Old Birds

There is a recent report (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150428/ncomms7987/full/ncomms7987.html) of a very early fossil of an ornithuromorpha bird from fossil measures in China. These, clearly flighted birds, were around in the early Cretaceous period, making them at least 5 million years older than previous frequent flyers. The legs of the fossil suggest that the species was a type of wader that rooted in sediment. So, birds were contemporaries of dinosaurs but their delicate structure (bones and feathers) presumably made them less prone to fossilisation.

Seeing the Changes 964

In Bynea, noted Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus comiculatus) in flower and a Phyllobius pomaceus beetle on nettle. In Loughor, there was a face-off between a mining bee and a picture-winged fly. There were also lots of Common green shield bugs (Palomena prasina).

The Stars Are Going Out

The West coast of the USA is experiencing another outbreak of a densovirus-associated starfish wasting disease that reduces victims to putrifying blobs of jelly sans arms (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/03/starfish-sea-star-deaths-west-coast). There have been outbreaks in the past but this seems to be a very patchy event, hitting local populations and leaving others alone for a while. The outbreak is thought to be linked to local warming of sea temperatures but some of the outbreaks are reportedly in the coolest locations. The disease also seems to be unrelated to pollution events. One thing is certain, namely that removal of these mollusc-eating predators presents a challenge to marine ecosystems.

Seeing the Changes 963

Black medick (Medicago lupulina) was flowering in Bynea and the Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) was out in Swansea.

Deja Vu?

There are further reports of plans to 'reintroduce' the Eurasian lynx back into the UK after an absence of more than a thousand years (http://www.lynxuk.org/). The organisation involved proposes to do this on certain major estates in Scotland and the East of England and claim apparently impressive public support for the project. Given what has happened with the reintroduction of Polish beavers in Scotland, there is, of course, no absolute guarantee that the animals will remain in areas where they are placed. I can see benefits to having a relatively big predator that is apparently non-dangerous to humans (but not necessarily their domestic species?) in place in some UK environments but the basic question is whether reintroductions should be entirely driven by the fact that the species was once present here. How far back should one go? After all, elephant, hippopotamus and rhinoceros were once found on these shores but the environments have changed immensely since these times.

A Bridge Too Far?

'Green' groups have suggested (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/02/green-groups-condemn-glencore-involvement-in-garden-bridge) that the involvement of mining groups in the £175m Thames Garden Bridge project is an example of 'greenwash' (allowing an environmentally problematic organisation to get a make-over by donating cash and materials). I appreciate that the initial intention of the project was to create a memorial for Princess Diana (having said that, there are already some in place) but I do find something a bit odd about a bridge that serves only a minimal transport function (in one sense, it's not much of a 'crossing') and can be closed to the public, to facilitate corporate events. I suspect, however, that there is no way this type of project can be funded without the involvement of mega-bucks from corporations. Perhaps the money could be better spent on restoring damaged buildings in Kathmandu?

Wake Up and Smell the Absence?

People (including Starbucks) have worried for several years about the potential effects of climate change on coffee crops. There is now a report suggesting that the popular Arabica coffee bean will be decimated in many of its current locations by the effects of global warming (http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-effects-coffee-production-how-hotter-weather-killing-global-arabica-1905151). This is especially the case in areas where the plants cannot be moved to a higher altitude. There is now speculation that the only way of maintaining production of this bean might involve genetic modification to produce coffee plants resistant to the effects of elevated temperature and restricted water supply.