Beaches in Barcelona’s metropolitan area unexpectedly act as butterfly reserves

The third report of the mBMS, Barcelona’s Metropolitan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, contains some unexpected findings: the beaches in Barcelona’s metropolitan area are not only inhabited by butterflies, but by butterfly communities unlike those found in the local parks. This means that the beaches act as reserves for certain species of butterflies. Some species found in only relatively small numbers in parks are more abundant at beaches, making such seaside environments especially important for biodiversity conservation in the metropolitan area.

àrea metropoltana de barcelona @es Biodiversitat urbana Butterflies Ciència ciutadana Citizen science Joan pino Lepidòpters Papallones diürnes Papallones urbanes Parcs i jardins Platges

Heatwaves deaden the beat of central Europe’s trees

Close your eyes and think of the most solid living organism you know of. Did you think of a tree? Trees are solid, still, and impervious to the passing of time, right? Well, wrong actually. In reality, the trunk of a tree beats: it shrinks in the daytime due to water loss and swells at night as it rehydrates via the tree’s roots. That beat, according to a study published recently in Nature Communications, is weakened by heatwaves.

Aigua Arbres Climate change Forest Rafael poyatos

CREAF and Javier Royo launch #insciencetoo, a campaign to highlight gender inequality in science

“Ah, right, so you’re in charge?" The question and the look of surprise speak for themselves. The researcher cannot believe what he has just found out: that the leader of the new international research project he is taking part in is a young woman. This real-life experience and others like it have prompted a campaign with the slogan“It happens in science too”, which CREAF is set to launch this week to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

11f Dona i ciència Gender Gènere Institucional Institucional Institutional Women and science