The project 'Conservation Biology in Europe'

Join the  Εrasmus Intensive Program Greek Summer School-2011 !

The project “Conservation Biology in Europe: building a coherent strategy for the future” is an ERASMUS Intensive Programme (Erasmus IP), in the field of natural environment and wildlife conservation, funded by the State Scolarship Foundation IKY. University professors from six University Departments in Greece, Denmark, Germany, Italy and UK will combine their expertise to offer a high quality multidisciplinary two-week programme to 15 undergraduate students in the rapidly evolving field of conservation biology. 

Zombie ant fungus: four species not one

10/03/2011 

 
Takes over ants' brains before sprouting through their headsMarch 2011: A bizarre so-called zombie ant fungi which takes control over the minds of ants before killing them and sprouting from the insects' heads, has been found to be four separate species, rather than the one originally thought.
The four species, which infect carpenter ants in the Brazilian rainforest, have been discovered and described by David Hughes and Harry Evans, after they noticed a range of different looking fungi emerging from ants' heads.
The fungus can infect an ant, take over its brain, and then kill the insect once it moves to a location ideal for the fungus to grow and spread their spores.
‘It is tempting to speculate that each species of fungus has its own ant species that it is best adapted to attack,' Hughes said. ‘This potentially means thousands of zombie fungi in tropical forests across the globe await discovery.'
'The fungus makes ants travel a long way in the last hours of their lives'In a parasitic death sentence worthy of a B-movie horror story, the fungus turns carpenter ants into the walking dead, gets them to die in a spot that's perfect for the fungus to grow and reproduce. Once infected by the fungus, an ant is compelled to climb down from the canopy to the low leaves, where it clamps down with its mandibles just before it dies.
‘The fungus accurately manipulates the infected ants into dying where the parasite prefers to be, by making the ants travel a long way during the last hours of their lives,' said study leader David Hughes.
After the ant dies, the fungus continues to grow inside it. Hughes and colleagues found that the parasite converts the ant's innards into sugars that help the fungus grow. But it leaves the muscles controlling the mandibles intact to make sure the ant keeps its death grip on the leaf. The fungus also preserves the ant's outer shell, growing into cracks and crevices to reinforce weak spots, creating a protective coating that keeps microbes and other fungi out.
Scientists have yet to discover how they exert such control over their hosts.

Amazing Species; Leptocereus quadricostatus

The Sebucan, Leptocereus quadricostatus, is listed as "Critically Endangered"on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This large, scrambling cactus was originally thought to be endemic to Puerto Rico, but another small population has recently been discovered on Anegada in the British Virgin Islands.

Cucumber Plant Time Lapse HD

International Year of Forests 2011

 

The International Year of Forests 2011 (Forests 2011) logo is designed to convey the theme of “Forests for People” celebrating the central role of people in the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of our world’s forests. The iconographic elements in the design depict some of the multiple values of forests and the need for a 360‐degree perspective: forests provide shelter to people and habitat to biodiversity; are a source of food, medicine and clean water; and play a vital role in maintaining a stable global climate and environment. All of these elements taken together reinforce the message that forests are vital to the survival and well being of people everywhere, all 7 billion of us.

Ecology by Robert E. Ricklefs

In the decade since the last edition of this classic text, vast changes have occurred in the ecological landscape.  There is increased awareness of the importance of scale, the role of disturbance, the necessity for conservation, the potential for restoration, and the power of genetics in understanding relationships among organisms.  Building on traditional foundations—evolution and adaptation, energy flow, population and community interactions, and behavioral ecology—the new edition of Ecology emphasizes modern concepts

Orchids of Greece

The self-sowing (wild) orchids are amongst the most admired plants of the world, with the Greek species numbering almost 200. Of these, a little more than half belong to the Ophrys genus, the only one in which the attraction of insect pollinators is accomplished through the sexual deception of certain species of male insects. The biological specialty, in conjunction with the optical result of the adaptation of the flowers so that they resemble insects, attracts the interest of biologists, botanists, photographers and naturalists. In this book, 124 species, subspecies and varieties of the Ophrys genus are presented, with descriptions which are accompanied by more than 650 photographs taken by the author and many friends and colleagues. The mode of presentation, with comparisons between similar species, emphasis on the main characteristics and photographic documentation of the above, defines the character of the book which constitutes a monograph on the genus and, at the same time, a useful field guide. It is also an aspiration that this book will constitute the basis for a better knowledge of the Greek selfsowing orchids, amongst which are some of the most beautiful and rarest species in Europe. This would have, as its consequence, the demonstration of the need for their protection and for their designation as an important component of our natural wealth. link