being a biologist. a reflection of the year.

As we roll into a new year (and decade), I'm sure your social media feeds are becoming full of 'Top 9s' or other such highlights of the year. To add to the cliche I've been reflecting on my own year and it lead me to thinking; being a biologist/zoologist/conservationist is amazing, but it does result in some unusual behaviour. Below are some photos I thought I'd share to demonstrate my thinking here.

Part 1: casual lifting. When biologists get together it isn't unusual for casual lifting of random stuff to ensue. Who knows what biological delights could be found beneath!? By 'stuff' I mean logs, flower pots or any old junk that has been left to bed-in for a little while. In this case it was a bunch of ARIES PhD students (at our Winter School at Flatford Mill). The random object in question was an old log and the biological delights included a cool array of worms, slugs, millipedes and mysterious fungi!

Peering under a log. Photo by fellow ARIES student Yuanxu Dong.

Part 2: the delights of droppings. I think a common one amongst many biologists is the excitement that comes with finding animal faeces. Yes, it is an odd one, but mammals are elusive and often nocturnal. This makes them difficult to detect and their poo is commonly the only sign that they have been in the area. This is the case for the elusive (and declining) hedgehog. Needless to say, I was VERY chuffed to find hedgehog poo on my patio and doormat this spring. Hedgehog droppings are generally the size of your little finger, very dark in colour and jam packed full of shiny bits of beetle carapace. Non-biologists were less excited about said sparkly faeces making its way into the house...

[1] Hedgehog poo on the patio [2] scattered across the lawn [3] and on my dining room table (oops)

Part 3: "Why is that on your phone?" Photos of poo may be considered weird but dead animals might be taking it to another level. Whilst scrolling back through my own gallery I found many photos that could be considered potentially psychotic to the non biologist. One (rather tame example) includes multiple thumbnails of these amazing stag beetle heads found on several occasions at my local reserve this summer. The local corvids had obviously found a good hunting ground for these poor chaps.

[1] my evening jog turned into a beetle survey [2] this evening I was actually on the look out for otters, but stumbled across these poor chaps too [3] another head. I probably didn't need this many photos to demonstrate this point...

Part 4: "What on earth are you doing?" Rummaging around in bushes (setting up small mammal traps), installing lemonade bottles into ponds (to catch newts) or wandering around allotments at night (in search of hedgehogs) are all very normal and legitimate behaviours that I have exhibited this year. I can however see how all such behaviours could be considered quite odd to passers by. And who can blame them - out of context (and lets be honest, even in context) these behaviour are a little unusual.

[1] emerging from the bushes like an absolute nutcase with a Longworth (small mammal) trap [Photo by John Ferguson] [2] a newt bottle trap containing smooth newts [3] a beautiful hedgehog spotted by torchlight

Part 5: "Hi I'm a professional detective". Trying to convince your friends that you're natures answer to Sherlock is probably another common activity for biologists. Wildlife footprints, nibbled nuts and nests are just some wildlife signs that can be used to work out what has been in the area. This Autumn I headed to Sweden and spent several lovely days hiking the Sodermansleden trail. This hike did absolute wonders; I barely saw another person and all I had to concern myself with was building fires for dinner and having somewhere to sling my hammock at the end of the day. I saw some awesome wildlife including signs of beaver, beautiful little toadlets and lots of weird and wonderful fungi (that looked like brains, corals and jelly sweets!). I was especially keen to find evidence of elk (see how massive their hooves are below) and whilst on this mission I also came across what I believe was a European badger footprint. Check out this footprint guide and keep an eye on mud if you fancy giving this a go yourself!

[1] A nut nibbled by a woodmouse [2] LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT ELK HOOF PRINT [3] badger footprint

To conclude, being a biologist results in behaviour that may be considered questionable by the rest of the human population but science is AMAZING AND AWESOME and the natural world is so much fun to study. I can't wait to clog my phone gallery up with another year full of random animal shits, carcasses, or peculiar wildlife behaviours, and I hope you do too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR XOXOX