Tag Archives: Experiment

Go ladybugs

One of the subjects I work in as an ecologist is aphid population dynamics – essentially the aphid numbers going whoooohooooo out of control on a plant, or, the other way around, their colonies going all aaaargh fuck on a plant. The numbers of these prolific little buggers go up and down quite a bit,ContinueContinue reading “Go ladybugs”

Another week in ecology (2023 – Issue 1)

This week just flew by, and it literally felt like I did absolutely nothing. I was talking to my partner Heike about this yesterday evening. I explained to her that I had had a massively unproductive week, or at least that’s what it felt like to me. Then she asked me what had kept meContinueContinue reading “Another week in ecology (2023 – Issue 1)”

Friday findings – volume 7?

This week was horrible, so I excused myself and write this blog on a Saturday. I’m on day 7 of the covid ride and after feeling very sick but physically capable the first five or sick days, today the fatigue and brain fog kicked in. I feel like I’m moving through molasses and that wheneverContinueContinue reading “Friday findings – volume 7?”

Friday findings – volume 6

Trust me. I’m aware that it’s a Saturday. But I don’t care. Yesterday I wanted to write about my son’s special day. Today I want to share highlights of my week in ecology. It’s my blog – stop whining! 1) Accepted – An important paper got accepted this week. This paper is the first paperContinueContinue reading “Friday findings – volume 6”

Friday findings – volume 5

I had a jam-packed and almost overwhelming week in ecology this week. I sometimes feel like I’m doing too much and that I forget to breathe. Some of these things I can’t say no to as they are a non-negotiable part of the job description, and others I often don’t want to say no to.ContinueContinue reading “Friday findings – volume 5”

The final phase

A short post today. I spent my afternoon getting the final phase of my light pollution experiment going. In this final phase, we will investigate whether light pollution disrupts feeding by an insect herbivore on six plant species. In the picture below you can see the sleeve cages I use to keep the herbivores onContinueContinue reading “The final phase”

Finally, some growth

I always forget how long it takes for seedlings to grow. Two weeks ago, me and the team sowed a couple hundred pots with twelve different plant species. A bunch of them I had never worked with before. None of them I had germinated on soil before. This may sound odd, but in ecology it’sContinueContinue reading “Finally, some growth”

It all starts with a seed

Today was time for the next step in our latest experiment. After leaving the pots filled with field soil to acclimatize for a week, and watering them several times to reach a more homogeneous soil moisture, we sowed our experiment today. I say we, because I was helped today by two wonderful and motivated PhDContinueContinue reading “It all starts with a seed”

‘Smonday’

I recently saw this thing make the rounds on Twitter about ‘Smonday’, loosely paraphrasing, it meant the horrible feeling you get on Sunday, when you’re already worrying about the workload on Monday. I have written about Smondays many many times before, albeit I had no word for it yet. As I’m a regular experiencer ofContinueContinue reading “‘Smonday’”