Would you like to teach school students about eDNA metabarcoding in a way that goes beyond the usual explanation of just “what is eDNA”? Check out my lesson plan and activity below for a 2-hour session that works great with high school learners. I was interested in teaching 16-year-old students about eDNA sampling, eDNA extractions,…
Tag: nature
Young Science Communicator Winner
I am pleased to announce that I have won the ‘open’ category for Young Science Communicator of 2018 with NRF-SAASTA! My entry below, named “Finding fish“, illustrates our environmental DNA research through cartoon! This exciting work is being carried out in the von der Heyden lab at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, in collaboration with the Molecular Ecology…
Our South African eDNA research begins
Fish and other aquatic animals shed DNA into the surrounding water. This means that seawater is filled with the DNA of the animals living there, and this is known as environmental DNA (eDNA). Scientists have used environmental DNA to study a range of animals, from earlier eDNA studies in 2008 (e.g. on the invasive American Bullfrog),…
How does mangrove carbon offset work?
I’ve worked with some exciting initiatives, and the community-based project Mikoko Pamoja takes the hat for one of the most forward-thinking of them all. It’s a mangrove carbon offset project that’s giving back to the people. In this article, I’ll show you how mangrove carbon offsetting works, starting with the basics of why mangroves are…
Sustainable livelihoods
Today we visited the fish ponds in Makongeni, South Kenya. There is a local group in the village (90% women) who run the fish ponds. They gain benefits for the community (from selling the fish product) whilst avoiding using and degrading the local mangrove ecosystem. There are five fish ponds, with milkfish of different life…
A poem inspired by a visit to the Manchester Museum
Originally posted on Entomology Manchester:
Writing a poem seems to be a mystery for many people, and it is indeed an act of creativity by those who are able to observe the world within or around them and to perceive it in a new way. A poem can be about anything, from old love memories…
Heart Shaped Predator
Originally posted on The Natural History of Crustaceans:
Phyllolithodes papillosus Brandt, 1848 Apart from the obvious delicacy and beauty of this specimen, which overwhelmed me when I first saw it, it was actually the ‘u’ shaped depression in the middle of the dorsal side of this specimen that caught my eye. It looks spectacular and,…
ZoologyMolly 