushing over and
eating trees, and creating a more parkland or open grassland habitat for other
animals. This would have increased the variety of forest types – closed-canopy
forest would not have been the only kind of woodland to be found, instead a
mosaic of open grassland, small clearings and scrub would also have been found,
with dense woodland perhaps more confined to steeper slopes where elephants
found the going harder.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj255tadudDIdWToSoPrBKAAXJ2q961arao7bbcDSAp3lqAMwqUomwtgzMzjB4dSZ9JHcRcyjQEgOJFI7xCnQp1qG1NtQJTffH0_cC5M7L-rNwEE7e1wY0me2_UyceW4VbtOs9Yqeu9IFZpsqvcClGiIFUPzjy3-1PS6Yj6n2qoBvg8e6uX3VkowpRs=s6169" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3242" data-original-width="6169" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj255tadudDIdWToSoPrBKAAXJ2q961arao7bbcDSAp3lqAMwqUomwtgzMzjB4dSZ9JHcRcyjQEgOJFI7xCnQp1qG1NtQJTffH0_cC5M7L-rNwEE7e1wY0me2_UyceW4VbtOs9Yqeu9IFZpsqvcClGiIFUPzjy3-1PS6Yj6n2qoBvg8e6uX3VkowpRs=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Narrow-Nosed Rhino</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In addition to elephants, another surprising addition would
have been rhinoceros. In fact, two species of temperate-climate rhino would
have been found in the UK or northern Europe, the open country Narrow-nosed Rhino
and the more forest loving Merck’s Rhinoceros.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBzTYZOocl7GnxRDXk62SZ9-NeQ5ojKEu-6DHOH76AqHHTOv9IqQaInyYTSj_8zlVraExvu_2uJi-2CQpaSny7P3TRECej2TGBVvEuyLbwH5Cn63pQATvUav3K--x75x1BEDJxKO1TiLMy_WZfPztxhaC43tN_SUysccP2JK1cup15p1HgcaY5Mg1k=s570" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="570" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBzTYZOocl7GnxRDXk62SZ9-NeQ5ojKEu-6DHOH76AqHHTOv9IqQaInyYTSj_8zlVraExvu_2uJi-2CQpaSny7P3TRECej2TGBVvEuyLbwH5Cn63pQATvUav3K--x75x1BEDJxKO1TiLMy_WZfPztxhaC43tN_SUysccP2JK1cup15p1HgcaY5Mg1k=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merck's Rhinoceros</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> Both of these were large even
for rhinos, as large as the Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros. Today their closest living
relative is the Critically Endangered Sumatran Rhino, which has a total surviving
population as low as 80 individuals.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizxnGgNBOdc_DL3Wj7LKghZqSHqPXkMIa2FSI6iSHI1cYIfrlL0jqf9SocYt_fP_ZLZtPelB1QiTnRP8uVr_fSEn5jAMpgromzXDt9rwdT7dihCQBu4ETmzpgsYRgTqQer2jy_Pr7N9QujkJPm0e0kNfIxFhJv7d5D1q0E9IPa7LyjEOgRH-rXJucj=s3072" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizxnGgNBOdc_DL3Wj7LKghZqSHqPXkMIa2FSI6iSHI1cYIfrlL0jqf9SocYt_fP_ZLZtPelB1QiTnRP8uVr_fSEn5jAMpgromzXDt9rwdT7dihCQBu4ETmzpgsYRgTqQer2jy_Pr7N9QujkJPm0e0kNfIxFhJv7d5D1q0E9IPa7LyjEOgRH-rXJucj=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sumatran Rhino</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> Although not as extensive an engineer of
woodlands as elephants, they would still have created trails in the woodlands and
affected the structure of grasslands by grazing. Another effect would have come
about from most rhinoceros’ habits of using large dung piles for marking
territory and social communication – the dung beetles and other insects these
would attract would certainly have affected foraging by many bats, especially
those that prefer beetles or gleaning from foliage along forest trails such as
the Brown Long-Eared Bat.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj03je2N_TMixvbuAZuJCZWy1sMABcOquxZ7Bl7D6WqkKfTcxo-sfBXXS70Efdqm5juoGHTbIUPcK-KozfoI_QijaKfiEj3gWUN32OIIIzHuu_eldIEExKx6bIke7ouPMMMisdVbO5JAi-DR_2R4WI2_aqdObPYLvfcmu8v4nko8hPnHHfAhtzOR90j=s1402" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="1238" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj03je2N_TMixvbuAZuJCZWy1sMABcOquxZ7Bl7D6WqkKfTcxo-sfBXXS70Efdqm5juoGHTbIUPcK-KozfoI_QijaKfiEj3gWUN32OIIIzHuu_eldIEExKx6bIke7ouPMMMisdVbO5JAi-DR_2R4WI2_aqdObPYLvfcmu8v4nko8hPnHHfAhtzOR90j=s320" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Long-Eared Bat</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps the most unexpected animal of all to find in Britain
though would have been the hippopotamus. Not just closely related, but the very
same species to live in Africa’s rivers today, hippos only became extinct in
Europe at the close of the last Ice Age when an unusually cold period even for
an Ice Age eliminated the last populations in Spain and southern France. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBk84RK4aGdV6Khe2UG7HgVT6qNcx-V-FFwjnwKG38q5xPYKq-J7fi0-Ay2NCJG-C2fjo0DEuDWQFgyOpWfrIoPFAZdWew4ZmyrWymlag5dov9FFVHSz-px_tlbDtlJvarDKqSAkbIG-Ar4vYCEvHb0lgJJ5CjEOxvW-ItMnxODcPgCMrziaZR87KX=s3475" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2180" data-original-width="3475" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBk84RK4aGdV6Khe2UG7HgVT6qNcx-V-FFwjnwKG38q5xPYKq-J7fi0-Ay2NCJG-C2fjo0DEuDWQFgyOpWfrIoPFAZdWew4ZmyrWymlag5dov9FFVHSz-px_tlbDtlJvarDKqSAkbIG-Ar4vYCEvHb0lgJJ5CjEOxvW-ItMnxODcPgCMrziaZR87KX=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Hippo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> In Africa they tend to create trampled
grasslands up to 1km from the river, which would have impacted other animals in
the waterways and coming down to drink. However, shallower rivers and streams
would have been avoided, which would have left room for the last of the
ecosystem engineers for this post, and the only one which so far has been
reintroduced to the UK, the European Beaver.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicfekVsAqsiS8sZ0XDeJU_sWfNVNfkfDnQkX_Txeymd10kQ-ZHRi2RkQbYzG-hzL4uFzDyNhtQ5DQzdm1Xzq1rVUzO7wG97evRklDe3TYO37qAy-Kw_mlRpTTWpCFQBBskUNfM5ACEmlO-fAdPNnSW9njO5BEUAAkB_l-5dOXoCp9_mSJRkYUIdv7g=s711" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="711" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicfekVsAqsiS8sZ0XDeJU_sWfNVNfkfDnQkX_Txeymd10kQ-ZHRi2RkQbYzG-hzL4uFzDyNhtQ5DQzdm1Xzq1rVUzO7wG97evRklDe3TYO37qAy-Kw_mlRpTTWpCFQBBskUNfM5ACEmlO-fAdPNnSW9njO5BEUAAkB_l-5dOXoCp9_mSJRkYUIdv7g=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eurasian Beaver</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Although a distinct species to the beavers of North America,
their habits are identical and they would have greatly impacted wet woodlands,
forest streams and the general hydrology of the land. This in turn would have affected
fish, amphibians, waterside animals like the Water Vole and Otter, and their
activities would have affected forest type and availability of nest sites for
