Last year was a big one for me, where my life changed in two major ways. One is that I started seriously studying plant pathogens, which I have found I have a deep passion for and know I want to study for the forseeable future. The other is that I graduated from university.
I have made some exciting finds this year. iNaturalist has been my recording app of choice, because it has a healthy community of people who are passionate about plant pathogens and who can verify my records, and point out when I am wrong. I made 1212 records of 510 species this year, and I found a far more diverse set of species from across the tree of life than in the past, when I only recorded plants and insects.

I found lots of fungi (pink), plants (green), insects (orange), arachnids (yellow), and oömycetes (brown). It was really exciting to add new species to the fungi, oömycetes, and invertebrates of Ireland.

Surprisingly, one species that I found in my garden was new to Britain and Ireland! Septoria anthyllidicola is a leaf spot that infects Kidney Vetch, and only seems to have been recorded a few times globally.

Contarinia dipsacearum is a gall midge that lives in the flowers of Devil’s-bit Succisa pratensis. It is also the subject of my first ever publication, a short note in the Irish Naturalists’ Journal describing how I found it new to Ireland at Murlough National Nature Reserve, and the fact current checklists of species for Britain overlook the only British record from London in 1947. It’s only a few paragraphs, but it feels like an important step towards a career contributing to scientific knowledge.

This leaf smut in the genus Entyloma on Brackish Water-crowfoot Ranunculus baudotii was the standout find of the year. No Entyloma has been seen on this host before, and though there are a few old records from Water-crowfoots, none have actually been described as distinct species. I feel really privileged to bear witness to something noone has ever seen before. I am hoping I will be able to learn more about this fungus this year, and share what I learn.

Graduation was strange. Not only was I leaving behind somewhere I had made a home for three years, I had to go through bunch of anachronistic rituals first. I mourn the loss of my social network, my access to the knowledge and guidance of the academics and fellow students, and the wonderful libraries where I spent much of my time in Cambridge. However, leaving was also stepping into a new environment: one where I have to be more independent and advocate for myself more, but where I still can contribute to science in my own small way.

This year I am focusing more on my writing and on my art. I hope to make many more of these illustrations of plants and their pathogens, and others explaining the different concepts and techniques necessary to study pathogens in natural habitats. These are all going towards a larger project, which I am hoping I will be ready to announce in the Spring. I am really excited to see what the year brings.
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