What's the connection between badgers, fungi and flies ? New research, led by Dr Paddy Sleeman, of UCC's zoology department, is offering some insights on the subject, probably not one on which most people dwell for long.
Badgers have been getting a bad press. They have been blamed and continue to be blamed for bovine TB, although the evidence seems to be inconclusive. The creatures deserve a little help.
The UCC team has found that badgers may be contributing to the biodiversity of the Irish countryside and are wondering how other organisms might be affected if badgers are removed from given locations.
Phallus Impudicus, the stinkhorn fungus, is often found near badgers' setts. Its spores are spread by bluebottles and greenbottles attracted by its rotten smell. They alight to eat the gel containing the spores produced by the stinkhorn. Not to put it too indelicately, they suffer an immediate case of the runs. And so the stinkhorn is perpetuated.
Flies are also attracted to the bodies of dead badgers, and badgers tend to die in their setts. This may explain, the UCC team believes, why the fungus finds the area around the setts productive in terms of procreation. Another species, the dog stinkhorn (Mutinus Caninus), is also found near the setts.
The evidence seems to be that the much-maligned badger is playing an important ecological role. The researchers now hope to do a comparative study of the distribution of the fungus in areas where there are no badgers.
On another front Gavin Fennessy, who is doing a PhD research project in the same department, has written about the study he is conducting of the Irish robin, its nest and habitat requirements.
His study was established in 1997, to find out more about the nesting habits of Irish robins. Since then, hundreds of people from all over Ireland have taken part. Last year more than 200 nesting sites were monitored and recorded. The initial analysis has thrown up some interesting details: Irish robins don't lay as many eggs as British robins, but that aside, the species is more abundant here than in the UK.
Gavin is anxious to enlist the help of the public in his study. He can be contacted at (021) 904283 and will forward study cards to anyone willing to help.
What we do know, says Gavin, is that the robin breeding season can begin as early as December when male and females pair. Nest-building begins in March or April when the female may be seen carrying nest-building material.
Once pairing has begun, the birds defend a common territory in anticipation of the young to come. Between March and June, most of the broods are raised and an egg is laid each day, usually, until the clutch is complete.
But a word of warning to all would-be enthusiastic ornithologists. Extreme care must be taken when observing partially feathered nestlings of between eight and 12 days old. They are prone to fright, and would leave the nest in sudden and perhaps fatal alarm, if unexpectedly disturbed.