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Natterjack Toad
The natterjack toad (''Epidalea calamita'') is a toad native to sandy and heath (habitat), heathland areas of Europe and the United Kingdom. Adults are in length, and are distinguished from common toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back and parallel paratoid glands. They have relatively short legs, which gives them a distinctive gait, contrasting with the hopping movement of many other toad species. Natterjacks have a very loud and distinctive mating call amplified by the single vocal sac found under the chin of the male. Life history Natterjacks live for up to 15 years, and feed mainly on insects, especially beetles. At night, they move around open terrain with sparse vegetation, and their tracks can often be seen in loose sand. They move considerable distances each night, enabling the species to colonize new habitats very quickly. Reproduction The natterjack toad spawns between the end of April and July, laying strings of eggs in shallow, warm pools. Because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontology, paleontologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist, herpetology, herpetologist, and ichthyology, ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, he distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science, publishing his first scientific paper at the age of 19. Though his father tried to raise Cope as a gentleman farmer, he eventually acquiesced to his son's scientific aspirations. Cope had little formal scientific training, and he eschewed a teaching position for field work. He made regular trips to the Western United States, American West, prospecting in the 1870s and 1880s, often as a member of United States Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey teams. A personal feud between Cope and paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh led to a period of intense fossil-finding competition now known as the Bone Wars. Cope's financial fortunes soured after failed mining ventures i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derrynane
Derrynane, officially Darrynane (), is a small village in the civil parish of Kilcrohane in County Kerry, Ireland. It is located on the Iveragh peninsula, just off the N70 national primary road near Caherdaniel on the shores of Derrynane Bay. History A dolmen (or Stone Age passage grave) in the area may date from 3000 BC. Around Derrynane, sites dating from 2000 BC, are associated with the Beaker people who were mining for copper in the area. Saint Fionan founded a monastery in the area in the 6th century. In the 18th century, Derrynane harbour became a thriving centre for trade with France and Spain. Places of interest Derrynane is the site of Derrynane Abbey and Derrynane House. The latter was the home of Daniel O'Connell and is now a National Monument and part of a 320-acre (1.3 km2) national historic park. Staigue Fort, one of Ireland's finest examples of an ancient ringfort, is located approximately 7 kilometers east from Derrynane. Another stone ringfort, Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandscale Haws
Sandscale Haws is a national nature reserve on the Duddon Estuary, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the National Trust. Resident species include the natterjack toad. Industrial history Sandscale brick and tile works appears on the 1850 Ordnance Survey map. The Sandscale Mining Company was formed in 1877 by members of the Millom & Askham Company. The lease was signed by the then landowner Thomas Woodburne. Thomas Woodburne also built Sandscale cottages in 1882, which were rented to the mine captains. The mines were taken over by Kennedy Brothers in 1893 and worked until 1905 but the pumps were kept running at Sandscale No2 to assist at Roanhead. The steam pumping engine was replaced by an electric pump in 1928. The headgear was removed and the shaft covered in 1937.CRO, Barrow BD/BUC/58/1 Myles Burton Kennedy trained the local yeomanry here, the range can be seen on the 1905 OS map. During the war, the dunes were used as a decoy site and several brick structures remai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Walney Nature Reserve
North Walney Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve on Walney Island, England. The reserve, which has an area of 646.5 ha, is notable as a habitat of natterjack toads. It is one of the sites in the Duddon Estuary which support one-fifth of the national population of the rare amphibian. Habitats The geology of the island is the product of erosion and reworking of glacial sediments, sometimes interpreted as an esker. The reserve protects a sand dune system along with other habitats such as salt marsh and intertidal mudflats. Protection North Walney was formerly a separate Site of Special Scientific Interest, but it has been amalgamated with other SSSIs to form the Duddon Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Duddon Estuary was designated a Special Protection Area under the Birds Directive, and is now merged with Morecambe Bay. See also There is a separate nature reserve at South Walney, managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Cumbria Wildlife Trust is a wildli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ainsdale
