Last week I was in Sweden for my field work. One of the rangers, Hans Fransson, in the Nature Reserve where I work is a guide in the cave systems under Tåbergs Iron mountain in his free time. The 343 meter high mountain is rich in iron (titanomagnetite olevinite) which has led to a large system of tunnels. In winter, six species of bats hibernate in these tunnels. The ‘bat entrance’ of the tunnels is equipped with photo acoustic equipment by which the staff can identify each individual entering the caves. The Tåberg tunnel system is open for guided tours.

In my Tuesday Taster of 27 June, I highlighted the public outrage of the governmental decision to recommence logging in the Polish Białowieża National Park. This week Nature published a piece with a little more background, also demonstrating the role of the EU in safeguarding our precious ecosystems.

The British Ecological Society’s photo competition is now open. This year’s theme is ‘Capturing Ecology’, so get out your camera while you’re on field work or on holiday. Rules and eligibility criteria can be found on the BES website.

I wish everyone a good week.

Best, Bjorn

Bjorn Robroek is the blog editor for Functional Ecologists.