Cat Eden

EARLY VIEW in IBIS

Seasonal, environmental and individual determinants of double-brooding in the White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) | onlinelibrary.wiley....

Noelia D. Álvarez, Peter J. Mawby, Stuart P. Sharp | #ornithology 🪶

I had fun rambling on about aquatic insects and their benefit for insectivorous birds at #EOU2025 yesterday. Going home with lots of cool bird research in my brain & joy from catching up with friendly faces 😁 (even if it does temporarily drain the life from my introverted soul) 🫠

Scarcely spotted flycatcher Why is the once-common Spotted Flycatcher becoming so hard to find in the UK? Catrin Eden profiles the stark decline of this species over recent decades and ponders what the future might hold.

Scarcely spotted flycatcher

Why is a once-common summer migrant becoming so hard to find? Catrin Eden profiles the stark decline of the UK's Spotted Flycatcher population:

A painting of a bird next to the words "when did I stop giving a fuck?"

Habitat heterogeneity from lidar and hyperspectral data: Implications for bird guilds and restoration management of coal mines | doi.org/10.1111/1365... | Journal of Applied Ecology | #ornithology 🪶

Looking for a PhD in #agroecology? Check out this position opening up as part of the www.grassbirdhabitats.eu project. Hosted by University of Groningen in collab wt University of Gaston Berger and NDC in Senegal. West African students are especially encouraged to apply!

www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...

Annual paddle in the Lake District for Barnacle Goose nest counting & monitoring. Lots of nests found, GPS'd, colour-marked adults identified & lots of eggs counted, measured, and weighed. Fun day with @cateden91.bsky.social #monitoring

Our PhD level course Ecology of Animal Migration at @biologylu.bsky.social is now open for applications! The course will run this November (3-14th) and cover various theoretical and practical aspects of migration ecology.

See: www.biology.lu.se/phd-studies/...

NEW JOB in #ornithology and #conservation to work on an ambitious #telemetry project aiming to understand #wildlife movement in human-modified landscapes: buff.ly/g2eQjP7

Bold new plan to reverse the decline in freshwater wildlife Freshwater Habitats Trust has a bold new plan to reverse the decline in freshwater wildlife within 10 years.

Today, we've officially launched the Freshwater Network: freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/news/bold-ne...: if you're interested, get in touch and we can work together.

🙌🙌🙌

I wonder if they're dragonfly nymphs and have spiky/biting parts? A bit like killing and picking the sting off a wasp... So cool that it goes to fish in the pond, wonder whether any other species have been noted doing that. 🤔

Want to be a field assistant in Sweden this summer?!

📑 Applications should include a motivation letter (1 page), a CV (detailing relevant experience), and contact information of two references. Send the above as a single PDF to b.tschirren@exeter.ac.uk by May 1st 2025.

🌍 #ExeterCEC #Internship

Thanks Rob ☺️

Female mallard with three ducklings

Any day now, ducklings will begin to appear, and we need your help to monitor them. We are asking for records of mallard broods anywhere in the UK this year to help us understand how many ducklings make it to adulthood. Submit your sightings here: citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch
Please share!

Lead author Auke-Florian Hiemstra holds the oldest known caddisfly casing containing microplastic, dating to 1971. Photo: Liselotte Rambonnet.

A caddisfly casing with pieces of blue microplastic, dating 1986. Photo: Auke-Florian Hiemstra

NEW PAPER, JUST OUT! 👀

Insects from the '70s and '80s were already collecting microplastic, decades before the term microplastic even existed. 🤯

A thread on the surprising history of this pollutant and the incredible insect larvae that helped us uncover it. 🐛

Let's dive in! 🧵👇 1/x

🧵 1/2 The fishing Wren - who knew? I'm playing in slomo so it's easier to see what's going on.
In fact the Wren is catching amphipods (happy to be corrected on species).
This shows the value of a weedy pond & providing access to it by placing branches over the surface.
@bto-gbw.bsky.social

@jeremybiggs.bsky.social unfortunately I have no current plans to try it on ponds as my PhD is up in 3 months & the opportunity is yet to have shown itself!

🤣 epic! Add it to the Duck duck goose Ltd accreditations!

So nice that we finally got to do a conference together 😍

Had a wonderful time at #BOU2025, so much cool research and awesome catching up with old and making new pals! Very nice to have received an award for highly commended ECR talk as well, a lovely confidence boost 🥰 #ornithology

🧵1/5 Freshwater ecosystems are among the most diverse and threatened, with 22% species 📉 , including the White-throated dipper.

I'm presenting at #BOU2025 today looking at environmental factors influencing freshwater system's declines using dippers as model species.

#ornithology #Conservation

🧵7/7 None of this would have been possible without the funders & multitude of people who have helped me out with expertise, land access, field work and motivation 💚

🧵6/7 A moment of appreciation for ponds!!!

Although our study was focussed on rivers, ponds present an achievable way to introduce HUFAs into a terrestrial system e.g. farmland. Future work should aim to test whether ponds can replicate the benefits seen in our study!

🧵5/7 Our results suggest that healthy functioning aquatic systems could have a positive influence on population trends and may help buffer from declining terrestrial insects... highlighting the importance of aquatic habitat conservation / restoration / creation for terrestrial species!

🧵4/7

a) EPA (an HUFA) was positively correlated with body condition in both chicks and adults...

b) Fledging success was positively correlated with the availability of aquatic insects during the nestling phase...

🧵3/7 We monitored ~120 nests in the Yorkshire Dales NP, collected blood samples from chicks & adults to assess HUFA content and monitored insect availability during 2 breeding seasons.

🧵2/7 Aquatic insects are rich in Omega-3 HUFAs, which are really important for things like brain development. So in addition to providing extra food, aquatic habitats provide higher quality food, which has been shown to improve chick growth under lab conditions.

But enough to buffer pop trends?

🧵1/7 What do massive insect crashes mean for insectivorous birds? And can aquatic habitats help?

Today at #BOU2025 I'm exploring how aquatic habitats might help to buffer declining insectivore populations, using the Spotted Flycatcher as an example.

#ornithology

Arrived in Notts with @cateden91.bsky.social ahead of #BOU2025. Looking forward to it!