A research project investigating migratory insect-bird interactions, bioflow and dragonfly migration. Lund Univ. & Univ. of Exeter
Joined August 2019
- Tweets199
- Following331
- Followers156
- Likes586
A surprising bird-bird co-migratory interaction
NEW POEM POST
Some wise words from the past
About migration
Or just, the journey in general
ecosystemsinthesky.com/blog/…
Some of the more flamboyant possible Indian Ocean Flyway migrants
A Pair of Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) butterflies from the Maldives. These mimics of Danaus butterflies could be migratory, perhaps crossing the Indian Ocean!
Our (@JSUHedlund @zanderhayward @EcosystemsInSky) research could reveal more soon! So exciting!
#insectmigration
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
Scattered across the coastal desert at Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania we find dried bodies of the migrants that perished as they tried to cross the Sahara from north to south this past autumn, in this case a beautiful male Common Redstart.
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
It's 60 years since Sir Peter Scott began one of the longest single-species studies in the world.
Since then, 10,000 individual swans - and family dynasties - have been recorded at Slimbridge.
A thread on the iconic Bewick's swan bill pattern study 🧵
ALT Three images. Top images and bottom left show the paintings Sir Peter Scott made of the bill patterns on Bewick's swans. Bottom right shows a Bewick's swan's bill with distinctive markings.
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
Absolutely fascinating new paper from Richard Massy and @KoralWotton on research into how flies orientate and complete their huge migratory journeys!
#insectmigration
@flygirlNHM @Buzz_dont_tweet @DipteristsForum
📢NEW PAPER! Authored by the CEC's Richard Massy & Karl Wotton @KoralWotton on the efficiency of various modes of time compensation for the movement of the sun during migratory journeys. Biology Letters (2023) doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.03…
Photo Credit: @WillLeoHawkes
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
Some of the potential butterfly migrants of the Indian Ocean?
#InsectMigration #Maldives
@EcosystemsInSky @WillLeoHawkes @zanderhayward
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
After charging into one of the very few freshwater lakes on the Maldives, we found what we were looking for! A globe skimmer dragonfly, Pantala flavescens! Look at her huge wide back wings, perfect for soaring from India to Africa like a small Albatross.
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
Gorgeous Maldivian sunsets at our moth trapping site for migrating insects!
@JSUHedlund @zanderhayward @UniExeCornwall
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
The most beautiful bee I have ever seen in real life!
!!! This is a windowed carpenter bee, Xylocopa fenestrata. With his blue eyes matching the Maldivian sea!
They also have a very interesting distribution right across the Indian Ocean... Perhaps a migrant too?
@zanderhayward @JSUHedlund
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
We have seen just a few globe skimmers, so no massive migratory influx yet... BUT they have been seen north of us 2 days ago, so they should be here soon! 🤞🤞🤞
#insectmigration #Pantala
@WillLeoHawkes @zanderhayward
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
This little lion carpenter bee from the Maldives is a Xylocopa pubescens ( I think). He has amazing green eyes!
These bees have special pheromones to mark which flowers they have just visited - ensuring their foraging is as efficient as possible. – at Maldives
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
This is a gorgeous female Xylocopa pubescens (I believe) from the Maldives. Look at that beautiful yellow thorax!
These are social creatures with 1 reproductively active female per nest.
The other females are all either foragers or guard bees! This one is a forager.
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
A giant has fallen. Sea levels has risen about 30 m in the last 20 years in the Maldives, a country where most land is just barely above water. When land is lost here, the palm trees that tower the beaches, fall. It makes climate change very apparent
#Maldives
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
Fishing the sky! Back from a thrilling 3-week journey aboard #NationalGeographicExplorer in #SouthAmerica studying insects dispersing over the sea and the #AmazonRiver
@LindbladExp @NatGeo @InsideNatGeo @IBB_botanic @CSIC #InsectMigration #Biodiversity #Research
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
This is Xylocopa tenuiscapa, narrow-scaped carpenter bee. He has big blue eyes and sits atop a perch surveying his territory, which can be handed down through generations of bees!
His big front legs are for covering the female's eyes while mating so she doesn't get distracted! – at Maldives
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
If you are interested in migration, read this fascinating thread linking birds, insects & weather!
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
Led by new PhD Matt DeSaix, our latest paper uses advanced low-coverage whole genome sequencing (lcWGS) to uncover the intricate migratory connectivity patterns of American Redstarts 📷 This helps us craft conservation strategies to preserve both numbers and genetic #Diversity
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
Black-tailed skimmer / Större sjötrollslända / Orthetrum cancellatum
Loe bar, Cornwall
#dragonfly #trollslända
EcosystemsInTheSky retweeted
After ~7 yr of work, it's finally out! We present a molecular phylogeny of butterflies sampling >90% of genera & >2000 spp. Butterflies emerged ~100 million yr ago in North America and first fed on legumes. Thanks to all 87 co-authors from 28 countries! rdcu.be/dcaVU