many birds.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXaaprcJE6os-1noFz15n_0gEqhu41aAHzZUxcVtBHw8OAqjdrN0C3pCF4hyWygltJQdhW3Fu8f3DAjewXxc7jX0TSlrkoJQY4WRnUiY7zcckbvm2zB0Zt63SAli0KX3efxGmN5rCh4mQEn1kiWAuHCO2zC4fanQHd2mFfpMUGVZadR0k2qJO66p0E=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXaaprcJE6os-1noFz15n_0gEqhu41aAHzZUxcVtBHw8OAqjdrN0C3pCF4hyWygltJQdhW3Fu8f3DAjewXxc7jX0TSlrkoJQY4WRnUiY7zcckbvm2zB0Zt63SAli0KX3efxGmN5rCh4mQEn1kiWAuHCO2zC4fanQHd2mFfpMUGVZadR0k2qJO66p0E=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beaver dam, Scotland</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Beavers have only been reintroduced to the UK in recent
years but they are already having a big effect on how conservation of wetland
and other areas is managed, although their impact on drainage of farmland and
feeding on maize crops close to water has caused some issues. They are now
starting to spread through the countryside away from the known sites, and
recently they showed up at Longleat wildlife park under their own volition. As
Longleat is one of the few collections in the UK to hold hippos, this means
that England is now the only place on earth where hippos and beavers share the
same waterways as they did in the Eemian.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-57282308791104239712021-12-31T17:00:00.034-08:002021-12-31T17:00:00.177-08:00Former British natives and their implications for the future - Part 1<p> <b><u><span style="font-size: large;">What is natural anyway?</span></u></b></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHRU67cJgfGRGYrQ88TbUxDXiTtvCaT9XgKi7CjA4YNGtdEFmLT9NLT7RYYvqnKfnIkccowZFNtnyEN08bivFJmDMS21yP_2aDRlJ2ZDHVIC68VyK8XaioYdMka4kMd3E3cTZ75u0a04jaETpblnH8pgYEirbVbl0pqKoD1TP-7xwVJCuVx6cHEF5x=s1200" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="European Brown Bear" border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHRU67cJgfGRGYrQ88TbUxDXiTtvCaT9XgKi7CjA4YNGtdEFmLT9NLT7RYYvqnKfnIkccowZFNtnyEN08bivFJmDMS21yP_2aDRlJ2ZDHVIC68VyK8XaioYdMka4kMd3E3cTZ75u0a04jaETpblnH8pgYEirbVbl0pqKoD1TP-7xwVJCuVx6cHEF5x=w320-h180" title="European Brown Bear" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Brown Bear</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="text-align: justify;">A big topic of discussion in
conservation circles at the moment is rewilding, which could be described as
the restoration of human modified habitats so that they operate as they should
with minimal human intervention. However, this supposes that we can know what
this looks like, and since the close of the last Ice Age around 10,000 years
ago a very large number of keystone species have become extinct. In this
series, I would like to examine the animals and habitats that would have existed
in the UK in the period around 120,000 years ago during the Eemian Interglacial.
As this is the best available recent geological period to use as a model for
what our near future climate might look like studying this time might give us
at least a few clues as to what to expect.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwH729i0Mj0gqQFwb8Rk7BGgoRAPJrMnc11tynYF98fkZnAXe8vPjAfU7P0Bu0r6esw8DjUwIyB9Kf-1HD2J34H-e3RjdVhP7tw__KM1P8Q48dup8ObT5h7sQTt3oWDSROFPmy7ck6m6pkzQ7NJhaiOQgTlqpPCgnepNGr3r9TOS8_jVAH6ECkKD5j=s582" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="582" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwH729i0Mj0gqQFwb8Rk7BGgoRAPJrMnc11tynYF98fkZnAXe8vPjAfU7P0Bu0r6esw8DjUwIyB9Kf-1HD2J34H-e3RjdVhP7tw__KM1P8Q48dup8ObT5h7sQTt3oWDSROFPmy7ck6m6pkzQ7NJhaiOQgTlqpPCgnepNGr3r9TOS8_jVAH6ECkKD5j=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Wildcat</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">At that time the first true
modern-type humans had already been around for a long time in Africa and had
begun to spread into western Asia and beyond. No one had yet entered the
Americas, but people with the use of fire and complex stone technology –
possibly even watercraft in some regions– had been living in Europe and Asia as
well as Africa for close to a million years. However, the Neanderthals of
northern Europe apparently never crossed the sea to Britain, leaving it
deserted by humans while full of wildlife, making the British Isles a very
useful baseline for what an environment without humans of any sort looks like.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAzLCKZxim_AnijLb1YDBnLq98WgzK6UdLR32b_lPsVwBM2XZxbNt4ZY6aIuBtRjG4cERKkaPsHhXQh-SGAQ_LLn_oDG3lNcpNJ9IVTZMRQxHOobVT9hmMKECMDBwGD3gVKOTvvS3ZPbjzwvUZiHfM4eGoYhHkvR97kIgGpR0GFk2Zd_BRCN5cEpEq=s6000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAzLCKZxim_AnijLb1YDBnLq98WgzK6UdLR32b_lPsVwBM2XZxbNt4ZY6aIuBtRjG4cERKkaPsHhXQh-SGAQ_LLn_oDG3lNcpNJ9IVTZMRQxHOobVT9hmMKECMDBwGD3gVKOTvvS3ZPbjzwvUZiHfM4eGoYhHkvR97kIgGpR0GFk2Zd_BRCN5cEpEq=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Lynx</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At this time the climate in the
UK was very similar to today, although perhaps with a more continental- type
variation between summer and winter temperatures. Global temperatures were
around 1 or 2 degrees higher, and global sea levels were also higher by perhaps
as much as 6m. As a result, the North Sea was flooded and as the old land
bridge at the Straits of Dover had broken in a previous glaciation the British
Isles would have looked in outline much like today, with the exception of some
low-lying areas being under water.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjnTk8lxZVBIe8-5QkUPOTTOI6o7GQqaeAQMZJNLZCE3tbCLReBRJ6q8-g7UpB-1q6v62-QBVk3E1gg4MosQwzqK5GpPwqV32BS4kIXI84C-Xx8pSbtaEQpl9ZBuPYby_nNp4EnzLHlrjiBMEhUOWoC00jsqi4CgHuw5U73jofqOPIVBs0T25P8Hsk=s1354" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1354" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjnTk8lxZVBIe8-5QkUPOTTOI6o7GQqaeAQMZJNLZCE3tbCLReBRJ6q8-g7UpB-1q6v62-QBVk3E1gg4MosQwzqK5GpPwqV32BS4kIXI84C-Xx8pSbtaEQpl9ZBuPYby_nNp4EnzLHlrjiBMEhUOWoC00jsqi4CgHuw5U73jofqOPIVBs0T25P8Hsk=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European Grey Wolf</td></tr></tbody></table></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As a result of all this the
vegetation would also have been the same as today – Oak, Birch, Hazel, Elm, Hawthorn
and so on. In the woods would have been the same Red Fox, Badgers, Red deer,
Blackbirds, Blue Tits and Sparrowhawks that you might see in any British
woodland today. In addition, there would have been predators that were only
eliminated from the UK in historic times such as Wolves, Brown Bears and Lynx.
