Brecks Options Study Presentation
The Final workshop for the Brecks Options Study - Findings and Recommendations - took place on the 5th December. More
4.5 Biofluorescent Night Walk Brandon Country Park
The walk, led by David Atthowe from Reveal Nature showcased the hidden world of biofluorescent colour. Biofluorescence is the ability of certain organisms to reflect light in a different colour than the one they absorbed. It is usually a response to Ultraviolet (UV) light and comes in an assortment of bright, weird and wonderful colours. A wide range of organisms suddenly light up in the dark bright green, blue, red, purple, orange and any other colour you can think of! Biofluorescence is known to occur in a variety of organisms. This includes insects, plants, lichen, mushrooms, fish, coral, amphibians, and some species of birds and mammals.
During the walk, the group saw a showcase of colours. Nettles appeared crimson red, spiders skulked purple through the undergrowth, and fungi glowed acid green in the darkness. As we looked at a lichen, one participant asked, “what colour is it normally?”. Under white light, it appeared a dull yellow brown, but transformed to a vibrant carrot orange under UV light. However, David pointed out, “What is normal?”. The way humans perceive the colours of the natural world is completely different to other species, and the walk provided a fascinating insight to a world of colour that is hidden all around us.
Stay tuned to brecks.org/events for future BFER supported Biofluorescent night walks in the Brecks, and visit Reveal Nature’s amazing gallery of Biofluorescent images to see examples of Biofluorescence HERE
