Clearing Places Available!!!

****Update 14:20****

We still have places on all courses but getting very limited. Most places left on Environmental Biology

We have a small number of clearing places available on all of our degree programmes:

BSc Biological Sciences
BSc Environmental Biology
BSc Animal Behaviour and Welfare
BSc Conservation Biology

And visit our new school webpage. If you want to apply, visit our clearing pages.

We'll keep these updated throughout the day.......

My Andean Adventure

by Nick Holmberg

Discovering the beautiful ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.

When I heard there was a possibility of going on a work placement in Ecuador and Peru, I knew it was something I had to do. The prospect of discovering a new country, a new culture and more importantly, working in natural habitats that I had never seen before was too exciting to pass up. Paul Ramsay, my supervisor and coordinator of the trip, explained that my work would consist of several short placements with various organisations and NGOs, allowing me to gain experience in different fields. So I packed my bags and boarded a plane to the other side of the world!

As soon as I arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, I realised that South America was very different to any other country I had ever been to and that the next 8 months were going to be unlike anything I had ever experienced before!

Spotlight on Conservation Biology

Our Conservation Biology degree does exactly what it says on the tin! From a theoretical basis in the science of biodiversity and biology the course teaches you about how we can help to conserve and maintain biodiversity on the planet from conserving species threatened with extinction to managing and restoring ecosystems for biodiversity. Plymouth is in an excellent position geographically and we make use of the wide range of natural laboratories on our doorstep as well as our excellent teaching laboratories and facilities. Click here to get much more information on the course starting in September 2013.

Hasta la vista México!

Crimson-patched Longwing (Heliconius erato petiverana)
[Photo: Paul Ramsay]

Conservation biology students have now returned from Mexico after a great field course. Highlights included:

• Several days in the Dr Alfredo Barrera Marin Botanical Garden, identifying forest trees and observing spider monkeys, iguanas, and a host of others organism
• Forest survey in mahogany plantations and hurricane-damaged natural forest
• Environmental impacts in Mahahual, a tourist hotspot on the coast
• A boat trip among the mangroves of Laguna Guerrero searching for manatees (none seen this year, but lots of dolphins)
• Experiments on the aggressive behaviour of acacia ants, Pseudomysrmex
• Observations of leaf-cutter ants
• Mayan ruins for bird watching (and a display from noisy howler monkeys)
• The largest zoology museum in tropical Mexico and a close look at stingless forest bees at ECOSUR’s research facility
• A day off with sun, food, beer and the largest stromatolites on Earth in the Laguna Bacalar 
• Two piñatas: one as a late New Year’s Eve celebration, the other for a birthday!

Plymouth in January can hardly compete with tropical Mexico for biodiversity and colour, but at least we have our experiences and photos!

Mangrove ecology at the beach
[Photo: Paul Ramsay]

Bird-watching in Laguna Guerrero
[Photo: Paul Ramsay]

The new EEB blog!

The beach at Puerto Morelos.
[Photo: Paul Ramsay]

It's taken me a while to get round to this, but here is the new blog for the Biological Sciences  Group (BSG) at Plymouth University. It's a space for staff and students to tell each other, and visitors from outside our group, what's happening. Staff will be able to post news and events directly, but students will need to ask one of  the staff to post things on their behalf--at least initially. We will review this as the blog develops.

Of course, a blog only works if we fill it with interesting things: news, stories, photos, videos, achievements, and anything else that makes sense. The blog belongs to us all, so I hope we get lots of contributions from staff and students. Don't be shy!

Some of us will miss the usual New Year's Eve celebrations this year, because our field course in Mexico leaves early. I will be at Gatwick Airport in London as 2012 arrives. But to cheer myself up, and maybe lift the spirits of the others who will be at the airport with me, I thought I would post something from a previous trip. Although we will have this beach next to our hotel, we will be celebrating New Year (a day later than everyone else) in the Botanic Gardens in Puerto Morelos. It should be a night to remember. I'm guessing we will be posting some photos here sometime soon...

A giant huntsman spider in Puerto
Morelos Botanic Gardens.
[Photo: Paul Ramsay]

And if we get bored with the party, we can always step outside and enjoy another kind of nightlife, like this giant huntsman spider! It hunts its prey at night, relying on stealth and speed rather than a web. Quite often, it sits and waits on plants, particularly on flowers and tree trunks, and attacks unsuspecting prey. It's impressive, but not dangerous for us humans--though I didn't put my fingers in its chelicerae!

I hope all of you find something of interest here in the future. Welcome and come back soon!