#soilbiodiversity

My Royal Institution lecture about soil biodiversity is now live on the RI's YouTube channel! What an incredible privilege to speak in the historic Faraday Lecture Theatre, and to such a wonderfully engaged and packed crowd too. Watch the video to learn about the creatures that keep our planet running: Springtails that leap faster than an eye blink, slime moulds that recreated Tokyo’s rail network, armoured mites that have gone without males for around 100 million years, and the colony of tardigrades on the Moon. Along the way, we bust some earthworm myths, look at how European earthworms are invading North America, and learn how soil life is inspiring new materials and robots. Thanks again to the Royal Institution for inviting me to speak, as part of my recent book tour for 'The World Beneath our Feet: The Hidden Life of Soil and Why it Matters to us All' (out now!). Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUQtwwgU3r4 #SoilBiodiversity #ScienceCommunication #SciComm #Soil #Science

Hello fine people of Mastodon! I'm Frank: a soil ecologist, popular-science nonfiction author, nature macrophotographer and science communicator (and a very tired new father). Through my research and outreach, I'm determined to raise awareness of the tiny organisms that keep our soils (and our world) working! Make sure you've tapped the follow button if you want to learn more about: 🪱 Life in soil 📸 Nature macrophotography 🎙️ Science communication 📚 My debut (award-winning) scientific nonfiction book 'The World Beneath our Feet' Still reading this? You're my kind of person! Fire off a question in the comments below and let's get nerdy... #Introduction #AboutMe #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Nature #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology

As a reward for putting up with all my book promotion, please feast your eyes upon this smörgåsbord of Tasmanian 'dragon' springtails! These outrageous creatures are related to the New Zealand giant springtails that I've been utterly obsessed with for the past three years. I'm so pleased that I got the opportunity to visit Hobart at the weekend to go on a dragon hunt! That's not all I saw, however: I'll be adding more photos very soon, including fluffy mites and Tasmanian velvet worms 😮 #Macrophotography #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology #Nature #NaturePhotography #Soil #SoilEcology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet

IT’S PUBLICATION DAY!! (UK) How better to spend it than at an earthworm research conference 🪱 I’m so excited to see this labour of love finally out in the world, and I really hope you enjoy it. With any luck, my infectious love for soil biodiversity will pass on to those who browse its pages. A huge thank you to everyone who has already supported the book through preorders! If you’re in the UK and Commonwealth, THE WORLD BENEATH OUR FEET is in a bookshop near you now! Coming very soon to North America and across the EU 🥰 #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #author #Nature #soil #SoilBiodiversity

Less than 3 weeks to go until the UK release of my debut book THE WORLD BENEATH OUR FEET! And only a month later, it'll hit bookshops across the US and Canada 🥰 There's still time to reserve your own copy of the hardcover (preorders are super important!), so you can enjoy it on the day of release! And if you're coming to one of my UK events, I'll very happily sign your copy. I can't stop looking at my early copies, they're just so pretty. Though I can't claim the credit for the book's exquisite presentation: the production team at Hodder Press have given everything to this - generously using gold foil to further accent the stunning cover art by Holly Ovenden. They even accommodated my last-minute request to use an earthworm illustration by the wonderful Morgane Merien for each chapter's section breaks! Reserve your copy today, and come join me on an awe-inspiring journey into the mysterious world of soil! #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Science #Nature #NatureBook #booksbooksbooks #Soil #SoilBiodiversity #Author

I recently gave a NerdNite talk about the weird and wonderful ways soil animals survive the challenges of life, and their complex (and sometimes quite romantic) love lives. I had an absolute blast, and the recording is now up on YouTube! Warning: this was an evening talk in a pub setting, so it has some adult humour and might not be for everyone. But, if you can stomach talk about slugs chewing off their own penises, and mites constructing 'love gardens' out of their own semen, then this talk is for you! LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTIGtBXEfx4 #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Nature #ScienceCommunication #SciComm #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #NerdNite #Science

