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Tom Gray

@ecologytom.99

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Inverness 🏔🧭
Southampton 🙏
BSc ecology and conservation. 🐾
Pursuing a career in rewilding and global, ecological restoration 🐾🌱🌍

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Some wee beasties taken from the last few weeks at work.
More common lizards encountered than a herpetologist would know what to do with 🦎. Also never appreciated just how small the hatchlings are. Very curious that they are also resting on their mothers back like that, is this common ? 🧐.

2: Featuring the smoothest toad North of the border. 🐸👌
3: Carrion beetle 🙏

4/5: 2 heavily pregnant females ready to burst 🦎🦎

6: channeling my inner beaver, building these leaky dams to slow the flow of water. Someone give me a job in wetland restoration 🦫😂.

7: Ground beetle (either C. Violaceus or C. problematicus). 🪲
8: Two- banded longhorn beetle.

9: A very speckled common frog. Their seemingly endless ability to camouflage into their surroundings is brilliant. 🐸

10: Two lizards having a catch up, whilst out running errands. taken in Ardross, Highland by @ecologytom.99

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2 years ago

As a few of you know, I haven't long been back from a week spent planting trees, with the exceptional conservation charity @treesforlifeuk. In just a week, a group of 12 became a community, filled with spirit, love, laughter and a passion for the natural world.
Together we took part in the assisted regeneration of Calendonian and Montain (montane) woods, planting over 1000 individual saplings, at +500m up, overlooking Glen Affric.

This week has been the reset that I've needed for a long time, away from technology and the stress of every day life, I was able to reconnect with myself and my love of conservation. It never fails to amaze me just how healing, time in nature can be.

What a magical adventure and a truly powerful experience, one I'll remember for the rest of my life. Scotland, I did not want to leave ya but you certainly have a piece of me ! 🌳🌲

#rewilding #naturerecovery #ecology #properconservation #rewildingpeople @rewildingaffrichighlands taken in Glen Affric - Scotland by @ecologytom.99

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3 years ago

These complex, dynamc wetlands have harnessed the February monsoon rains, the South has been subject to of late. What we have here are habitats, resources and opportunities for nature AND people.

Beavers continue to breathe life back into the landscape here and it shows 🦫.

#rewilding #beavers #naturalprocess @rewildingcoombeshead @beavertrust @rcampbellpalmer by @ecologytom.99

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3 years ago

To paraphrase godfather of ecology Aldo Leopold;
"I now suspect that just as a sheep herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear of its sheep. And perhaps with better cause, for while a ewe pulled down by wolves can be replaced in two or three years, a range pulled down by too many sheep may fail of replacement in as many decades".

Another fantastic adventure had, exploring a different part of the country. Opportunities to see and experience the local ecology...or rather lack thereof as it turned out. Unfortunately though, this is just another glacial valley among thousands, that has been wrecked by 🐑🐏. Its largely speaking, completely broken. In 5 hours, covering many miles, I only saw sheep. How sad.
There's no mistaking that these are powerfully majestic landscapes but they are from a nature perspective, on life support.

However, unlike horses, taurus, deer and wild boar (some of our native herbivores), domestic sheep, (Ovis Aries) thrive in steep, rocky, craggy landscapes, they also have no co evolution with the vegetation. Unfortunately and unlike the above mentioned herbivores, this means they are able to access far greater areas in search of food, which has a far greater grazing impact on vegetation in the landscape. The vegetation has little to no escape from the sheep, which is a huge problem for habitats like peat bogs, temperate rainforest and riparian zones.

This impact from sheep is more than visible once you get your eye in, signs are everywhere.
For instance, this valley is almost completely treeless except for this patch, where a small number have been able to get away by growing on a near vertical rock face, out of reach even from the sheeps mountain climbing abilities.

Incredibly tragic really, such landscapes have an overwhelming potential to support so much more wildlife and thus people. If only they were given the opportunity to.

#ecology #thinklikeamountain #brokensystems #nationalparksaremorethansheep #natureonlifesupport taken in Lake District by @ecologytom.99

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3 years ago

A fantastic example of habitat complexity, which is essential for supporting a greater diversity and abundance of animals and plants.

But what is going on here ?🧐

The habitat comprises a mixture of heath, meadow grassland and bog. A scrub layer of oak, scots pine, silver birch and gorse can be seen intermittently. Cattle and horses on the forest help maintain areas of open canopy savanna scrub by grazing/browsing and trampling plants over.

Iconic animals such as adders, nightjar, lapwing, curlew, cuckoo and dartford warbler can be found here this time of year. taken in New-Forest-Nationalpark by @ecologytom.99

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3 years ago

Within sight of Londons sprawling metropolis exists an emerald, where nature can thrive and people can explore, even escape the stresses of the rat race.

At Richmond, waterfowl like Greylag geese can rear their offspring in the warmth of the summer sun. Acorns can germinate in to saplings and have the opportunity to grow tall into mature and veteran trees, supporting all manner of species as they age.
At Richmond kestrels hover, buzzards ride thermals and our largest extant wild land mammal the Red deer, still go about their business in the savanna scrub.

