This Saturday, June 8th, is World Oceans Day, a global event coordinated by the Ocean Project and The World Ocean Network, that celebrates the important relationship between humans and the oceans.

Humpback whales travel thousands of kilometers across the oceans each year as part of their migration.

The theme of World Oceans Day for 2013 and 2014 is “together we have the power to protect the ocean”. Taking the theme to heart, ARKive has joined up with World Oceans Day as a digital conservation partner by creating a virtual scavenger hunt across the ARKive collection featuring 10 keystone species from all walks of ocean life.

Think you have the nautical know-how it takes to finish the hunt? To start you off, we’ll give you the first clue:

 ”The noises I make are whistles and clicks. I can leap out of the ocean and perform other neat tricks.”

You’ll know you’ve found the right species from the clue when you spot  our scavenger hunt mascot – the ARKive hammerhead shark Survival app hero – on the species page. By clicking on it, the next clue will be revealed until you’ve found the final species in the hunt and win!

Each winner of the virtual scavenger hunt will receive an awesome Facebook cover photo so you can spread the ocean word to all your friends. We have also created a Facebook landing page for the scavenger hunt with some tips and tricks to help you along the way. Share the page with friends and family and see who can finish the scavenger hunt first!

If you have completed the ARKive World Oceans Day virtual scavenger hunt and are looking to surf the ARKive collection a bit more, why not have a look at our rocky and sandy shore topic pages or dive into ARKive Education for some water-themed education resources? Or, check out the World Oceans Day website for a listing of hands-on events that may be happening near you.

However you choose to celebrate, the ARKive team wishes you a wonderful World Oceans Day!

Ari Pineda, Program Coordinator, Wildscreen USA

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Today is World Environment Day, an opportunity for millions of people across the globe to take positive action to help build a healthier and more sustainable world.

This year’s theme is Think.Eat.Save, an anti-food waste campaign encouraging us all to reduce our foodprint by thinking about the environmental impacts of our food choices.

The natural world is full of thrifty super-scrimpers which employ a range of food-finding and food-saving techniques to ensure they aren’t running on empty or wasting time, energy or, most importantly, food. We’ve foraged around the ARKive collection to reveal some of nature’s most frugal species and see what tactics they employ to reduce their foodprints.

Grow your own

Take a leaf out of the fungus-loving leaf-cutter ant’s book and grow your own food! These clever critters grow a patch of nutritious fungus using specially prepared mulch, which is cultivated using leaf segments that the ants dutifully collect and carry back to their garden.

Watch a video of the leaf-cutter ant gardeners in action!

Nature’s freegans

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure”. Well in this case it’s “one creature’s waste is a vulture’s treasure”! Like most vultures, the opportunistic lappet-faced vulture is primarily a scavenger, preferring to feed on the carcasses of smaller animals such as gazelles and hares rather than expending energy hunting.

Nature’s larders

If your vegetable patch has been particularly fruitful, why not follow the lead of the American pika by preserving some of your haul. During the summer months, the American pika displays ‘haying’ behaviour, whereby it collects food in hay piles on rocks or in crevices and stores it ready for winter when food is scarce.

Entomb leftovers

American burying beetles may not have freezers and Tupperware, but these intriguing insects have their own totally organic solution for preserving food! By covering the carrion in antibacterial and antifungal oral secretions, American burying beetles are able to slow the decaying process.

Digging and lining a tomb with the fur or feathers of the dead animal, the beetles bury the carcass and dig a chamber above it where the female lays her eggs. The developing larvae can then easily feed on the carrion. This takes mums leaving food in the freezer to a whole new level!

Cheek pouches – the ultimate bag for life?

Like other chipmunks, the eastern chipmunk has large internal cheek pouches which it uses to carry dry food such as nuts and seeds back to its burrow to store for the winter months. This behaviour is aptly described by the eastern chipmunk’s scientific name, Tamias, which means ‘storer’.

Chipmunks aren’t the only mammals to have facial shopping bags though! Check out this video of a cheeky monkey stealing food directly from another’s cheek pouches!

Faecal feasts

Some of nature’s herbivores have a rather unique, if slightly gross, way of ensuring they get the most from their food. Gorillas, rabbits and capybaras all practise coprophagia – the consumption of faeces. It gives these inefficient digesters of plants a second chance at gaining important nutrients. In some species such as the koala, infants eat their mother’s poo or ‘pap’ in order to cultivate important gut bacteria to aid the digestion of plant matter.

If you’ve got a strong stomach you can watch coprophagia in action with this video of a mountain gorilla making the most of its own faeces.

Hungry for more?

Find out what you can do to reduce your foodprint this World Environment Day.

Check out ARKive Education for some great resources on food chains and human impacts on the environment.

Lucie Muir, ARKive Content Manager

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Violet click beetle (Limoniscus violaceus)

Species: Violet click beetle (Limoniscus violaceus)

Status: Endangered (EN)

Interesting Fact: The violet click beetle is named for its ability to right itself by leaping into the air with an audible clicking sound.

The violet click beetle is a rare insect found only in a few locations across Europe, including just three sites in the UK. The adult violet click beetle is black with a faint blue sheen, and grows to just 1.2 centimetres in length. Like other click beetles, the violet click beetle possesses a ‘groove’ and ‘peg’ system on its underside which allows it to right itself or to leap into the air if threatened. By slamming the peg into the groove, the beetle is thrown into the air with a clicking sound. Adult violet click beetles are thought to be nocturnal and to feed on plant nectar, while their larvae live only in wood mould inside old, decaying trees, usually in large cavities in the trunks.

Although quite widespread across Europe, the violet click beetle is rare throughout its range, and has become extinct in some areas, such as in Denmark. The particular conditions it prefers are not common, and are becoming rarer as old trees are felled and removed by unfavourable forest management methods. This rare beetle is legally protected in the UK and in Hungary, and the sites where it occurs are also protected. Various conservation measures are underway to protect the violet click beetle, including preserving old-growth trees and providing artificial breeding sites by creating suitable cavities in trees.

Find out more about the violet click beetle at the Natural History Museum and The Wildlife Trusts.

Find out more about insect conservation in the UK on the Buglife website.

See images of the violet click beetle on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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So you may be a species identification wiz, but how much attention have you paid to your favourite animal’s feet? Do you know those toes? Could you spot that sole a mile off? If you get a kick out of quizzes then why not put your best foot forward and have a guess at the owners of these fancy feet.

Study each image and make sure you ‘paws’ for thought before clicking on the photo to reveal the answer!

Big foot

No clues for this easy starter – who could this foot belong to?

Cold feet?

Despite looking rather chilly these feet have a rich network of veins in the webbing that produce heat to incubate this species’ eggs – but whose feet are they?

Sticky toes

Thousands of microscopic hair-like hooks on the feet of this species allow it to walk up the slipperiest of surfaces.

Long foot

The particularly long ‘foot’ of this antipodian is specially adapted for the species’ peculiar means of locomotion.

Funny feet

These funny-looking feet belong to a water-loving species common across Europe and Asia with a closely related species widespread in North America.

Foot comb?

This little nocturnal animal spends almost all its time in the trees and, uniquely among its relatives, uses the raised nails on its hind feet for grooming.

Tiny feet

This well-known species undertakes a long north-south migration over several generations and spends the winter hanging in the trees in central Mexico.

Slimy foot

Another character with sticky feet, this animal has permeable skin and likes a moist environment.

Scaly foot

This unusual marine species deals with excess salt absorbed while eating seaweed by sneezing salt crystals.

Poison foot

This last one is a little tricky – the venomous spur at the back of the foot is a particular clue.

How many did you get right? Step up and share your score!

•  0 – 3 Pull your socks up! Your identification skills need a little work.
• 4 – 6 You’ve got your foot in the door but you need to try harder to make a real impression.
• 7 – 10 What a talon-ted individual you are! Time to put your feet up for a well-earned rest!

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Here at ARKive, we’re not just researchers, writers and website designers – we are also passionate about the natural world, and many of us enjoy getting outside and learning more about the wildlife around us.

While not writing and editing species profiles for the ARKive website, I have been busy setting up and helping to run the UK’s first national ‘Garden Bioblitz’ event. It takes place across the country this weekend (1st-2nd June) and everyone can get involved!

Hedgehogs are common garden visitors, but are in decline in the UK

What is a BioBlitz?

The idea of a BioBlitz is to bring together scientists and members of the public to identify and record as many species as possible in a particular area over a limited time period, usually 24 hours.

The first BioBlitz was held in Washington, D.C. in 1996, and since then the idea has spread across the world, with more events being added every year.

Growing nectar-rich plants can help attract bees, butterflies and other insects

Most BioBlitzes work together with environmental records centres to ensure that the data collected will have the maximum value for science. As well as collecting scientific records, the events also give the public the opportunity to learn about biodiversity, be inspired by experts, and experience their local wildlife.

Why a Garden Bioblitz?

The idea of a Garden Bioblitz came about last year when a couple of wildlife enthusiasts got together online and decided it would be fun to record the wildlife in our gardens. We had so much interest from others who wanted to join in that we decided to turn it into a national event.

The Garden Bioblitz initially ran as a trial event in 2012 and was a huge success, with more than 2,231 records entered for 966 species by just 24 volunteers. This year, the event is open to everyone, and we hope that as many people as possible will take part.

Putting out food and water can attract birds into your garden

Gardens cover a large area of the UK and are an important habitat for many native species. The only way for scientists to thoroughly survey the wildlife living in people’s gardens is through ‘citizen science’, with members of the public helping to collect this valuable information. The records collected will be made available to national recording schemes, which help researchers and local governments make conservation and land management decisions.

However, although these records are important, the main aims of the event are to get people outside, engaging with the species on their doorsteps, discovering something new, and hopefully being inspired to encourage more wildlife into their gardens. Above all, it’s about having fun!

How to take part

To take part in the Garden Bioblitz, all you need to do is choose a 24-hour period over the weekend of 1st-2nd June, then get outside and rummage through your flowerbeds, watch birds on your feeders, dip nets into ponds or crawl across your lawn to see what you can find.

Compost heaps can provide shelter for many species, including slow worms, the UK’s only legless lizards

You don’t need to be a wildlife expert or have any special skills, and you don’t even need to count for the full 24 hours. The team are interested in all records – just go out, write down what you see, take lots of photos and submit your records online. There is even a downloadable ticksheet of 20 top species to spot, for those who want a bit more help with where to begin. Or you can view some of our handy hints and tips on how to go about your Bioblitz.

Experts will be online over the weekend to help identify finds, and anyone can take part in the event, whether they have a large garden or a tiny patio – it’s amazing what you can discover when you take a closer look. And if it seems a little daunting, why not get friends, family or neighbours to join in and help out?

Lawns can be home to a surprising variety of wildflowers

Here are the five simple steps to taking part:

• Go out into your garden and see what you can find! Use the downloadable tick sheet if you’re not sure where to start.
• Take lots of photos – these can help with species identification.
• Identify your finds – you can use books, online field guides, or ask the experts on iSpot or Twitter.
• Upload your records to iRecord.
• Have fun!

Although the Garden Bioblitz is currently based in the UK, you are welcome to take part wherever you are, and to submit records to your own local recording schemes.

Let us know how you get on!

To find out more about the Garden Bioblitz and how to take part, visit the Garden Bioblitz website or follow the Garden Bioblitz team on Twitter @GardenBioblitz.

You can also find out about other BioBlitz events on the National BioBlitz website and Encyclopedia of Life – BioBlitz.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author and Garden Bioblitz team member

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