| Hi Everybody,
This is my second News Digest. Thank you for reading! |
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| Let’s work together to keep out rats! EwA’s Rat Poison Brigade protocol helps us to advocate for our local wildlife by recording harmful rat poisons. We can also help by encouraging our communities to use other methods to mitigate rodents instead. The city of Boston regularly updates this site with tips for how to reduce the rat population. It recommends keeping trash in closed containers, and making sure to put it out as close to collection day as possible. Sealing up holes in your walls and reducing standing water and debris can also help keep rats out of your home. To report rodent sightings, call 311 or use the Bos: 311 app. The city also recommends that neighbors work together to educate each other about best practices, making pest remediation a community effort! |
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| | 📸 An example of poorly managed trash. | Credit: City of Boston |
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| | | 📸 Blue Jay, Hybrid, and Green Jay | Credit: Travis Maher, Brian R Stokes, Dan O'Brian, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |
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Citizen scientist finds hybrid of Green and Blue Jays. After a Texas homeowner posted a photo of a strange looking Jay in May 2023, scientists were able to track down and confirm the hybrid individual. After performing a genetic analysis and analyzing range data gathered using the eBird app, they published this study. This is the first known sighting of a hybrid between Green and Blue jays in the wild. The Green Jay’s range has expanded north due to climate change, allowing this to occur. |
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| European wasps found in oak galls in the United States. Many different species of wasps lay their eggs in oak trees, causing the tree to form a lump or gall around the developing wasp. These galls then become targets for parasitoid wasp species, who lay their eggs in the gall, killing the larva inside. A recent study has identified two species of parasitoid originating from Europe in oak galls across the US. Researchers have determined that the species was introduced at least two separate times, although they are not sure yet if they will cause harm to native species or not. |
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| | 📸 Two of the introduced wasp species | Credit: Journal of Hymenoptera Research |
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| | | 📸 A vernal pool in Maine | Credit: Maine Audubon Staff |
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Maine bill increases protection for vernal pools. Vernal Pools are bodies of water that fill and empty based on the season. They are incredibly important for local amphibian populations, serving as vital breeding habitats for them. EwA has identified and monitored multiple Vernal Pools. A bill recently passed in Maine that enforces a 100 foot zone around Vernal Pools where humans cannot develop the land. It also closes a loophole in the law that previously allowed human development to encircle a Vernal Pool. This bill is a promising step forward in protecting New England’s wildlife! |
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| New study takes slow motion video of snake strikes. In a recent study, scientists studied 36 different species of snakes in three different families to see what their bites looked like in slow motion. The scientists tempted the snakes to bite warm medical gel on a stick, then took slow- motion video of the results. They found out that different snake species have different striking strategies. Investigating these different strategies may help future researchers gain a better understanding of snake evolution. |
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| | 📸 Credit: Oliver Neuman via Wikimedia Commons |
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| | - SophieEarthwise Aware | Spring Intern |
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