Citizen science blog

This week we hear back from Kath Castillo, our Orchid Observers Project Officer, about what orchids you can search for in the field this month.

August is nearly here and with it the start of the holiday season, so if you are planning a walking holiday or a bit of wildlife photography in the UK, there are some stunning species on our list to look out for and photograph for Orchid Observers.

Flowering now and into late August, the Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) is a fairly large orchid with loose clusters of pink and white flowers with a white frilly lower petal. The species, which grows in wetland areas such as fens and damp dune slacks, can flower on a grand scale, with tens of thousands of plants creating a carpet of flowers. Although it may occur in profusion in some areas, the Marsh Helleborine is declining in England and Wales due to habitat loss.

A flower of the Marsh Helleborine. Photo credit: Fred Rumsey.

Marsh Helleborine photographed flowering in large numbers last summer at Berrow Dunes, north Somerset. Photo credit: Fred Rumsey.

If you are up in northern England and in north-east parts of Scotland and likely to be visiting and walking in woodland, particularly pine woods, then look out under the pine trees on the forest floor for small spikes of creamy white flowers which are very hairy! Take a look at the leaves; if the veins are distinctively net-shaped (rather than parallel as in most UK orchids) then you may well have found Creeping lady’s-tresses (Goodyera repens).

Please take a photograph and record the location and date and upload your data to the Orchid Observers website.

Creeping lady’s-tresses at Eden Valley, Cumbria. Photo credit: Mike Waller.

A similar looking species, but in another genus altogether, is Autumn lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) which is found in southern England, most commonly by the coast This small orchid has tiny white flowers arranged in a single spiral around the stem resembling braided hair, hence the common name. An interesting fact is the leaves develop in autumn and photosynthesise throughout the winter but wither before flowering – this is an adaptation to hot dry climates. Germination to flowering takes 14 years. This is a Mediterranean species that only grows on calcareous grassland with very short turf. Look out for it in late August and into September on chalk downs, fixed dunes, cliff tops and even lawns and old grass tennis courts!

Autumn lady’s-tresses at Eggardon Hill in Dorset. Photo credit: Chris Raper.

The Orchid Observers team would once again like to thank all our participants who have been out photographing orchids and collecting records from all over the country; nearly 1600 records have been submitted so far!

Kath Castillo

Kath is a biologist and botanist working as the Orchid Observers project officer and along with the Zooniverse web team developed the Orchid Observers website. She now tries to get out into the field whenever she can to find and photograph wild orchids!

This week Dr. Della Hopkins tells us about how the Decoding Nature project takes school students out on field trips and involves them in the Museum's science research.

In June, a group of ‘scientists in the making’ from Pimlico Academy joined up with a small band of research scientists from the Museum as part of a long running project called Decoding Nature. Decoding Nature is a Museum-run venture which delivers residential science courses to school children aged 8-18.

The courses take place at The Old Malthouse School near Wareham in Dorset, and combine learning with original, ongoing scientific research. Over the years the project has evolved and included a wide range of scientists with varied areas of expertise. Each course is different, ensuring that the children are taking part in cutting edge research that will be used for publication.

Amazing lichen communities on Dorset trees - a winning photo from the photography competition. Image credit: Coco from Pimlico.

For this particular course our budding scientists from Pimlico Academy were set several tasks, to aid renowned Lichenologist Holger Thues with several important research questions. The week began with an introduction to lichens and a recap on classification and how to use keys, before launching into investigations into the species composition of spice lichens; bags of mixed lichen species sold as cooking ingredients in many Asian supermarkets.

Recording the lichens on coastal trees. Image Credit: Annabel Crookshank, The Old Malthouse.

Next we took to the fields to carry out an air quality survey (designed by the OPAL project), using nine target lichen species growing on tree branches to give an indication of pollution levels. Three of these lichens are very sensitive to pollution, three are ‘intermediate’ and the final three are nitrogen-tolerant. The children’s findings were of great interest, showing that the presence of sheep dramatically altered the lichen community, with the nitrogen sensitive species nowhere to be found. Less than a mile away, by the coast, these species were flourishing.

Comparing the lichen species on trees in grazed fields. Image credit: Annabel Crookshank, The Old Malthouse.

Once they had honed their lichen-identification skills we headed out to Dancing Ledge, a beautiful area on the coast where the cliffs meet the sea. The students carried out a series of transects to answer questions about the habitat preferences of the coastal lichens, such as whether the rocks were sea- or land-facing, vertical or horizontal, and how close to the sea they were. We made some surprising discoveries, and were able to make some collections to take back to the Natural History Museum.

Making a (permitted!) lichen collection at Dancing Ledge.

Finally we used DNA barcoding techniques on a number of European and British samples of the lichen Verrucaria pachyderma. This involved working in the laboratory to extract DNA, and amplify it to a level which could be taken to the museum for the sequences to be read. This was very important work, and great care was needed with the samples. Everyone managed the task superbly, and we were successful in extracting the DNA.

