Meet the species in the Floundering Zone!

In celebration of its 25th Anniversary, the Wellcome Sanger Institute is going to decode the DNA of 25 UK species for the first time…and you can vote to decide 5 of them!

From 6th November – 8th December, a team of scientists and wildlife experts will each champion a species they think should have its entire DNA sequence decoded, competing for votes from students and the general public.

The Floundering Zone

Due to factors like climate change and destruction of natural habitats, many UK species are becoming endangered. In this zone you’ll meet organisms whose populations are declining. By sequencing their genome we could work out why and potentially save them from disappearing forever.

The Species

 

Strapwort | Championed by Anne Visscher

‘I am critically endangered in the UK, only surviving on the shore of Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve in South Devon’

 

 

 

Spotted Flycatcher | Championed by Emma Cole

‘I have feathers which resemble bristles on my bill, to reduce the likelihood of flies escaping me!’

 

 

 

Scottish Wildcat | Championed by Tony Travis and team

‘I’m Britain’s only remaining large wild predator and I’ve walked this land for millions of years.’

 

 

 

Scaly Cricket | Championed by Karim Vahed

‘I lay my eggs in drift-wood, so it is possible that they could “raft” across the sea to colonise new areas.’

 

 

 

Lundy Cabbage | Championed by Fred Rumsey

‘I only exist on a few cliffs on one small island, Lundy, off the Devon coast where I am home to a little beetle that also lives nowhere else on the planet.’

 

 

 

Glow Worm | Championed by Robin Scagell and John Tyler

‘I can eat a snail perhaps a hundred times my own weight (that’s about the same as a human eating an elephant).’

 

 

 

European Flat Oyster | Championed by Ross Houston and team

‘I can be male or female, depending on the temperature.’

 

 

 

Eurasian Otter | Championed by Frank Hailer

‘We communicate via poo! ‘

 

 

 

Barbastelle Bat | Championed by Orly Razgour and Matt Zeale

‘The shape of my wings allows me to fly like an aerobatic stunt plane.’

 

 

The Schools

  • Adcote School for Girls
  • Baltasound Junior High School
  • Croydon High School
  • Ditton Park Academy
  • Eastwood High School
  • Edison Intermediate Larson Middle School
  • Etonbury Academy
  • Fulham Cross Girls’ School and Language College
  • Gillespie Primary School
  • Glenstal Abbey School
  • Islamia Primary School
  • Kingsmead Academy
  • Kiveton Park Meadows Junior School
  • Loughborough Grammar School
  • Newham College of Further Education
  • Oldham Hulme Grammar
  • Parklands High School
  • Perth Academy
  • Prendergast Vale School
  • Richard Taylor Church of England Primary School
  • Sandwick Junior High School
  • Silverdale School
  • Simon Balle All-Through School
  • Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School
  • St Andrews College
  • Stanborough School
  • State High School Ischia
  • Uffculme School
  • Vestal Middle School

 

Teachers: remember to book your Live Chat here

 

Posted on November 1, 2017 by in News. Leave a comment

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