In this issue

Abstract

i DOI: https://doi.org/10.3318/BIOE.2021.10 Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,Vol. 121, No. 2, i–ii (2021). © Royal Irish Academy Cite as follows: Osborne, B. In this issue. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 2021. DOI: 10.3318/ BIOE.2021.10 IN THIS ISSUE Bruce Osborne Spider-hunting wasps There is a widely available YouTube clip showing a spider-hunting wasp attacking a tarantula, which must be more than eight times its body size. After the attack the tarantula, apparently struggling in the last throes of death, is eventually carried off to the wasp’s nest. However, the tarantula is not dead; it has only been paralysed by the wasp, which then lays its eggs in the tarantula, which in turn serves as a food source for the developing larvae. Due to its powerful venom this spider-hunting wasp is included in the BBC’s ‘Deadly 60’ list.Whilst few of us are likely to experience such a gruesome spectacle and neither the tarantula-hunting wasp nor the tarantula are present in Ireland, O’Hanlon and O’Connor, in this issue, identify approximately 13 spider-hunting wasps that are resident in Ireland. The authors provide the first complete catalogue of these species, with individual images and information on their ecology and biology, as well as maps of their known distribution. Globally, spider-hunting wasps represent a diverse family of solitary species that prey exclusively on spiders. In terms of the numbers present in Ireland these are low compared to our nearest neighbour (40 species) and even lower than EU estimates (around 100 ­ species), perhaps reflecting a continental land mass origin, although detailed information is still lacking. Interestingly , the distribution of some species contrasts with that seen in Great Britain, which may indicate some recent diversification but these and many other questions, including the types of prey species, their nesting biology, and role as pollinators, remain largely unknown. Anti-microbial surfactants There is growing pressure for the food industry to increase the shelf life of products using so-called ‘natural’ antimicrobials amid concerns about the potential health issues associated with synthetically produced compounds. In turn, an ability to produce natural antimicrobials using discarded products as substrates would also contribute to waste recycling and reduced environmental pollution as well as increasing the economic viability of this approach. Of the compounds produced by soil microbes, biosurfactants —a structurally diverse group of compounds comprising a mixture of lipids/phospholipids with proteins and carbohydrates—exhibit broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. Importantly, these are considered to have lower toxicity and biodegradability than synthetic biosurfactants. As Ekprasert et al. show, in this issue, soil bacterial isolates can produce significant quantities of biosurfactants when grown on a range of waste products, including spent coffee grounds, waste frying oil and molasses. The biosurfactants produced were found to have significant antimicrobial activity against a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. A strong inhibitory effect was also found against a number of pathogens including an antibiotic-resistant strain. Given the increasing occurrence of antibiotic resistance , this result highlights a potentially important role for natural microbially produced biosurfactants. Furthermore, the ability of frying oil waste, in particular ,to provide a low-cost substrate for producing biosurfactants could be utilised for wider pharmaceutical applications. Bog restoration Boglands are often considered a particular feature of the Irish landscape.These wetlands cover almost one-sixth of the island of Ireland, comprising, relatively speaking, a greater proportion of the land area than any other country in Europe apart from Finland. Boglands are one of the world’s most important stores of carbon and are recognised for their biodiversity.Despite this,in Ireland,as in many other European countries, bogs have been extensively exploited for fuel and, more recently, for applications in the horticultural trade. Increasing pressure to reverse the impacts associated with the former exploitation of boglands has identified rewetting, through the blocking of drains, as a significant step towards bog restoration.Although we currently have limited information on how such measures will be implemented or how effective they might be in­ returning bogland to its original pristine condition, the recent cessation...