smeepsmorp

he/him dni tomfools and sinister folk of that ilk…… aspiring ecologist/conservationist :)

[smeep-smorper]

intro!!! bevause i keep forgetting to make one lets goooooo

————————————

hi there!!!! i go by many names and whatever u feel fit is fine, but smeep works :) most of what i post here is rants, fun facts, attempts at humour and the occasional art. im not super active here and im unfortunately very locked in irl so don’t expect much

im into a lot of stuff, namely birdwatching, art, most zoology related sciences and some others (ecology, zoology, marine biology) , wof and wcue although as of late im getting into freediving and avatar as well :) if you’re also interested in any of this PUHLEASE do not be afraid to moot me 🙏🙏

passionate brumby/feral horse hater and native marsupials and birds lover. I take a lot of interest in random conservation topics that otherwise I have zero interest in (DONT (do) talk to me about the proposed gordon-below-franklin dam)

ummmmmm idk what else to put here …..

[herpsandbirds]

Plains-Wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus), female, family Pedionomidae, order Charadriiformes, found in QLD and NSW, Australia

ENDANGERED.

photograph by Indra Bone

[mostly-bug-blog]

loach business: extended edition

[smeep-smorper]

them and their blanket :)

[anabantoid]

hello my. thing.

[shrimp-propaganda]

worms on a string

[killerqueenofficial]

Behold, unrelated worm on a string

[lazer-t]

A pigeon crosses your dash

[deangril]

just two bros scooting over to each other

[galacticsabc]

Two of Us

[ghstwht]

I heard you guys love PHM x Artemis II content...

[tabris-the-seventeenth-angel]

HEARTBREAKING: friends who i should be going to the movies and playing dnd and watching anime and cosplaying and going to the mall and having sleepovers and exploring the woods with live one hundred trillion miles away

[marine-gifs]

A Norway lobster passes a sea pen. Filmed in Norway. From Wild Skagerrak (2016).

[consumedbyachillesinthewomb]

I was listening to this song in my car this morning and had a fucking brain blast and had to make this as soon as I got home from work.

[christianbalesasshole]

scene that shouldn’t have altered my brain chemistry but did anyways

[herpsandbirds]

DNA metabarcoding improves understanding of the diet and foraging of a critically endangered grassland bird: the Plains-wanderer, Pedionomus torquatus

Daniel T. Nugent, Erin Hill, Nick Murphy & John W. Morgan

ABSTRACT

Effective conservation of threatened cryptic bird species is often inhibited by limited knowledge about their diet and foraging ecology. The critically endangered and taxonomically-unique Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus) is a small, mostly terrestrial bird that occurs on treeless plains across parts of eastern Australia. The species is highly cryptic and rarely observed foraging. Consequently, most aspects of its diet and foraging habits are poorly understood. Here, we used DNA metabarcoding to analyse faecal samples and identify important food types and seasonal food preferences of Plains-wanderers in native grasslands of the Northern Plains of Victoria, Australia. Here, we also used miniature GPS units to track movements of birds and assess the influence of food availability on habitat selection at patch-scale. We found pronounced seasonal variation in the dietary content of Plains-wanderers, indicating differences in foraging behaviour across seasons. In spring, diet was characterised by plant groups (likely seeds) including Asteraceae, Crassula and Oxalis, and invertebrates from the genus Philobota, comprising concealer moths. In autumn, diet was characterised by material from the plant genus Atriplex (saltbush). Our tracking data suggest that Plains-wanderers displayed selectivity towards native grassland patches with a higher abundance and diversity of invertebrates and seeds. Our findings highlight the flexibility of Plains-wanderer diet, including the ability to exploit native and exotic foods. We discuss the implications of these findings for habitat management and broader conservation efforts for this species, which is of significant global concern because of its high risk of extinction and evolutionary distinctiveness.

Read more:

Full article: DNA metabarcoding improves understanding of the diet and foraging of a critically endangered grassland bird: the Plains-wanderer Pedionomus torquatus

[smeep-smorper]

I love these freaks so bad

[smeep-smorper]

“why are you smiling at your phone” my friebs are in there :)

[smeep-smorper]

bear witness to photos from 20 year old dlsr

okay goodbye

[ryannklovesart]

transforming that popular fandom ship into a qpr WILL save you btw