OU ecologists will examine bugs at UK music festivals this week to celebrate the centenary of the British Ecological Society. They form part of a team from the University of Exeter, Imperial College and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
The team, which includes Dr Emma Sayer and Dr Will Gosling at The Open University’s Ecosystems and Biodiversity Group, will take a wildflower-meadow-themed stall called Sex & Bugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll and begin their tour at Wychwood Festival this week (31 May).
The OU Ecosystems and Biodiversity group is at the forefront of research into ecosystems development globally and conducts research into the process understanding of the Earth’s life support system. Dr Emma Sayer believes that in order for people to understand the wider implications of climate change, they need to understand conditions on their own doorstep.
“We are taking our stall around the country to show people that research can be fun,” said Emma. "I study ecosystems and look at how plants and soil microbes interact which ultimately leads to looking at the effects of climate change on how the parts of an ecosystem behave.”
Emma and her team will encourage people to bring plants and insects they find around the site to the stall and one of the team will identify the organism and keep a tally of the species found, with photos of the most commons ones. Festival-goers will also be invited to the ‘swab throne’ to take a swab of their boots, feet, rucksack, etc. This will be applied to a labelled agar plate, sealed, and cultured overnight. The participant will be invited to return the following day to see how 'gross' their festival kit really is. Photos of participants and/or their ‘cultures’ will be displayed on a ‘grossometer’ scale.
“What most people don’t know is that there are more microbes on your hand than humans on the planet; that there is more bacteria on earth than stars in the known universe and more bacteria in our digestive system than human cells in the body,” said Emma. “I compare ecology to a massive jigsaw puzzle and like a jigsaw, ecosystems are all connected and if you take one bit away, it can all collapse. The fascinating fact for me is we never quite finish the puzzle.”
For further information about Sex & Bugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll
For further information about Emma’s research