The Bat with the Identity Crisis
The Bat with the Identity Crisis or “Will the real Myotis nattereri please stand up?” By Andrew Harrington. There is a misfortunate bat species that is going through a bit …
Genetics Archive
The Montado, the Mouse and Landscape Connectivity
It’s been quite a few years since I visited Portugal during my third year field trip as part of my undergraduate Applied Ecology degree in University College Cork. It …
Attraction in the World of Bats
We spend much of our lives attempting to figure out the opposite sex in the hopes that it will lead to increased opportunities to attract a mate. But even when in a relationship, looking …
Are Irish badgers a distinct subspecies?
I recently got the opportunity to contribute to an article with Allan McDevitt about the species status of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in Ireland. In this article, we examine …
The Urban Otter
The banks of our own lovely Lee are not just a pretty place for a walk, the Lee is an important place for the otter, often described as our …
The “Infallible” DNA Test
Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and pine marten (Martes martes) produce scats (faeces) that look quite similar. There are a list of rules, suggestions, smells and descriptions used by field naturalists …
The Odyssey of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat
Written by Andrew Harrington. The lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) is one of the smallest of Ireland’s nine resident bat species, weighing only about 7 grams, roughly the same as …
Timing and defining the Killarney shad
Killarney National Park situated in South West Ireland is famous for containing some unusual species that are not found elsewhere in the country including the Kerry spotted slug (Geomalacus maculosus), a …
From faeces to species: genetic identification of otters from spraints
Non-invasive genetic monitoring involves the use of DNA to survey a target species without directly trapping or observing it. The technique is particularly useful for rare, elusive or secretive …
Monitoring small mammals using predator scats
Ireland has few species of small mammals, and only some of these are native. The pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus) and the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) are considered to be …
Eye of the Tiger
A new study on the genetic structure of the Indian tiger has found that the current tiger population now only retain a small proportion of the historical mitochondrial DNA …
The Artful Badger
Last year, I published a paper with my co-authors about the genetic history of badgers in Ireland. Similar to my post last week, it appears that like the pine marten, …
Genetic heritage of the pine marten
claimtoken-5161a571ef9fe The role of the The Last Glacial Maximum and how it impacted the colonization of plants and animals in Europe is a subject that continues to intrigue scientists. …
A wolf in dog’s clothing?
When I first visited the Zumwalt Prairie, NE Oregon in 2007, wolves were still absent from the area. Wolves from the translocated population in Yellowstone were at the time expanding …
The Bug Reveal
In the words of Tyler DeWitt, “let me tell you a story”. Today’s story is about a fly, a carrion fly that eats the rotting carcasses of animals. This little fly …