Rosie's UEA Ecology Blog

Patrolling the leaf litter, armed with miniature pincers, is the pseudoscorpion.  The pseudoscorpion ( Neobisium sp. ) under a microscope, real size ~5mm. Pseudoscorpions look very much like an actual scorpion, minus the stinging tail. A tiny arachnid just a few millimetres long, they are found in a wide variety of habitats including in the UK. Though they don't have the 'classic' scorpion look, they still have venom, which is used to paralyse their prey, including springtails and mites, and is secreted from their claws. They can be found inside too, often amongst old, dusty books where they prey on dust mites, this explains their other common name: "book scorpions". One species found frequently in this habitat may have been first described by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, where he found them wandering amongst old scrolls. Similar to spiders, they can produce silk, but from their chelicerae at their head end, rather than with spinnerets like a spider. This is u...

  I found possibly the most comedic fungus, the Common Stinkhorn ( Phallus impudicus ), this week. Both the Latin and common names fit it very well. It is very stinky and phallic in shape. The species name " impudicus " means "immodest" or "shameless" in Latin, so the full name literally means "shameless phallus"! Before the unmistakeable shape of the stinkhorn emerges however, it is initially contained in an egg-like sac, which eventually bursts open, revealing the mature fruiting body of the fungus. This 'egg' is actually edible and can be enjoyed raw (though only if you can stomach the smell, as although it is not as strong at this stage, it's still pretty putrid!), it is reported to taste radish-like. This stage of the fungus can be observed all year round, but can be more difficult to detect without the aid of the far-penetrating smell of the emerged 'phallus'. This smell is so revolting that it has been mistaken for dead...

On the morning of a rather brisk and drizzly day in Norwich, the first year Ecology and Conservation students of UEA gathered to practice small mammal trapping and identification. The traps had been pre-laid the night before and some had promising signs. We collected the traps from the tangle of brambles and laid them out. The ones that had not been tripped were set aside and the ones with closed doors were assembled for opening. All 60 traps laid out, ready to be inspected. A close-up of a Longworth trap, showing the opening for the mammal to enter and the larger 'house' at the back. We used Longworth traps, consisting of a trapping mechanism and a 'house' where the mammal shelters and eats the food provided. When trapping mammals, the types of mammals that might be caught need to be considered, especially when providing them with the food needed to survive until the traps are collected. Mice are granivorous, meaning they mostly eat grains, so we provided a generous he...