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Ever seen a potoo?
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Potoos are a small New World family of solitary and nocturnal birds. Most are so poorly known they seem more fiction than substance, their gruff or wailing cries ghostly delusions of the dim nocturnal world they inhabit.
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2736 |
savio |
10 years ago |
An animal we'll never see again
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Australia's iconic Tasmanian Tiger was hunted to extinction in the 1930s - but it may have already been doomed by an extremely small gene pool, according to a new study that stresses the fragility of isolated species.
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3804 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Here's what low levels of melanin leads to
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This is a rare baby Golden Brushtail Possum that was born at Wild Life Sydney last year. Golden Brushtail Possums are one of Australia’s largest tree-dwelling marsupials but they're rarely seen in the wild, being found mostly in small pockets of Tasmania. Their unique appearance is the result of low levels of melanin in their skin.
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3675 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Ring trick
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Belugas apparently fashion their own entertainment by creating bubble rings and then catching them. A beluga at Sea World Kamogawa, near Tokyo, was snapped in the act, and another at the Shimane Aquarium has been seen performing the trick.
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6470 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A parrot with a wicked hairstyle
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This is a Palm Cockatoo, also know as the Goliath Cockatoo. Palms are distinguished by their size, huge beak (second only to the Hyacinth Macaw among psittacines and largest proportionate to size), solid black feather coloration, large open crest, bare red cheeks, and red and black tongue. You have to see their tongues to believe the coloration. It's amazing. Palm Cockatoos are severely threatened. They are CITES Appendix I birds and are protected in Australia. As a testament to their rarity, typical prices in the U.S. for Aterrimus Palms are around $8000 and Goliaths around $14,000. Perhaps contributing to their rarity is the fact that, according to both Low and Forshaw, they lay only one egg per clutch. ...
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5915 |
savio |
10 years ago |
A monster bug
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This is the Tacua speciosa, one of the world's largest and most beautiful species of cicada. It is found in Borneo, Sumatra, Java and parts of the Malay Peninsula and its wingspan can stretch up to an impressive 18 cm.
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6651 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
New species discovered in the Western Hemisphere
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Meet olinguito, or Bassaricyon neblina, the first species of carnivore discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. This cute teddy bear-like nocturnal mammal is native to Central and South America, and spends most of its time in the treetops, coming down to the forest floor occasionally to eat fruits such as guava.
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3936 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Global warming, a cause for hunger
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A lack of sea ice caused by global warming meant this polar bear was unable to hunt seals and died of starvation. The carcass was found in northern Svalbard, Norway, far from its normal range, where he probably was looking for food.
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3159 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Colorful trees
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These are rainbow eucalyptus trees ( Eucalyptus deglupta) and they hail from the Philippine Islands. The trees get their name from the striking colours observed on their trunks and limbs. Although it may look like someone took a paintbrush to them, these colours are entirely natural. Unlike most trees, the rainbow eucalyptus does not have a thick, cork-like layer of bark on its trunk. The bark is smooth and as it grows it 'exfoliates' layers of spent tissue. This exfoliation technique occurs at different stages and in different zones of the tree. Once a layer is shed, a new fresh green bark is exposed. As this new bark ages, we can see the tissue change colour to dark green followed by a bluish colour, then to purple and pink-orange and then f ...
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4067 |
savio |
10 years ago |
The plastisphere
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Much of the debris in our oceans consists of small fragments of detritus no larger than a fingernail. These confetti-like plastic pieces act as microbial reefs – their own ecosystems – in the vast open ocean. Scientists are studying them to help better understand the predation and symbiosis in these mini ecosystems themselves and also how they are affecting the ocean and its other communities on a broader scale.
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3330 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Overhunting leads to behavioural changes in monkeys
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Overhunting is one reason for wildlife population decline, but do these animals even know what we’re doing to them? New research suggests that they do. Woolly monkeys in the Amazon were observed to react differently to people in their territory, depending on the behavior of the human. In areas where hunting is heavy, humans gathering food or performing research do not elicit much of a response from the monkeys. Hunters, however, result in the monkeys becoming very quiet and motionless. In quieter areas where human contact is less frequent, the monkeys are more wary of the researchers and gatherers. This indicates that the monkeys are behaving based on experience. The long term advantage of this behavior is uncertain. Woolly monkeys are highl ...
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4057 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Hydropower
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Nearly 20% of all electricity in the world comes from hydropower, and Norway has adapted to rely nearly entirely on it. They are the world leader in hydroelectricity production, generating 120 TWh annually. France and Sweden are next highest, each generating ~65 TWh per year.
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3096 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
What happens to plastic waste?
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In 1937, a scientist named Carothers died at the young age of 41, desolated that he had not made his mark in the scientific world. His invention, Nylon, was to become one of the most commonly used plastics in the world. Nylon is used in toothbrushes, ropes and fabric for parachutes and clothing.
In the last century, plastics (synthetic polymers) have been so ubiquitous that it is difficult to imagine life without it. But what happens to it when we longer have use for it? Where does it go when we throw plastic out?
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2948 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
To kill or not to krill?
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Without krill, most of the marine animals in Antarctica would disappear. So what are they?Krill are crustaceans, each about 5 cm long. In addition to their diet of phytoplankton, they have the ability to scrape ice-algae from the underside of ice formations. In turn, they are on the menu for hungry squid, penguins, seals and whales. In short, krill form an integral part of the Antarctic ecosystem. Together, krill would number in the billions, yet their numbers are decreasing. Why? One reason may be the melting and loss of ice formation due to increased global temperatures. Another reason is humans' greed. Krill oil, high in omega-3 fatty acids, is packaged as health medication to maintain healthy cholesterol. How many krill are worth the lif ...
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3020 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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3871 |
duddy |
11 years ago |