The Aurochs, wild ancestor of domestic cattle, would have been common, as would
Red and Roe deer. However, there would also have been some surprising
additions, which I will outline in the next part.<o:p></o:p></p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-27037320726299193152021-12-29T09:07:00.002-08:002021-12-29T09:07:51.040-08:00And I am back<p> To anyone who sees this, I hope you have managed to survive the last few years since I last posted and all your families are OK. I have decided to reactivate this blog and I will be adding new posts and topics that I hope will be of interest to you all. These are currently in preparation and I will be adding the first of what I hope are many from this weekend.</p><p><br /></p><p>Until then I wish everyone a happy New Year.</p>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-74024258392392493452017-08-04T23:30:00.000-07:002017-08-04T23:30:20.234-07:00Dragonflies 2: Common Darter<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9YhIaPfgCcQkkqxSkih5ov4Gwa-JmMjRnriv8EZztqdmKR7wMl90GGQlkNuKXv2oM0Xn4bu9qF85bXQ4XJNJd5zb4x4OMEi-SsHU4iLJJ9yYNvvM5AM7HoiUO9wY7F8vpn2iT-d7274/s1600/Common+Darter+male.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9YhIaPfgCcQkkqxSkih5ov4Gwa-JmMjRnriv8EZztqdmKR7wMl90GGQlkNuKXv2oM0Xn4bu9qF85bXQ4XJNJd5zb4x4OMEi-SsHU4iLJJ9yYNvvM5AM7HoiUO9wY7F8vpn2iT-d7274/s320/Common+Darter+male.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Territorial male Common Darter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the commonest dragonflies in the UK, especially in
the south, is the Common Darter <i>Sympetrum striolatum</i>. One of at least 50
species of<i> Sympetrum</i>, Common Darters have a vast range extending from Western
Europe across to Japan, and are often migratory. Other species of Sympetrum are
found across the whole northern hemisphere, and in North America they are
generally called Meadowhawks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unlike the various Hawker dragonflies, Darters hunt from a
perch to which they regularly return, behaving in a similar way to Spotted
Flycatchers. Except when breeding, they are often found away from the ponds
that they usually use, along rides through woods where they often perch on
twigs or the tops of shrubs. When away from the water they may occur in large
aggregations. At the breeding pools, which are often warm and bare, and may be
stagnant or even brackish, males are more territorial.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvunJfvvy5Oc8uA5RofavTaioAYuItRj_k5bf-x6ITYi1eMn-4A6jqJoJ2mO5cyne9DDUqNfKdCYn10NpLjV5gyTgazWjhwTCv8e6q60S_0D0cc4A53IMIG2Mo_T-hRAOJMlsmELCrvI0/s1600/Common_darter_dragonflies_%2528sympetrum_striolatum%2529_mating_pale_blue_pterostigma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvunJfvvy5Oc8uA5RofavTaioAYuItRj_k5bf-x6ITYi1eMn-4A6jqJoJ2mO5cyne9DDUqNfKdCYn10NpLjV5gyTgazWjhwTCv8e6q60S_0D0cc4A53IMIG2Mo_T-hRAOJMlsmELCrvI0/s1600/Common_darter_dragonflies_%2528sympetrum_striolatum%2529_mating_pale_blue_pterostigma.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mating wheel of Common Darter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the most noticeable oddities of the Odonata (the
group that contains Dragonflies, Damselflies and their extinct relatives) is
the odd way they mate. The most archaic insects such as silverfish reproduce by
the male depositing his sperm in a packet called a spermatophore on the ground and
leading the female to it. At some point in their evolution odonates switched to the male
depositing sperm on the underside of their own bodies and the female then
arching her body to pick up the spermatophore from a set of secondary sexual
organs. The result is the characteristic wheel position pictured. After mating
the male may disengage his claspers which up to that point have been holding
the female behind her head, or in other species may retain his hold while the
female lays her eggs to avoid the chance of the female mating with another
male.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoymZ8bMBZa3FpnFCLNLhAmpB0mp_j6mrWESc_Y5Hsbtl3vA4TmP9skL4PBl-3nw390JHh4IZk26zEjE-q7YK-47ZguEfd4Wx8uJv-ZuzkoaReic1W6DziME0hCB_qPrxIqazhDyYw0A/s1600/Common_darter_dragonflies_%2528sympetrum_striolatum%2529_two_pairs_ovipositing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoymZ8bMBZa3FpnFCLNLhAmpB0mp_j6mrWESc_Y5Hsbtl3vA4TmP9skL4PBl-3nw390JHh4IZk26zEjE-q7YK-47ZguEfd4Wx8uJv-ZuzkoaReic1W6DziME0hCB_qPrxIqazhDyYw0A/s1600/Common_darter_dragonflies_%2528sympetrum_striolatum%2529_two_pairs_ovipositing.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ovipositing Common Darters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It takes about a year for the naiads to develop, and as with
many dragonflies the males take several days to attain breeding colour. Until
then they avoid the water and the resident males. The adults emerge from July
and can be on the wing into November or even later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtCPeGUeww9EZfY89y9mRcVbQn1tPgNeA-LD15jFaqhiBPwPcCqZoAu3zHlMJk53twwqMuH2QdUilYSAWfh3gvpypZmqg3COZ2OYarqMaBCO-0IpmefDqJpBOp0GT2rxtWfGlsw9lP6A/s1600/Common+Darter+immature.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="1600" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtCPeGUeww9EZfY89y9mRcVbQn1tPgNeA-LD15jFaqhiBPwPcCqZoAu3zHlMJk53twwqMuH2QdUilYSAWfh3gvpypZmqg3COZ2OYarqMaBCO-0IpmefDqJpBOp0GT2rxtWfGlsw9lP6A/s320/Common+Darter+immature.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Immature Common Darter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With their vast range Common Darters are not considered
threatened by the IUCN, although changes in land use and pesticides may
represent local threats. Natural enemies include larger dragonflies, orb web
spiders, and especially birds – the Hobby for example is a specialist on