Nature can still thrive, if its given the opportunity and space to do so.

#spacefornature #ecologylife #wildlife taken in Richmond Park, London by @ecologytom.99

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3 years ago

Recently I had the pleasure of seeing my first ever wild beaver, on a farm in deepest darkest West Country. Those that know me, know I've waited years to see them and have travelled to quite a few different places in search of their activity and life breathing wetlands. They have been a passion of mine for years and it was fantastic to see how they have transformed a relatively small site in Cornwall for the better.

> New stream systems have established that were categorically NOT there before hand.
> New gravel beds for fish spawning have been exposed. Prior to the beavers, they were hidden, covered by a few feet of silt.

> The site is only a few 100metres long and yet, in times of flood, water can take up to 2 hours to leave it. That is down to the complex web of streams, water moving over new ground and ofcourse the dams.
> Between the entry and exit points of the site, nitrates have been reduced by 80%.

These are just a few of many benefits generated by the beavers here, of which there are no more than 3/4. Imagine if enclosures weren't necessary and beavers could expand naturally, scaling up benefits at a catchment scale.

Without question beavers breathe life back into wetlands, without question they will be a hugely important, nature based solution for helping to improve the health of rivers and recover wildlife, both of which benefit people as well.

#restorationecology #beavisthebeaver #beaverbeliever #rewildingscience #naturefriendlyfarming taken in Laddock by @ecologytom.99

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3 years ago

Re-meandering degraded chalk stream systems on the River Test with @wessexriverstrust assisted by @westcountryrivers.

Whilst we have been heavily constrained from conservation beurocratics and suffocating designation restrictions, we have through a collaborative effort of organisations and volunteers, managed to make a positive difference to this section of River.

The 7 Hazel structure will diversify the flow of water, adding complexity to the habitat, providing opportunities for many species to take advantage of. Overtime, sediment will build up here and natural succession will occur, allowing new river banks to form.

This work will reinstate a natural river process that have been absent here for many years, making the river more dynamic and more resilient.

#restorationecology #naturalprocess by @ecologytom.99

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4 years ago

Throwback to a wholesome moment, it's the little things in nature that are just as spectacular.

Here we see a small common frog taking refuge in the hoof print of a water buffalo, during mid summer circa. 2021 @rewildingcoombeshead

We talk a lot about megaherbivores in restoration ecology and rewilding and there are many good reasons for this.

These large animals, typically weigh in excess of 45kg, create in the landscape a complex web of habitats, through their physical presence and expressed behaviours, for different species to exploit.

Put simply, megaherbivores are crucial for maintaining biodiversity - given we are facing a global biodiversity crisis, reinstating these animals where appropriate could have seriously positive effects on nature recovery🐃🐂🦬🐎🦌🐗🦛🦏🐘🦣🐫🐪🦧🦍.🌍

#ecology #megafauna #megaherbivore #pondlife #bovid #amphibians #rewilding by @ecologytom.99

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4 years ago

A dam, the articulate wood working, It is ofcourse the work of the Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber). Breather of life, keystone species and crucially, these ones are wild (not enclosed) living.🦫

River systems that host beavers are dynamic and contribute to nature recovery. 🦫

If you aren't familiar with beavers, go and find out about them. You'll be glad you did !🦫 taken in River Otter, Devon by @ecologytom.99

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5 years ago

Grazing ecology. New Forest pony and cattle filling the ecological role of their extinct (and native) relatives the tarpan 🐎 and auroch🐂.

- the two species often roam together in semi- natural/natural settings as they faciliate grazing for each other but also for extra safety in numbers. This must be instinctive as in the UK, large, apex predators are unfortunately extinct, which is fascinating.

- cattle and horses are collectively known as megafauna, their disturbances and behaviours creates habitat complexity and variety within their ecosystem. This in turn facilitates more resources for more species to utilise, if the cattle and horses are minimally managed/semi feral/wild, they are drivers of biodiversity and if can even catalyse nature recovery.

Across Europe such species are being reinstated as central parts of regenerative farming, restoration ecology and rewilding projects🐎🐂 by @ecologytom.99

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5 years ago

The Wildcat (Felis sylvestris). One of two native feline predators to the UK, yes that's right they aren't just a Scottish species, that's simply their last stronghold. Due to centurys of intense persecution in conjunction with habitat loss and interbreeding with pet and feral cats, they are now extinct in England, Wales and functionally extinct in Scotland.

Don't let their markings, and "cute" looks fool you, Wildcats are not pet moggies.

These cats are part of a genetically valuable, captive population, set up to recover the species from the brink of extinction. One day their future relatives may well be released into England and or Scotland, reinstating a native species and making the wilderness a little more wild for us to be enriched by.

The future of the Wildcat in the UK is much brighter, thanks to the collaborative work of committed conservation organisations and their staff 🐾.

#conservation #restorationecology #rewilding #wildernationalpark #undecadeonrestoration @saveourwildcats @derekgow @rzssofficial @healrewilding @officialbiaza @eaza_official @life.lynx by @ecologytom.99

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5 years ago