Ready and prepared for DNA extraction.

Once we left Dorset, and returned to the museum, the DNA samples were sequenced. Genetic analysis of the lichens collected from Europe show that the British collections may in fact represent an entirely separate species. The next step is to expand the collection range and analyse more genetic markers, but the results so far are already a big surprise and wonderfully exciting.

Holger Thues explaining the different habitat preferences of the lichens. Image credit: Annabel Crookshank, The Old Malthouse.

The week was full of games to encourage learning, especially with the more tricky subjects such as DNA barcoding. The children entered each challenge with enthusiasm, whether they were in the lab extracting DNA, or buzzing around the field as worker bees collecting their sand pollen. We also found time to learn about other techniques used by scientists in botany (plants) and entomology (invertebrates).

To find out more, visit our Decoding Nature webpage.

You can also find out how to participate in OPAL surveys here.

Della Hopkins

Dr Della Hopkins has worked at the NHM for 6 years, and has managed the Decoding Nature project for the past 5. She previously worked on seed conservation with the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew. She studied Environmental Biology at Royal Holloway University of London, followed by an MSc in Ecology (Bangor) and her PhD from London investigated heathland conservation and restoration.

Della runs the Decoding Nature project with Dr Robert Dyer (molecular laboratory assistant).

Crystal Palace Transition Kids and Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs swab the first ever dinosaur sculptures the world had ever seen, to help us identify The Microverse. Ainslie Beattie of Crystal Palace Transition Kids and Ellinor Michel of the Museum and a member of the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs report on the event:

Looming out across the lake in front of us are dinosaurs, 160 year old dinosaurs! They look huge, ominous and exciting! These were the first ever reconstructions of extinct animals, the first animals with the name 'dinosaur' and they launched the 'Dinomania' that has enthralled us ever since.

Never before had the wonders of the fossil record been brought to life for the public to marvel at. These were the first 'edu-tainment', built to inform and amaze, in Crystal Palace Park in 1854. They conveyed messages of deep time recorded in the geologic record, of other animals besides people dominating past landscapes, of beauty and struggle among unknown gigantic inhabitants of lost worlds.

The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs were built in 1854 to inform and amaze. © Stefan Ferreira

Most people just get to look at them from vantage points across a waterway, but not us! Transition Kids (part of Crystal Palace Transition Town) and Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs arranged special access to collect data for the Museum's 'The Microverse' project. The first outing of the newly formed Transition Kids group started with art and science discovery as we decorated our field journals (every good scientist keeps a field journal full of written and sketched observations, musings and potential discoveries) and observed the subjects from afar.

Transition Kids proudly presenting their field journals. © Stefan Ferreira

Then we started the trek over the bridge, through the bushes and onto the island. Wow, the dinosaurs are huge up close! Our CP Dinosaur ringmaster, Ellinor Michel, from Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, explained to the kids about the conservation of the historic sculptures and gave an overview of the science behind The Microverse project.

The Microverse participants trekking over to dinosaurs island. © Stefan Ferreira

She introduced Dr Anne Jungblut from the Museum who developed 'The Microverse' project, which aims to uncover the diversity of microscopic life on iconic UK buildings. Anne explained what is interesting about the invisible life, called biofilms, on the surface of the dinosaurs. Our involvement in the project is trying to determine what types of organisms are living on the dinosaurs, by sampling and sequencing the DNA!

Our results will reveal whole communities of organisms, represented by many phyla of bacteria and archaea, living on each sculpture. Once we get the results back we will be able to investigate which variables affect these communities of organisms, such as substrate, compass direction and distance from vegetation. Then the Museum will compare our results with those from hundreds of other buildings throughout the UK, to look for broader patterns in microorganism ecology. We look forward to meeting again with the scientists to discuss what our results show.

Transition kids collecting samples from the surface of one of the dinosaurs. © Stefan Ferreira

We also took some time to explore the surface of the dinosaurs, describing the textures and patterns that had been sculpted to represent dinosaur skin. Even today, scientists are still discussing the likely skin surface of these great beasts and there is evidence to suggest that some dinos had feathers!

The children also got the opportunity to sit and contemplate the size of the dinos, to look underneath them and across the lake at the diversity of species on display. Not only did they get to see the great big creatures, but also a few living animals when terrapins popped up, dragonflies zoomed past and ducks paddled by.

Resident artist David Vallade created a set of drawings the kids could use as a visual aid for exploration. © David Vallade.

During the summer break we will take the kids who participated in the Dino DNA event to the Museum to explore the science behind 'The Microverse' a bit further, and meet more scientists researching our environment in other ways. Starting with this adventure in deep time and now, Transition Kids are planning many more adventures in Crystal Palace Park and beyond.

To find out more about Transition Kids, please email Ainslie

And to find out more about the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs visit: http://cpdinosaurs.org/

A big thank you to all of the Museum staff and local community supporters who contributed to the event.

The whole dinosaur swabbing team. © Stefan Ferreira

Jade Lauren