dragonflies and other large insects.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Images of mating and ovipositing from Wikipedia, others my
own)<o:p></o:p></div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-85984636568472217892017-07-29T01:00:00.000-07:002017-07-29T01:00:33.486-07:00Dragonflies 1: The Emperor<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieajCGjgYz7pRLUJXinTbN1wfd95Gto8IbVl6kIjh1Q6XB7gQHJxHVgjf79v5OQsc0AEdu6BBU3cXMH11KI9s9kUxSPiVIHQQxBtJNZrwZ1ve3gWp9vDGFoc82t4RcMd6jwzfwNCWL2s/s1600/Anax+imperator+female.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieajCGjgYz7pRLUJXinTbN1wfd95Gto8IbVl6kIjh1Q6XB7gQHJxHVgjf79v5OQsc0AEdu6BBU3cXMH11KI9s9kUxSPiVIHQQxBtJNZrwZ1ve3gWp9vDGFoc82t4RcMd6jwzfwNCWL2s/s320/Anax+imperator+female.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A.imperator ovipositing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the largest dragonflies in Europe, the Emperor
Dragonfly Anax <i>imperator</i> has a range
from North Africa to the North Sea coast and most of the south of the British
Isles, and reaching east into the Ukraine. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are around 30 species of <i>Anax</i> worldwide, mostly in the Old World, but there are some in
North America and there is one species native to Hawai’i. The genus belongs to
the widespread family Aeschnidae, hawker dragonflies. Hawkers get their name
from the behaviour – they catch and usually east their prey in flight and are
powerful fliers. Dragonfly genera can usually be identified by behaviour –
chasers and darters generally hunt from a perch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmeXjiK8Qc__JLelTIEfZM_1UsyZeRrMorLMj-VkV3vyrpHluUXZWS2J9nFj9uNATKgyJlA69IpQNmWYWvsbIR1FYEIMg8AaZO1NgoRrxICzvcqMyq5e2EcclkaE4pAc9EQ3UZZdJa6k/s1600/Anax_imperator+male.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmeXjiK8Qc__JLelTIEfZM_1UsyZeRrMorLMj-VkV3vyrpHluUXZWS2J9nFj9uNATKgyJlA69IpQNmWYWvsbIR1FYEIMg8AaZO1NgoRrxICzvcqMyq5e2EcclkaE4pAc9EQ3UZZdJa6k/s1600/Anax_imperator+male.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A.imperator male</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All dragonflies are predators and as adults feed on smaller
insects, usually mosquitoes and flies but the larger species like Emperors will take
butterflies or even small species of dragonflies and damselflies. As aquatic naiads
they feed on smaller aquatic life and the larger nymphs may even take tadpoles
or small fish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dragonflies and Damselflies – the Odonata – are one of the
oldest lineages of flying insects. The oldest relatives of modern dragonflies
are known from the Carboniferous around 300 million years ago, these are the
griffenflies, “giant dragonflies” which in some species are believed to have
had a wingspan of around 70cm. How they managed to support such a gigantic size
with the high metabolic rate of dragonfly lifestyle is not certain, but it
probably is related to the higher oxygen levels of the atmosphere during their
reign, which at its peak may have reached 35%. This ended with the end-Permian
mass extinction during which global environmental changes resulted in a fall of
atmospheric oxygen levels to well below the present day level of 20%.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ROxJ0V9zGVnszxV1PupsPRMCLtKBg99XvRG0jVa7T5egfVear4DHQXjj9GdEwQCbrZ37dSxznyu9WHp9pJYyAF21hANlsnGJPjmiVicUJkbDtD5F6CN0_KGXvKLC7I5uGO_UdLxXOOA/s1600/Green+Darner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ROxJ0V9zGVnszxV1PupsPRMCLtKBg99XvRG0jVa7T5egfVear4DHQXjj9GdEwQCbrZ37dSxznyu9WHp9pJYyAF21hANlsnGJPjmiVicUJkbDtD5F6CN0_KGXvKLC7I5uGO_UdLxXOOA/s1600/Green+Darner.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anax junius</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although dragonflies are thought of as exclusively
water-loving, water is only needed for reproduction. Once they have emerged as
adults they may hunt over other habitats entirely, hunting around trees in
woods, over fields, or preferring moorland heaths depending on the species. As
adults they are fairly long lived, and in the several months many species live
they can also travel long distances, as especially in tropical reasons they can
have regular migrations following the rains. They can also be found as vagrants
far outside their normal range – the North America Green Darner <i>Anax junius</i> has been found in the UK on
several occasions having crossed the Atlantic in the same way as many birds do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emperor dragonflies begin as eggs laid directly into the
water by an unaccompanied female. This last is slightly unusual – in many
species the male remains attached by his claspers to the female while she lays
her eggs in order to guard her from mating again. After an incubation period of
three weeks the eggs hatch into the aquatic naiads that feed on aquatic insects
and tadpoles for one or two years before climbing out of the water to moult
into the winged adults. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglz33EsSjShFaoxZmBJNnFo_ZLJWkqiBFzYpipxh5JQ09PqyJ9RPeQfq4pi5O8bgYZE28k0ZLU-LLNrGuw_aWTJ6Mqyo_mcohZP2tKNfHajHsh_sm4vOF_vAgdN6Dg6p9qxc8MD4SeGAE/s1600/Anax_Imperator_2%2528loz%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglz33EsSjShFaoxZmBJNnFo_ZLJWkqiBFzYpipxh5JQ09PqyJ9RPeQfq4pi5O8bgYZE28k0ZLU-LLNrGuw_aWTJ6Mqyo_mcohZP2tKNfHajHsh_sm4vOF_vAgdN6Dg6p9qxc8MD4SeGAE/s1600/Anax_Imperator_2%2528loz%2529.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teneral A.imperator</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On leaving the water the naiads may travel as far as 30m
from their pool and 5m up a tree before shedding for the last time and
appearing as an adult. With these large dragonflies even after emerging they
take one or two weeks to attain the full colours and becoming able to reproduce.
