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LIFE, BUT NOT WHERE WE KNOW IT? Part 1: Life on Mars
By Dr Valerie Jeffries FLS. Are we alone ? We no longer believe that Planet Earth holds the only possibility of life, just as we know that our whole Solar System is extremely small in the vastness of space. We already recognise Mars, possibly Venus, and at least three moons of the giant planets Jupiter…
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Gilbert White: 300 year anniversary of his birth.
By Dr Valerie Jeffries FLS. Rev Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a pioneer naturalist, who collected over 40 years’ observations of the flora and fauna in the English countryside around Selborne in Hampshire. His book “The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne” was published by his brother Benjamin in…
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THE FISHES’ TALE. Part II : RESURGENCE
By Dr Valerie Jeffries FLS If you missed Part I, it’s here. Franz Witte back in Leiden could hardly believe what he was hearing on the crackly phone line from Tanzania: was his research student Ole really claiming there were dozens of Haplochromine (Haps) fish in his net ? Ole Seehausen, (who’s now a Professor…
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THE FISHES’ TALE
By Dr Valerie Jeffries FLS – FFON’s Kenya and UK correspondent Part 1: DARWIN’S OWN LAKE Lake Victoria has been a highway for trade, could become a highspot for tourists, and is an evocative presence in the literature of East Africa. But why should a Dutch biologist name his book “Darwin’s Dreampond: Drama in Lake…
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A more optimistic long view of our place in nature
By Dr Valerie Jeffries. Walking along briskly for my lockdown exercise I was watching the starlings congregate for their evening swarm on the TV aerials, and listening to quarrelling sparrows and the raucous yells of the seagulls way inland. Many birds have adapted to live alongside humans in our urban landscapes, some like the house…
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Charming Snakes by Dr Valerie Jeffries
A Seminar on Reptiles, Institute of Primate Research (IPR), Kenya A seminar on “Reptiles and Snakebite” was held at the Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Centre (KSRIC) near Nairobi on March 11th 2020, organised by Mrs Margaret Cooper and of course by Professor John Cooper, together with Dr. Atunga Nyachieo, (Chief of Research IPR) for…