Ainsdale is a village near Southport, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Sefton district, in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire, at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census it had a population of 12,723. By the time of the 2011 census, only figures for Ainsdale (ward) were available. It makes up the southern edge of the town, separated from neighbouring Formby by RAF Woodvale. The village and roads leading to the beach are middle class areas, with some new modern developments around the station, including the addition of the private estate Village Row in 2006, and the Belway estate in 2013. History Prior to 1600 Ainsdale was listed in the ''Domesday Book'' as ''Einulvesdel''. Deriving from Old Norse name ''Einulfsdalr'', this apparently was the valley occupied by a Scandinavian by the name of Einulf. 1600–present Ainsdale formed part of Sir Cuthbert Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoylake
Hoylake () is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the built up area had a population of 5,315. In the nineteenth century, the town grew up around the small fishing village of Hoose (), a settlement that was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 within the Hundreds of Cheshire, Hundred of Wirral Hundred, 'Wilaveston' (Historic counties of England, historically part of Cheshire). The town takes its name from 'Hoyle Lake', a nearby channel of water out towards Hilbre Island that provided a safe anchorage for shipping. History In 1690, William III of England, William III set sail from Hoylake, then known as ''Hyle'' or ''High-lake'', with a 10,000-strong army to Ireland, where his army was to take part in the Battle of the Boyne. The location of departure remains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Nature Reserves In England
National nature reserves in England are designated by Natural England as key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed on behalf of the nation, many by Natural England itself, but also by non-governmental organisations, including the members of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. There are 221 NNRs in England covering . Often they contain rare or nationally important populations of species, such as birds, plants, insects, reptiles and mammals. Spotlight NNRs Natural England has selected 35 as ''spotlight reserves'': Spotlight Reserves [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat regions covered with wind-swept sand or dunes, with little or no vegetation, are called ''Erg (landform), ergs'' or ''sand seas''. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, but most kinds of dunes are longer on the wiktionary:stoss, stoss (upflow) side, where the sand is pushed up the dune, and have a shorter ''slip face'' in the lee side. The valley or trough between dunes is called a ''dune slack''. Dunes are most common in desert environments, where the lack of moisture hinders the growth of vegetation that would otherwise interfere with the development of dunes. However, sand deposits are not restricted to deserts, and dunes are also found along sea shores, along streams in semiarid climates, in areas of Outwash plain, glacial outwash ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events, the word pollution generally implies that the contaminants Human impact on the environment, have a human source, such as manufacturing, Extractivism, extractive industries, poor waste management, transportation or Agricultural pollution, agriculture. Pollution is often classed as point source pollution, point source (coming from a highly concentrated specific site, such as a factory, Environmental effects of mining, mine, construction site), or nonpoint source pollution (coming from a widespread distributed sources, such as microplastics or agricultural runoff). Many sources of po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acid Rain
Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid rain has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4–5 on average. The more acidic the acid rain is, the lower its pH is. Acid rain can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the Properties of water, water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, Fresh water, freshwaters, soils, microbes, insects and aquatic life-forms. In ecosystems, persistent acid rain reduces tree bark durability, leaving flora more susceptible to environmental stressors such as drought, heat/cold and pest infestation. Acid rain is also capable of detriment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Overpopulation
Human overpopulation (or human population overshoot) is the idea that human populations may become too large to be sustainability, sustained by their environment or resources in the long term. The topic is usually discussed in the context of world population, though it may concern individual nations, regions, and cities. Since 1804, the global living human population has World population milestones, increased from 1 billion to 8 billion due to Modern medicine, medical advancements and improved agricultural productivity. Annual world population growth peaked at 2.1% in 1968 and has since dropped to 1.1%. According to the most recent Projections of population growth, United Nations' projections, the global human population is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and would peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s, before decreasing, noting that fertility rates are falling worldwide. Other models agree that the population will stabilize before or after 2100. Conversely, some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loss Of Habitat
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers. Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide. Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion, water and noise pollution are some examples. Loss of habitat can be preceded by an initial habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