Males are very territorial and spend most of their lives in flight during the
day, even feeding on the wing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Vv9h-j4Q4o8zYIphF4FsdDUT256ptRdYRu7T-NAIWq_Oh3bmOhZUu6Fkpt9TAbO5vpV55hfnncNe0pByQd-mlxVfCDey9Yl-toiKT1pgnwB9dPRqPjFWFImwH4L1jzbkRFeMHrpHKMs/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1148" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Vv9h-j4Q4o8zYIphF4FsdDUT256ptRdYRu7T-NAIWq_Oh3bmOhZUu6Fkpt9TAbO5vpV55hfnncNe0pByQd-mlxVfCDey9Yl-toiKT1pgnwB9dPRqPjFWFImwH4L1jzbkRFeMHrpHKMs/s320/DSC_0037.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male A.imperator patrolling the pool where the female at the head of the post was egg laying</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Green Darner, Emperor emerging photos from wikipedia, others are my photos)</div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-43364296120075031182017-07-25T07:09:00.000-07:002017-07-25T07:09:03.014-07:00On the Wing: Small Copper<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWUTUK4dI_e8x62KIXihGU_WTw4i6ENIGRV5AM5BqsH_hsDtuZuYtlWIRk7aRFwCDHN23e8LERiLqUhNpBBQo15FnnbtIShSpJXpzXDVyKVzMOp-kbjxUUpeU4_kpGFPGIHPuOtN1CyE/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1059" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWUTUK4dI_e8x62KIXihGU_WTw4i6ENIGRV5AM5BqsH_hsDtuZuYtlWIRk7aRFwCDHN23e8LERiLqUhNpBBQo15FnnbtIShSpJXpzXDVyKVzMOp-kbjxUUpeU4_kpGFPGIHPuOtN1CyE/s320/DSC_0041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small Copper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Currently to be seen flying over most grassy areas in the UK,
especially sunny and sheltered spots including roadside verges is Britain’s
only “Copper” butterfly, the Small Copper <i>Lycaena
phlaeas</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This energetic little butterfly belongs to one of the eight
or so subfamilies of the Lycaenidae, the largest butterfly family (6000+ species)
after the Nymphalidae. There are three subfamilies to be found in Europe, the
Polyommatinae (Blues), Theclinae (Hairstreaks) and the Lycaeninae (Coppers).
There is a fair amount of ecological separation between these three groups,
with Hairstreaks using trees and bushes as larval foodplants, Blues mostly
using members of the pea family and feeding on or in seed heads, and the
Coppers using various species of sorrel or other broad leaved herbs and feeding
on the underside of the leaves. Almost all lycaenids have at least some association
with ants, which some species such as the Large Blue are completely dependent
on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5atHYGECW_PecANIrZQgHJlnXUhN8VBEEsPw73f1ESyHuHwyA23BWg7037UGRHWtJ9IdWtwXICv4Uq7RTZ40-98ORv7r6qfUZiqbfprc8DeWxfwBP1gVWIXb7iWo1wE9KR0TxjK1L88/s1600/DSC_0042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="1600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5atHYGECW_PecANIrZQgHJlnXUhN8VBEEsPw73f1ESyHuHwyA23BWg7037UGRHWtJ9IdWtwXICv4Uq7RTZ40-98ORv7r6qfUZiqbfprc8DeWxfwBP1gVWIXb7iWo1wE9KR0TxjK1L88/s320/DSC_0042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Small Coppers have several broods during the year, beginning
with a spring brood in May or June. The male establishes a small territory
around a flower head or a prominent stone from which he flies to court passing
females. At night the adults roost on grass stems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once mated, the female seeks out Common Sorrel <i>Rumex acetosa</i> or Sheep’s Sorrel to lay
her eggs, usually singly on the upper surface of the joint between leaf blade
and stalk. The eggs take one or two weeks to hatch depending on the weather,
and the small, slug-like caterpillars feed on the underside of the leaves,
leaving “windows” in the upper leaf cuticle. The pupa is dumpy and may be
formed in ant’s nests in the wild, or possibly in the depths of grass tussocks.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There may be several broods each year, especially in the south
in warm years, but eventually the changing seasons cause the later larvae to go
into hibernation at the base of the plants until the return of spring starts
the cycle over again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfuH9DGQYgQqOywuNku6u4WuSYYOYB4PCr6JzgfE_cUTGoxLPagxrlrIEPGU6XGzjAPHU52dvte_O9CP45r0cfwlI90CSax23LPm_lMVVkaoJw0jgDUzAV0yMx2nDEdbCVflK140550E/s1600/200px-Lycaena_dispar02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfuH9DGQYgQqOywuNku6u4WuSYYOYB4PCr6JzgfE_cUTGoxLPagxrlrIEPGU6XGzjAPHU52dvte_O9CP45r0cfwlI90CSax23LPm_lMVVkaoJw0jgDUzAV0yMx2nDEdbCVflK140550E/s1600/200px-Lycaena_dispar02.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large Copper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although there are many species of copper across Europe and
Asia, in Britain there is currently only one. Until 100 years ago there were
two, the other being an endemic subspecies of the Large Copper <i>Lycaena dispar</i>.
This became extinct as a result of changes in land use in the East Anglian
fens, its last redoubt, and also over-collection by Victorian and Edwardian
lepidopterists. Attempts were made for many years to re-establish the species
using as a source population the Dutch subspecies (itself now Critically
Endangered) but these proved unsuccessful and any attempts have been abandoned
for now. There is one other subspecies, <i>L.dispar rutilus</i>, which is widespread
in wetlands across Europe but is declining in many areas as a result of land
use changes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Large Copper image from Wikipedia, Small Copper my own)<o:p></o:p></div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-74272580045599419992017-07-17T03:00:00.004-07:002017-07-17T03:00:44.208-07:00In flower: Solanum pyracanthos<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFabz7aUiVFVadQ7Ru77WKDUQqIICbf0lJ3b84qQBjYACrsopHcV-Q4BZyUv6u4hS7Qp6kV2j4ZQ73K2Baul62HuHGYc_m5_apIpjs5tgv6xb-gSoXRv5KI5c-tz92SmVpJO8tl6SqNs/s1600/S.pyracanthos.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1600" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFabz7aUiVFVadQ7Ru77WKDUQqIICbf0lJ3b84qQBjYACrsopHcV-Q4BZyUv6u4hS7Qp6kV2j4ZQ73K2Baul62HuHGYc_m5_apIpjs5tgv6xb-gSoXRv5KI5c-tz92SmVpJO8tl6SqNs/s320/S.pyracanthos.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S.pyracanthos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A couple of years ago I obtained at Malvern Flower Show a
plant of <i>Solanum pyracanthos</i>, the
Porcupine Tomato. The reason for the name is pretty obvious – it is heavily
armed on the stem and even the leaves with serious spikes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Solanum species include some of the world’s major food crops,
including potato, tomato and eggplant, as well as crops of more local
significance such as naranjilla. Not in the same genus, but still part of the
Solanaceae, are the peppers (Capsicum) and various species of Physalis such as
the tomatillo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8crN6D9dALNyrwRaYYOOhDAgH-adDTlEODZ56FlmRVQmZzc1vtWLjCdWuiXQ9boPqYJHCOFzcEeV_pwmQbrNElsMuEjl7y9JhXil_WMTOjgw5-IUA17AkPwnans-ym3tc-Zjm5Jahpg/s1600/S.pyracanthos+flower.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8crN6D9dALNyrwRaYYOOhDAgH-adDTlEODZ56FlmRVQmZzc1vtWLjCdWuiXQ9boPqYJHCOFzcEeV_pwmQbrNElsMuEjl7y9JhXil_WMTOjgw5-IUA17AkPwnans-ym3tc-Zjm5Jahpg/s320/S.pyracanthos+flower.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note spines on leaves</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Solanaceae as a group often produce potent alkaloid
toxins in their foliage to protect against herbivores, and to humans at least
many wild species have toxic fruit. As a result Europeans were slow to take to
using plants like potatoes or tomatoes after they were first introduced,
although they came round eventually.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Solanaceae have around 3,000- 4,000 species in around 90
genera, and a worldwide distribution. Perhaps 1,400 species are currently in
Solanum, many in South America, but there are other centres of endemism in
North America, Africa, Australia, and Madagascar, the home of <i>S.pyracanthos</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With so many species, Solanum is divided into numerous
subgenera and sections. Solanum pyracanthos belongs to section Melongena, the
same group as the eggplant, a group mainly confined to Africa. The numerous
Madagascan species of Solanum seem to be part of a mainly endemic radiation of
this section. Although Madagascars native animals, especially the lemurs, are
the most famous targets of conservation concern, but the plants are just as
significant and indeed endangered – the massive deforestation of the island in
the last 2,000 years or so since human beings colonised the island must have
had a major impact. Loss of native plants would have had an equally massive
knock on effect on the native invertebrate fauna, and very little published
work is available on these.</div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
The range and habitat of <i>S.pyracanthos</i>
in its native range is unclear, but its impressive appearance means that it has
been cultivated in many places. Although not frost resistant, in warmer
climates it grows easily and can become an invasive weed. It appears to be a
fairly typical “weedy” successional species spread by birds or mammals eating
the fruit – which is allegedly technically edible although extremely
distasteful to humans (check carefully first before attempting one).<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJa030Onbl2LPo44DPpnu1d86DgCLF_p3MuYpcIeM_hfXQJHUNnZrmeM5NWRtL4Mkmahyphenhyphen7FirW4CB9RFU1p97-zZ1pyuBXtLg7V09tXxiip6BWXRPm3EOUcneltuqMnxA2nDZiUudWH8/s1600/Archaeolemur_edwardsi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="151" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJa030Onbl2LPo44DPpnu1d86DgCLF_p3MuYpcIeM_hfXQJHUNnZrmeM5NWRtL4Mkmahyphenhyphen7FirW4CB9RFU1p97-zZ1pyuBXtLg7V09tXxiip6BWXRPm3EOUcneltuqMnxA2nDZiUudWH8/s1600/Archaeolemur_edwardsi.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archaeolemur edwardsii</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The amount of armament covering the stems and even leaves is
plainly a deterrent against plant eating animals. What they might be is not
certain. Those living lemurs which subsist mainly on foliage spend most of
their time in trees and seldom come down to ground level, and <i>S.pyracanthos</i> seldom reaches more than
1m tall. Some extinct lemurs such as <i>Archaeolemur</i>
were more terrestrial however, and several living species of lemur are
surprisingly resistant to toxins. It seems more likely that the main threats
were animals like the now extinct giant tortoises such as <i>Aldabrachelys abrupta</i>, a close relative of the living Aldabra Giant
Tortoise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzd6TRiTHdoWznjCcYddWcsRC1IIfkUVbdSgzH0Fh1I-2jvogqTTNqIp9sIUXKBh83mzJXZfahO_HgDT46KNwIGjFaXmYdhpboZtl8UV5pMmmW5okUyL-pPpJHpYafj48Yho0T_rVtxM/s1600/Aldabrachelys_gigantea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzd6TRiTHdoWznjCcYddWcsRC1IIfkUVbdSgzH0Fh1I-2jvogqTTNqIp9sIUXKBh83mzJXZfahO_HgDT46KNwIGjFaXmYdhpboZtl8UV5pMmmW5okUyL-pPpJHpYafj48Yho0T_rVtxM/s1600/Aldabrachelys_gigantea.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aldabrachelys</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Images of Aldabrachelys, Archaeolemur from Wikipedia, rest
are mine)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-72516964258548877832017-07-12T03:44:00.001-07:002017-07-12T03:44:27.645-07:00In flower: Pelargonium reniforme<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3mbwdq0LuLDjSGj2ftKwk3AR9TctJCY7FsNpTQKZGrXv5cIBn4ksypwVte2b2-jAY3aey25HAbMXqQmHe7MjisrkUkMqcZl2vtmqwO2lDWCz3Bzsp7u4cPDEdxiduRLR_NXLjCJ48g0/s1600/P.reniforme+flower.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3mbwdq0LuLDjSGj2ftKwk3AR9TctJCY7FsNpTQKZGrXv5cIBn4ksypwVte2b2-jAY3aey25HAbMXqQmHe7MjisrkUkMqcZl2vtmqwO2lDWCz3Bzsp7u4cPDEdxiduRLR_NXLjCJ48g0/s320/P.reniforme+flower.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">P.reniforme flower</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just come into flower in my conservatory is a new plant of <i>Pelargonium reniforme</i>, the kidney-leaved
pelargonium. This species originates from the Eastern Cape province in South
Africa, where it grows on dry flats which are subject to fairly regular fires. It
is a small plant, growing as a shrub around 30cm tall, sometimes to 1m. The
leaves are kidney-shaped (hence the name) and are covered with downy hairs
which help reduce evaporation.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiuUoTkbJ4mSvlgIEpK25sGwIOvMKTKDsUA2jN2itZsJDz3fJuSg_DSfz0JniqvPOH_0FV8HIZV-AR0_eIdsiy0-6VHm2uo7LbehAdjm2fpfHH3vYn6J7ypGYODc8-PdyT8DdDqTGBEA/s1600/P.reniforme.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1385" data-original-width="1600" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiuUoTkbJ4mSvlgIEpK25sGwIOvMKTKDsUA2jN2itZsJDz3fJuSg_DSfz0JniqvPOH_0FV8HIZV-AR0_eIdsiy0-6VHm2uo7LbehAdjm2fpfHH3vYn6J7ypGYODc8-PdyT8DdDqTGBEA/s320/P.reniforme.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">P.reniforme whole plant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During the dry season as with many South African plants they