The cosmopolitan 'moss' springtail (Neanura muscorum) navigating a miniature forest of fungi on a decaying log. But it isn't alone — all those transparent blobs on its body are in fact curled-up, hitchhiking nematode worms (you can see these better in the second photo)! Much like the baby mite in my last post, these tiny worms are using a larger animal to help them disperse to new environments. It's thought that this 'phoretic' behaviour might be a stepping stone in how parasitism evolved in some nematodes. Read all about the incredible ways soil animals have adapted to the challenges of life, in my upcoming book #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet, which lands just one month from now! #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Nature #Entomology #Soil

How about a cheeky bit of mite-on-mite action to help with the midweek slump? This hard-bodied oribatid mite has an uninvited hitchhiker taking it for a ride. The stowaway is a juvenile dust mite (Astigmatina), which is using a special pair of suction pads to keep it tightly clamped onto its host. It’s so well adapted for hitching a lift, that it has entirely given up on feeding during transit, with its mouthparts reduced and its digestive system effectively shut down. The baby mite will stay clamped on like this until its host arrives at greener pastures, where it will then drop off, regrow its feeding ability and eventually develop into an adult. The scientific term for this hitchhiking behaviour is 'phoresy', and plenty of soil animals do it - but mites have arguably perfected it. When you're this tiny, it really pays to outsource your means of travel! #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #SoilBiodiversity #Macrophotography #SoilEcology #Nature #NaturePhotography #Entomology #Acarology

This adorable little creature is one of New Zealand's endemic giant springtails, but it's not just ANY giant springtail... I first discovered this springtail population two years ago, living up in the few remaining patches of native forest in the Port Hills of Christchurch. This put them on the map - nobody had ever seen them near the city before, so it was a wonderful surprise to find them there! They appear a lot smaller than other members of their species that I've found elsewhere, making me wonder if they're undergoing a form of island dwarfism in the small, fragmented areas of bush. Maybe these ones aren't so 'giant' after all... #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology #SoilFauna #Macrophotography

Did you know that the European mole (Talpa europaea) has a toxin in its saliva which paralyses earthworms, their favourite food? This means that the moles can then store the paralysed earthworms in special 'larder' chambers within their burrows, where they are kept alive and fresh until later consumption. These larders have been reported to contain many hundreds of earthworms at a time! When it's time to visit their larder for a snack, these moles have a clever trick to make sure they don't consume all the unpleasant soil stuck inside the paralysed earthworm's guts... by rolling the earthworm between their front paws, they forceably squeeze the soil out of the worm, making their meal much less gritty! #SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #MacroFauna #Nature #MacroPhotography #NaturePhotography

Turn over any rotting log and you might find these beautiful structures, although you'll need a decent lens to appreciate them. Known as the common coral slime (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa) based on its coral-like appearance, this slime mold species is truly cosmopolitan, with a global distribution (this photo was taken in New Zealand). The common coral slime was first described in 1729 by Pier Antonio Micheli, the Italian botanist who discovered fungal spores and is considered the 'founding father' of mycology — the branch of biology which concerns fungi. #SoilBiodiversity #Mycology #Fungi #SlimeMolds #MacroPhotography #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet

It's only two months now until the UK/Commonwealth and EU release of The World Beneath our Feet, and the US release is just a month after that! It's all feeling very real all of a sudden. I'll be back in the UK in September, with lots of exciting book promotion on the horizon. Pre-orders are SUPER IMPORTANT, so if you or someone you care about would like a book about soil and the incredible life it contains, please go reserve a copy from your preferred book seller now! (PS: It's got lots of my macrophotography in it too) #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #Soil #SoilBiodiversity #Macrophotography #Nature #NatureBook #booksbooksbooks #AuthorLife #NaturalHistory #NonFiction

Adventures of a tiny white gummy bear. When you're a springtail this smol, microfungi are perfect drinking vessels, and slime mold sporangia are towering trees. I've not been out with my camera much lately; with parenthood, work and book edits taking up all my time. But I hope to pick back up with the macrophotography very soon! New Zealand's hidden soil treasures await discovery! #Macrophotography #NaturePhotography #Soil #SoilBiodiversity #Entomology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet