Written by Claudia, Year 12
Wytham Woods is a 4km2 Site of Special Scientific Interest owned by Oxford University. It has a variety of diverse habitats including woodland dating back to the last Ice Age, limestone grassland and a valley-side mire, which is partly why it is one of the most researched woods in the world. Wytham has over 500 species of plants, and the oldest tree (680 years) has even had a visit from David Attenborough! Last Tuesday the Year 12 Biology students were lucky enough to visit it and speak to leading ecologists.
Liam, a postdoc from Oxford University, spoke to us about his part in the Darwin Tree of Life Project, which aims to sequence the genomes of all eukaryotic species in the UK. Liam is sequencing the genomes of the insects in Wytham Woods and told us many fascinating moth facts. Only around 7 of the 2500 moth species in the UK eat clothes, and their numbers are declining mainly due to an increased proportion of synthetic materials. Butterflies are actually a type of moth with clubbed antennae! As moths are mainly ectothermic, they warm themselves up by vibrating their wings.
We then conducted several experiments – catching insects using sweep nets, using a belt transect and doing a pollinator count. This prepared us for our second trip to Wytham Woods, where we’ll be carrying out our own research project.
Thank you very much to Kim and Liam from Oxford University and the teachers involved! If anyone would like to visit Wytham Woods (it is a very nice place to go for a walk), they can obtain a free 3 year permit from https://www.wythamwoods.ox.ac.uk/permit.
