Burros in Arizona. Credit: Bureau of Land Management.
The first horses and donkeys came to the Americas on ships during Christopher Columbus’ Second Voyage. Although they were essential to European colonization, the two animals are typically seen as invasive species that are not part of the local wildlife. But rather than harming other animals, wild horses and donkeys in North America may actually help local plants and animals thrive by digging deep wells that provide water in the desert.
The desert’s ecosystem engineers
Wild horses, known as mustangs, are often in the spotlight, but the wild burros of the American West can be just as fascinating. Burros, or wild donkeys, are originally from Africa and are members of the horse family,
April 29 2021, 10:03 am | BY Ricki Green | 1 Comment
The University of Technology Sydney has launched an upbeat TVC via Paper Moose, encouraging potential students to invent their next move and get started with further study.
The spots launch off the back of last year’s highly successful ‘Invent You’ campaign, which saw postgraduate enrolments skyrocket 78% – right when universities were suffering the effects of the global pandemic.
Says Katie MacIntyre, art director, Paper Moose: “Everyone’s had that moment where something sparks within and we suddenly crave change in our lives. Taking action on that feeling and diving into study can be really liberating. The energy of movement felt like a great way to express this very personal experience.”
April 29, 2021 3:44
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has launched a new TVC encouraging potential students to ‘invent their next move’, and take up further study.
The campaign builds on last year’s ‘Invent You’ campaign, also developed by Paper Moose after winning the account.
Katie MacIntyre, art director at Paper Moose said: “Everyone’s had that moment where something sparks within and we suddenly crave change in our lives. Taking action on that feeling and diving into study can be really liberating. The energy of movement felt like a great way to express this very personal experience.”
The campaign was an in-house production by the Sydney agency, which showcases the university’s grounds, and invites prospective students to return to in-person learning.
Wild horses and donkeys are able to survive in the desert by using an innate instinct they have to find water buried up to 6ft below the ground, a new study reveals.
This same instinctive radar for underground water drives them to dig wells that in turn help other animals and plants that live within the same arid ecosystem.
That is according to a team from the University of Technology Sydney who surveyed a number of dryland ecosystems in the Sonoran Desert of North America.
Lead author Erick Lundgren says well digging horses and donkeys are an often overlooked form of ecosystem engineering that can buffer water shortages.