lose their leaves, bursting into leaf after rain. If a fire sweeps through the
area the plants still survive by means of their tuberous roots, which store
food for the plant when it cannot photosynthesize. Although these roots are a
good means of survival, even below ground the plants are not entirely safe from
predation, as the same habitat is occupied by various species of mole-rat, specialised
rodents which feed on the underground storage organs of savannah plants. As a
deterrent the plants storage various bad-tasting compounds in their roots
against rodents and probably insects as well – many beetles for example have
grubs which feed on plant roots.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLRWWC4dY73F9BhhSZoLQHk75YwsCegYjy1qxIO_REOwGGjretVXUK7OLTm-CdfNNaoC_xZhF5JgCmnIuqy3GU7frfT2DdgMGkilfXQf8UyP7twOC8jeyPzd96b713WmkKDFqUgNfu0Q/s1600/Damaraland_mole-rat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="151" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLRWWC4dY73F9BhhSZoLQHk75YwsCegYjy1qxIO_REOwGGjretVXUK7OLTm-CdfNNaoC_xZhF5JgCmnIuqy3GU7frfT2DdgMGkilfXQf8UyP7twOC8jeyPzd96b713WmkKDFqUgNfu0Q/s1600/Damaraland_mole-rat.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damaraland mole-rat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A very long time ago people discovered that the deterrent
compounds have medicinal properties, and although the plants are not threatened
they are collected for use in local herbal medicines. They are also grown
commercially, and are a component of herbal medicines for sale in Europe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The attractive pink flowers attract day-flying insects, and
are apparently visited by many species from butterflies to flies and
long-tongued bees. The seeds have long awns which curl in response to changes
in humidity, drilling the seed into the soil.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In cultivation they are easily propagated from cuttings or
seed. In dry climates they are apparently frost-hardy, but in the UK they would
need to be brought in for the winter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
(mole-rat image from Wikipedia, other photos mine)<o:p></o:p></div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-70538585169796120382017-06-09T12:08:00.000-07:002017-06-09T12:08:16.490-07:00In Flower: Sinningia leucotricha<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARnI3Z7c76NQZw4St9qfeI31W2Rwpar0AJ0OTgQz8Ouem-pfiDbUoUW6avGFOqyWyMG-6j9RPVS3T13heOKOYoPVFbtvO_w_z1d0QX61eDRHbFU081kayZKe0bwUHbzmmf-5GygVd5II/s1600/Sinningia+leucotricha.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1588" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARnI3Z7c76NQZw4St9qfeI31W2Rwpar0AJ0OTgQz8Ouem-pfiDbUoUW6avGFOqyWyMG-6j9RPVS3T13heOKOYoPVFbtvO_w_z1d0QX61eDRHbFU081kayZKe0bwUHbzmmf-5GygVd5II/s320/Sinningia+leucotricha.JPG" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sinningia leucotricha</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This beautiful plant is known in known in its native Brazil
as Queen of the Abyss, but it is sometimes sold as Brazilian Edelweiss as its
leaves resemble in some ways those of the (totally unrelated) alpine Edelweiss.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are numerous species of <i>Sinningia</i> distributed between southern Mexico and Northern
Argentina, with the groups centre of distribution in southern Brazil. The genus
belongs to the Gesneriaceae, a family which also includes such popular house
plants as African Violet (<i>Saintpaulia</i>)
or <i>Streptocarpus. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>S.leucotricha</i>
originates from rocky outcrops in the subtropical Parana province of southern
Brazil. It is deciduous, shedding its leaves during the dry season and
regrowing from its tuberous caudex when the rains return. It has a highly
restricted distribution in the wild, with a total known area of occurrence of
only 80km<sup>2</sup>. As a result it must be considered an endangered species,
as indeed are many other related <i>Sinningia</i>
species with similarly restricted distributions. Main threats would be fire,
overgrazing especially by goats, and climate change. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RQSs3nnwh4nQv98nBRyTeOjtbonjnJrs3qz0xa_yBeHm-kR4LQ3DZKgkS6C91uJYrI14wfVY1Emko1xQMhcO7jCExoeqAXJAaNqOXoKcVPdwCgYD9xVgQYZPEV9mWOB8_5Lk-mem24M/s1600/Augastes_scutatus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RQSs3nnwh4nQv98nBRyTeOjtbonjnJrs3qz0xa_yBeHm-kR4LQ3DZKgkS6C91uJYrI14wfVY1Emko1xQMhcO7jCExoeqAXJAaNqOXoKcVPdwCgYD9xVgQYZPEV9mWOB8_5Lk-mem24M/s320/Augastes_scutatus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Augastes scutatus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The tubular red or orange flowers of this and many other
species of <i>Sinningia</i> indicate that
they are pollinated by hummingbirds. Which particular hummingbird species are responsible
for pollination in nature is not on record, but species occurring in the area
which are known to frequent the habitat type include <i>Augastes scutatus</i> and <i>Phaethornis
pretrei</i> among others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFYvOUYUGDfcvk8B2zyuTzEeYI_3AdxqUcd5yVHJEF4KDRvBUa6PWRfd9NLHdUkBFBGe-ygQzAYPG6NEc-5sIByb99OZv1j6W4NBp4qLaJ3h-c3NPUiY5DRChv_I6VVw-IVT0h-Xl1_8/s1600/Phaethornis_pretrei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="231" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFYvOUYUGDfcvk8B2zyuTzEeYI_3AdxqUcd5yVHJEF4KDRvBUa6PWRfd9NLHdUkBFBGe-ygQzAYPG6NEc-5sIByb99OZv1j6W4NBp4qLaJ3h-c3NPUiY5DRChv_I6VVw-IVT0h-Xl1_8/s1600/Phaethornis_pretrei.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phaethornis pretrei</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The dense hairs covering the leaves are an adaptation to
reduce water loss and also protect the leaf from the effects of the blazing
Brazilian sun. This is the reason for their resemblance to the Edelweiss of
the Alps, where desiccation is also an issue as water is unavailable for much
of the year as it is in the form of snow and only liquid water is of use to a
plant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pollinated flower produces a capsule full of minute seeds
which are probably distributed by wind or rain splash. In cultivation they are
fairly easy to grow but take several years to reach flowering size. My plant
has a tuber around 7cm across but old plants can allegedly reach nearly 30cm
across, by which time they must be decades old. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
(image of plant is mine, hummingbird images from Wikipedia)<o:p></o:p></div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-33722970934720216062017-06-01T00:41:00.001-07:002017-06-01T00:41:34.260-07:00In Flower: Haworthia pygmaea<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZRjG_uIu_bToSOWa6Y0tvoOmFwYOEa_Dbo0o1ZVtG3Y7Po9CqJZTYFq6PuNnDdVBzb0bkT85blf44NFZPTyp6uUzXVbR_eb3xArrohZWoGtCQV-pugQ8fyFN96oPmFpIRFDie9qsoyU/s1600/Haworthia+pygmaea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="988" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZRjG_uIu_bToSOWa6Y0tvoOmFwYOEa_Dbo0o1ZVtG3Y7Po9CqJZTYFq6PuNnDdVBzb0bkT85blf44NFZPTyp6uUzXVbR_eb3xArrohZWoGtCQV-pugQ8fyFN96oPmFpIRFDie9qsoyU/s320/Haworthia+pygmaea.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haworthia pygmaea</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Living across southern Africa is a large group (150+
species) of mostly small, rosette forming succulent plants in the genus
Haworthia. Like their relatives the Aloes they are leaf succulents, storing
water over the long dry season in fleshy leaves. Currently in flower in my
conservatory is one of the smaller species, Haworthia pygmaea.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The distinctive leaves of H.pygmaea leave the upper surface
of the rosette flat with the ground surface, presumably a protection against
grazing, or possibly fire damage. To keep the plant deep in the ground the
roots are contractile, pulling the plant down into the ground for protection.
