Tag: citizen science
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Lights Out: Can We Stop Glow-Worms and Fireflies From Fading Away?
Overview: A twilight drama in the Somerset hedgerows As dusk settles over Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset, a quiet, twinkling drama unfolds beneath the hedgerows. Green sparks of light—tiny female glow-worms and their firefly cousins—signal a last-ditch mating season. These nocturnal creatures have long captured human imagination, but their numbers are dwindling in many regions. The question…
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Lights out: Can we stop glow-worms and fireflies fading away?
Why the lights are dimming for glow-worms and fireflies In pockets of Britain, the soft green flicker of glow-worms and the twinkling of fireflies mark summer nights with a hint of magic. But across many landscapes, those lights are fading. Ecologists warn that habitat loss, light pollution, pesticides, and climate fluctuations are shrinking the numbers…
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Lights out: can we stop glow-worms and fireflies fading away?
Introduction: A twilight crisis for glow-worms and fireflies As night falls across temperate landscapes, a delicate, bioluminescent drama unfolds. Glow-worms and fireflies light up hedgerows and meadows, signaling mates and maintaining essential ecological connections. But around the world, these luminous insects are fading away. From the hedgerows of Somerset to equivalent habitats in other regions,…
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Siddharth Patel: A 12-Year-Old Champion of Dark Skies
Meet Siddharth Patel: A Young Advocate for Dark Skies In a world where city lights outshine the night sky, one 12-year-old from London, Ontario, is proving that a dark sky is still within reach. Siddharth Patel earned international recognition for a breathtaking Milky Way photograph snapped far from the glow of urban lights. His win…
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Siddharth Patel: The 12-Year-Old’s Milky Way Photo Shaping the Dark-Sky Conversation
Meet Siddharth Patel: A Kidmaker of Night-Sky Change When most city dwellers look up, the Milky Way isn’t something they expect to see. But for 12-year-old Siddharth Patel, the night sky became a canvas for discovery—and a platform for advocacy. A student from London, Ontario, Siddharth captured a moment of astronomical wonder that earned first…
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Milky Way Photo Wins: Siddharth Patel, Canadian Dark-Sky Advocate
Meet Siddharth Patel: A kid with big dreams and a brighter night sky In a world where city lights streak across the night, one 12-year-old photographer from London, Ontario, proved that a clear night sky is still within reach. Siddharth Patel’s image of the Milky Way, captured far from the glare of urban lights, earned…
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Instagram Clues: How Selfies Help Track Invasive Carpobrotus Flower Patterns
Overview: Social Media as a Tool for Invasive Species Monitoring What happens when a beach selfie becomes a scientific data point? A global team of researchers has shown that Instagram photos and other citizen-science uploads can reveal how Carpobrotus species—better known as ice plants or sour fig—flower across invaded coastal regions. By analyzing more than…
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Instagram Photos Reveal Invasive Carpobrotus Flowering Patterns
Uncovering the truth behind a coastal floral carpet When vacation photos capture the vibrant carpets of pink and yellow that blanket cliffs from California to the Mediterranean, they appear as simply picturesque scenes. Yet for coastal ecologists, those same images are data streams revealing how Carpobrotus, commonly known as ice plants or sour fig, is…
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Instagram photos help scientists track invasive plant flowering patterns
Facebook photos, beach selfies, and scientific discovery What looks like a vibrant coastal postcard may be hiding a ecological alarm. Scientists have turned everyday Instagram selfies and beach shots into a powerful data stream, revealing how Carpobrotus, commonly called ice plants or sour fig, is flowering longer and spreading into new environments across multiple continents.…
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Carpobrotus Invasion Tracked by iEcology: Longer Bloom
Tracking an invasive coastline plant with social media A recent study led by researchers at the University of Galway shows how a bright, holiday-photo staple—the carpobrotus plant—plays to its advantage in invaded regions by flowering for a longer period than in its native South Africa. Using more than 1,700 photos from Instagram and citizen science…