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Lifestyle choice of the world's most cosmopolitan butterfly
Most painted ladies have already headed south, and new research reveals just how far these butterflies travel
The last red admirals and commas are feeding on ivy flowers in autumn sunshine and Britain’s butterfly year is drawing to a close once more.
One butterfly, though, is on the move. I’ve seen several painted ladies this month, but most have already headed south for the winter. The fate of British-born generations of painted ladies was a mystery until recently, when radar finally documented how they ascend to great heights before beginning their reverse migration.
Continue reading...Climate change is happening in your garden: here's how to spot it
As the weather warms and days lengthen, your attention may be turning to that forgotten patch of your backyard. This week we’ve asked our experts to share the science behind gardening. So grab a trowel and your green thumbs, and dig in.
Spring arrives and the warming weather encourages the plants in our gardens and parks to burst into life, commencing their annual reproductive cycle.
Plants use cues from the weather and climate to time their growth, flowering and fruiting. But as the world heats up due to climate change, these patterns are changing.
So how is climate change affecting our gardens, and what can we do about it?
In sync with climateMany temperate plants have evolved to reproduce in spring to avoid damage from extreme cold or heat. Warmer conditions tend to speed up these processes, causing plants to grow faster.
Plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to synchronise with climate. This means they are excellent bio-indicators of climate change.
We know from global assessments that most plants studied so far are behaving as we’d expect them to in a warming world. Studies in the Southern Hemisphere have found the same.
In Australia, plants in southern Australia are maturing earlier – winegrapes, for instance, by 27 days on average between 1999 and 2007. We can see this in wine growers’ records. As you can see in the handwritten chart below, wine grapes are on average maturing (measured by their sugar content) earlier.
![](https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/138900/width754/image-20160923-25464-1s4fxs6.jpg)
Other plants may behave differently. Fruit trees such as apples need cold weather to break buds from their dormant state, before commencing growth when warm temperatures arrive.
This means after warm winters, such as this one, flowering may actually be delayed. Data from a recent study show potentially delayed flowering for Pink Lady® apples, as you can see below.
![](https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/138903/width754/image-20160923-25496-1kj97by.jpeg)
In the examples above, Applethorpe had the warmest spring and flowered first, as we’d expect for most plants. But Manjimup had the second-warmest spring and flowered last, even after Huon, the coldest spring site. This seems counter-intuitive but the delay is likely because Manjimup had the warmest winter.
Do these changes matter?The earlier emergence of reproductive tissues may increase the risk of devastating frost damage. Contrary to what you might expect, evidence shows recent warming in southern Australia has not necessarily led to fewer frosts. On the other hand, plants that delay flowering because of warmer winters may reduce their frost risk.
Shifts in flowering timing, earlier or later, can be problematic for plants that rely on pollination between different varieties. Both varieties must shift flowering in the same way for flowering periods to overlap. If flowering times don’t overlap, pollination will be less successful, producing fewer fruit.
Bee and bird pollinators must also adjust their activity in sync with changes to flowering time to facilitate pollination.
Faster maturity may shift ripening into hotter times of year, as seen for wine grapes. This increases the risk of extreme heat damage.
![](https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/138901/width754/image-20160923-25476-5n7c73.jpg)
Pests and diseases will also adjust their growth cycles in response to a changing climate. One pest well known to gardeners is the Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF). Their maggots are found in a wide range of fruits.
Climate change will likely favour fruit flies. Warmer temperatures for longer periods will encourage a higher number of generations each year. Meanwhile, reduced cold weather will mean fewer fruit flies will die, increasing the flies’ survival rates.
On the other hand, temperate pests and diseases may decrease if warming exceeds their temperature thresholds.
What can you do?What have you observed? Citizen scientists who track the timing of biological events have provided valuable information, especially in Australia, for us to monitor and interpret plant responses to climate change. Keeping garden records will show if and how your plants or pests are changing their patterns.
If you observe your flowers emerging earlier, coverings can be used to protect against frost. Keep an eye on cross-pollinators – are they flowering together? If not, consider planting a different cross-pollinator.
Nets are an effective way to reduce heat damage and can also be used to protect against some pests. Setting pest traps according to weather rather than the calendar will help disrupt the first generation and reduce pest impact.
Climate change has already influenced biological responses, perhaps even in your own garden. Seeing these changes in our gardens gives us an insight into the significant challenges faced by our food production systems under a changing climate.
Adapting to current and future climate change is a reality, and is essential to preserve both the enjoyment we experience in our own gardens and the security of future food supply.
![The Conversation](https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/65730/count.gif)
Rebecca Darbyshire received funding from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.
Snow Barlow receives funding from Department of the Environment Biodiversity Fund
New data shows 'staggering' extent of great ape trade
Rosetta probe heads for comet crash
UK ‘consistently waters down’ reforms of EU farming subsidies
European commission says government chooses not to apply CAP payment ceiling to large landowners in England
The UK government could have stopped wealthy landowners including aristocrats and a Saudi racehorse owner receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds from the EU’s common agricultural policy, the European commission has said.
An investigation of the top 100 recipients of CAP subsidies in the UK last year by the environmental campaign group Greenpeace revealed that at least one in five were farm businesses owned or controlled by members of aristocratic families.