As with many plants with a similar growth habit the upper surface of the leaves
are translucent, allowing light to penetrate deep into the leaves to allow
photosynthesis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haworthias tend to grow in shaded areas such as near
boulders or larger plants, and in cultivation they are prone to scorching if
exposed to full sun. The diversity of rainfall patterns, rock types, and other
variables is part of what makes southern Africa a global centre for diversity
of succulent plants of many families, and many species have very limited
distributions in the wild. H.pygmaea is found in a small area near Mossel Bay
in the Eastern Cape, growing on quartz outcrops. It is well established in
cultivation and is propagated from detached rosettes or from seed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpxl9lRvsAL1xOZhJ5ftC-6MyNO8PQNtVtj1pEZ-wvgNHakQ3ANJFrADgRnqYvw-Ft2NPL7XviVQbs5Vj8PFj7S3RUpuWItxquO2KwOl4V_VrCcmbKrKf0Hr1XdGz78On6N7pCbWoF_4/s1600/H.pygmaea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpxl9lRvsAL1xOZhJ5ftC-6MyNO8PQNtVtj1pEZ-wvgNHakQ3ANJFrADgRnqYvw-Ft2NPL7XviVQbs5Vj8PFj7S3RUpuWItxquO2KwOl4V_VrCcmbKrKf0Hr1XdGz78On6N7pCbWoF_4/s320/H.pygmaea.JPG" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">H.pygmaea inflorescence</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unlike the mostly sunbird-pollinated Aloe species,
Haworthias are insect pollinated. The inflorescence is about 30cm tall with a set of greenish-white, tubular flowers.Plants are mostly self-sterile and require
pollen from an unrelated plant to set seed. Insect pollinators appear to be
solitary bees or bee-flies for the most part.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(images my own)</div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905638301320729729.post-14656920619505817722017-05-12T03:12:00.001-07:002017-05-12T03:12:47.208-07:00In flower: Rebutia fabrisii<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUg5rru3fbIQ5cT71N4Q5dBpXNvwX5bb414mVY1La58bvr9XSZ4YzOnThY-huNxnXoAINjTH1dVTg17ReuxDG2Ee5F-URgpuhjlN1T_RzT5U_3XZ_13z25vgYjUd1yj9uiNCej-Nl6ipQ/s1600/Rebutia+fabrisii+aureicoma.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUg5rru3fbIQ5cT71N4Q5dBpXNvwX5bb414mVY1La58bvr9XSZ4YzOnThY-huNxnXoAINjTH1dVTg17ReuxDG2Ee5F-URgpuhjlN1T_RzT5U_3XZ_13z25vgYjUd1yj9uiNCej-Nl6ipQ/s320/Rebutia+fabrisii+aureicoma.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Among the easiest cacti to grow and flower here in the UK
are the various species of <i>Rebutia</i>. This
group of small, mostly globular cacti originates from the Andes of Bolivia and
Argentina along with many other species. The exact number of species in the
genus is rather debateable as they are quite variable and there are numerous
local forms. <o:p></o:p></div>
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True cacti are only native to the Americas, with the sole
exception of the epiphytic <i>Rhipsalis
baccifera</i> which has managed to spread – possibly naturally – to Africa,
Madagascar and Sri Lanka. People have translocated many species for
agricultural or ornamental purposes to many other parts of the world where they
have often become invasive weeds. In the Old World native cactus-like plants
are mostly euphorbias, which are completely unrelated. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The species in flower in my conservatory, <i>Rebutia fabrisii</i> (syn <i>R.fiebrigii</i>) originates from Argentina
in the province of Jujuy, at elevations over 1400m. The area of occurrence is
only around 100 km2, but the habitat is not troubled by human habitat
modification so it is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The climate of the area where the species originates is
characterised by high summer temperatures accompanied by heavy rainfall from
thunderstorms, and cold dry winters with occasional snow and frost. In
cultivation they need a well-drained compost with watering only during the
growing season and kept dry during the winter. Low temperatures probably
encourage flowering in the spring. As with all cacti, overwatering outside the
growing season is a major killer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Many cacti are pollinated by various species of bee, and for
<i>Rebutia</i> species the main pollinators
are probably local bumblebees. Unfortunately, many of the bumblebees of South
America are threatened as a result of diseases spread from feral populations of
introduced European species of bumblebee imported for greenhouse pollination of
crops. While people are most familiar with the pollination services from honey
bees, some groups of plants, especially the squashes and cultivated Solanaceae
(tomatoes/ eggplants/ peppers etc.) require “buzz pollination”. The anthers of
the flower only release pollen when they are vibrated at the correct frequency
by a pollinating insect, and bumblebees are commercially produced as colonies
to be introduced into the glasshouses as required. While this saves the labour
costs of hand pollination, the only alternative, there is insufficient disease
control and most of these colonies carry various parasitic mites and diseases.
When fertile queens or workers escape through open vents or doors the result is
disease-bearing insects visiting flowers used by local bees and competing with
them for food. In the US non-native species are no longer used (too late) but
at present there is no similar legislation in place in South American countries
as far as I am aware, and the native species are already being devastated.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(image my own)<o:p></o:p></div>
Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413237012527210151noreply@blogger.com0