Continue reading...Strange reptile fossil puzzles scientists
EU Commission sues UK over harbour porpoise protection
Coal electricity generation falls to record UK low this spring
Closure of coal-fired power plants led to the fossil fuel dropping to just 6% of the power mix, official data shows
Coal generated a record low 6% of the UK’s electricity this spring, official figures show.
The share of coal in the power mix fell from 20% in the same period last year, following the closures of Ferrybridge C, West Yorkshire, and Longannet coal-fired power station in Scotland.
Continue reading...UK faces European court for failing to protect porpoises
UK has failed to provide enough safe habitats for the mammals, with just one small site formally proposed so far, says European commission
The UK will be hauled before the European court of justice for failing to provide safe habitats for harbour porpoises, the European commission said on Thursday.
Harbour porpoises resemble bottlenose dolphins, with small rounded heads, flat foreheads and a black-lipped mouth that curves upwards, as if smiling.
Continue reading...RSB photographer of the year shortlist and young photographer of the year winner – in pictures
Fighting elk bulls and a microscopic image of shark’s skin are among the shortlisted images for the Royal Society of Biology’s photographer of the year award, which this year takes the theme Biology: from Big to Small
The winner will be announced at the Royal Society of Biology awards ceremony on 13 October at Charles Darwin House, London
Continue reading...Young people urged for park-life views
Furniture that destroys forests: crack down on 'rampant' trade in rosewood
Cites summit moves to protect the world’s most trafficked wild product by placing all 300 species of the tree under trade restrictions
Governments have launched a crackdown on the rampant billion-dollar trade in rosewood timber that is plundering forests across the planet to feed a booming luxury furniture market in China.
The Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) summit on Thursday placed all 300 species of rosewood under trade restrictions, meaning criminals can no longer pass off illegally logged species as legitimate.
Continue reading...The Queen, aristocrats and Saudi prince among recipients of EU farm subsidies
At least one in five of the top 100 UK recipients of CAP subsidies were for farms owned or run by aristocratic families, say Greenpeace
Wealthy aristocrats and a Saudi landowning prince are continuing to reap hundreds of thousands of pounds from the European Union’s common agricultural policy (CAP).
At least one in five of the top 100 recipients of CAP subsidies in the UK last year were farm businesses owned or controlled by members of aristocratic families, an investigation by environmental campaign group Greenpeace found.
Continue reading...Mini-nuclear reactors could be operating in the UK by 2030 - report
Energy Technologies Institute argues small modular reactors capable of delivering clean power and heat could be in place by 2030 if the right policy framework is put in place, reports BusinessGreen
The first small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) could be operating in the UK by 2030 with the right government support, according to a new report from the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).
The analysis, released today by the government and industry-backed energy research body, examined the steps needed to support the first SMR in the UK and concluded a credible schedule for implementation can be set out - as long as a policy framework is developed to reduce risks for SMR developers and increase investor confidence.
Continue reading...Zimbabwe accused of preparing to ship dozens of young elephants to China
Conservationists say dozens of young elephants being captured by Zimbabwe’s government may be bound for China, rather than nearby national park
Concerns have been raised that Zimbabwe is again preparing to send dozens of young elephants to wildlife parks in China.
The government’s national park authority, ZimParks, began capturing elephants from Hwange national park in August and keeping them in pens at Umtshibi wildlife capture and relocation unit.
Continue reading...Switch disposable coffee cups for reusables, urge campaign groups
International coalition of NGOs is calling for an end to the throwaway culture after the success of a plastic bag charge shows a similar charge on coffee cups could work too
The billions of disposable coffee cups thrown away each year globally should be replaced with reusable ones because they are a waste of resources and harm forests, an international coalition of NGOs has urged.
The call comes as a study by Cardiff University said that the plastic bag charge in England had been so successful that it showed a charge on coffee cups in the UK could work too.
Continue reading...Simon Birmingham on the Adelaide storm, renewables and education funding
Meet Didik: shot and orphaned baby orangutan highlights crisis
Abandoned with a bullet wound in a local shop, an orphaned orangutan named Didik is just one of thousands of victims of the ecological destruction of Borneo
When International Animal Rescue (IAR) staff found Didik, he was emaciated and near death. The 18-month-old orangutan, who had been dumped at a local store in Ketapang, Indonesia, had a bullet in his shoulder and had very likely seen his mother killed by the same people who put it there.
“Our team deals with so many cases like Didik’s in which the baby has ended up as someone’s pet but the true fate of the mother remains unknown,” said Lis Key, communications manager for the IAR, adding that “orangutan mothers are very protective of their babies and wouldn’t let go of them without a fight.”
Continue reading...Renault says new Zoe has longest range of any mainstream electric car
Latest model’s 250-mile range will help ‘psychological barriers’ in drivers who fear running out of power, carmaker claims
Renault has unveiled a new electric car that it claims will overcome psychological barriers among drivers who fear running out of power between charges.
Launched on Thursday ahead of the Paris motor show, the latest Zoe model will have the longest range of any mainstream electric vehicle, the French carmaker said.
Continue reading...Shoppers in England now far more likely to use their own bags
Study finds a rise in the number of people carrying their own bags since the introduction of a 5p charge on plastic bags nearly a year ago
Shoppers in England have become much more likely to take their own bags to the high street since the introduction of a plastic bag charge nearly a year ago, a study has found.
More than nine in 10 people now often or always carry their own bags, up from seven in 10 before the 5p charge came into effect, and the public became much more supportive after it started. The number of plastic bags taken from supermarkets and big retailers in England has fallen by 85%.