Natural selection
In the previous sections we have been looking at some of the ways in which non-adaptive processes can affect the genetic variation of populations. Genetic diversity is affected also by natural selection, a process that leads to 'the differential reproduction of genetically distinct individuals or genotypes within a population' (Li, 1997). Natural selection can alter allele frequencies in a number of different ways that can either increase or decrease overall genetic variation. Both stabilizing...
Monogamy polygamy and promiscuity
There are five basic types of animal mating systems (Table 6.1). Monogamy involves a pair-bond between one male and one female, whereas in polygamy, which includes polygyny, polyandry and polygynandry, social bonds involve multiple males and or females. Promiscuity refers to the practice of mating in the absence of any social ties. Note that many species will adopt two or more different mating systems, and the examples used throughout this text are not meant to imply that a particular species...
Foundercontrolled and dominancecontrolled communities
In response to disturbances, we can postulate two fundamentally different kinds of community response according to the type of competitive relationships exhibited by the component species - founder controlled and dominance controlled (Yodzis, 1986). Founder-controlled communities will occur if a large number of species are approximately equivalent in their ability to colonize an opening left by a disturbance, are equally well fitted to the abiotic environment and can hold the location until...
HEPA Air Purifier vs Ionizer, Which one is better?
Home air filtration technologies are increasingly gaining ground with Indian homeowners. The rising levels of air pollution and the awareness spread by health and weather tracking apps has made us more conscious about our lifestyle choices. An air purifier is an enticing prospect because of its promised continuous delivery of clean air. However, most first time air purifier buyers are confused by the underlying technologies used in these air cleaners.
What Do Lizards Eat? Interesting Facts About The Lizards Diet
Before we can answer the question of what do lizards eat, we need to spend a few minutes talking about the different kinds of lizards. There are many different types and some consumers definitely would not want to have as a pet. For example, crocodiles, Caymans and alligators are lizards These are not typical pets and definitely not something you want in your home. They can grow to a very large size and actually be quite dangerous.
What Do Turtles Eat? Facts About Feeding A Turtle
There are hundreds of species of turtles all across the world. While some turtle species are appropriate to be reared as pets, others can grow very large and weigh up to several hundreds of kilograms This article aims to discuss common fresh water and sea turtles and the types of foods they love to eat both in the wild and in captivity.
Choosing the Best Air Conditioner for Your Dorm Room
When it comes to finding the best air conditioner for dorm rooms, there are a few key factors to consider. Dorm rooms are typically small and compact, which means that choosing the right air conditioner is essential for both comfort and space optimization.
Water Distillation - Water Distillers and Distilled Water - Myths and Facts
Myths, false statements, consumer misleading and misinformation. Call them what you will, there is a lot of poor non-factual information out there when it is in reference to water distillation or water distillers. Most of them come from water filter sellers who do not sell, or do not understand water distillation. This is'nt anything new since many of the myths about water distillers have been around for 10 to 15 years.
Why Air Purifiers are Essential for Pet Owners?
You may not have an allergic reaction to cats, dogs, or any other furry friend, but having these animals at home constantly exposes you to pet dander. In the long run, pet dander can cause respiratory problems for you, your children and for the seniors in your home. While one may argue that he she carries out regular cleaning and dusting, and keeps the pets well groomed, it is simply not enough.
What Do Koalas Eat? Facts About The Koala Bear And More!
This article aims to cover important koala questions, such as What do koalas eat What do koalas look like What do baby koalas eat Do koalas eat bamboo What do koalas drink Where do koalas live We have also listed some amazing koala facts that you might haven't heard of yet so keep reading Before we answer the question about koala's diet, let's begin with some basic information about this cuddly animal.
What Do Sugar Gliders Eat: Feeding A Pet Sugar Glider
The sugar glider, named scientifically as Petaurus breviceps is a quite popular pet nowadays. Sugar gliders acquired their name because these cute and playful animals love sipping nectar and sweet tree sap in its natural habitat. Because of its minute size and cute appearance, sugar gliders make a popular exotic animal that has been sold and reared as pets.
SeaWorld Killer Whale Lives Up to its Name; Attacks and Kills Trainer
Living in captivity is not all it's cracked up to be. Imagine bright flashing lights, being confined to the same small tank day in and day out, and having to perform ridiculous tricks for the entertainment of others. All you get out of it is some stinking fish. Yeah, I'd feel like I got a pretty raw deal, too. Tilikum the killer whale seems to feel the same way. Yesterday, Tilikum attacked and killed a trainer at the Orlando-based SeaWorld.
Cold snap kills Florida's native and invasive species
Unseasonably cold weather in Florida this winter has had deadly consequences for the American state's wildlife. Chilled iguanas are plummeting from their perches onto the freezing ground. Non-native tropical fish both wild and kept in outdoor tanks at fish farms are freezing to death. Burmese and African rock pythons have also been dying off not an altogether unwelcome side effect of the cold weather for some.
What Do Angelfish Eat? A Comprehensive Food List
This article will answer the question what do angelfish eat' and will focus on the information that you need to know about angelfish diet. Freshwater angelfish are popular aquarium pets because of their beautiful color patterns and delicately graceful fins. They are indeed angels in the water. In general, they are peaceful but could become aggressively territorial when there is not enough space for them to live particularly if they are in the company of other fishes.
Weasels And The Control Of Pest Mammals
Least and common weasels are the smallest and probably the most numerous carnivores in the Holarctic and, weight for weight, they eat the most. The daily food requirement of a biomass of, say, 50 kg of least common weasels would be much greater than that of an equivalent weight of foxes 50 kg of least common weasels eating 35 of their body weight in food per day see Table 2.1 would need 1,750 g of food about 88 mice , whereas 50 kg of foxes, at 8 per day, would need only 400 g 20 mice . Better...
How Activated Carbon Filters Remove Volatile Organic Compounds from the Air?
Air purifiers nowadays come with the latest technology to filter out pollutants from the indoor air. Indoor air pollution is a scary reality in today's world with studies showing that the air inside an enclosed space such as a building, house or a car has a much higher concentration of air pollutants than the air outdoors. Most air purifiers use a HEPA filter. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air or High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance.
Fleas and humanity
Humans have always coexisted with fleas. This coexistence is asymmetric, usually being favourable for fleas, but unfavourable for humans. Fleas can cause direct medical damage to humans and can serve as vectors for some diseases. They can also cause indirect damage to humans by parasitizing poultry and livestock and, thus, causing economic loss e.g. Yeruham et al., 1989 . Flea damage to human pets mainly dogs and cats also represents a serious veterinary problem. The ubiquity of the negative...
Expert-Recommended Electronic Air Filters for Furnace Efficiency
EnviroSept Electronic Air Cleaner is the Original high-efficiency, non-ionizing, dynamic electro type furnace air filter with low airflow resistance producing NO OZONE and was awarded a NEW patent on it's technology, making EnviroSept Electronic air cleaner the only FULLY PATENTED product in its class.
Starbucks Discontinues Its Swiss Water Decaf Blend
Starbucks' Komodo Dragon Decaf Blend is wholly an Asia Pacific coffee deep, full-bodied with a complex flavour that is bold and unanticipated. And as it employs the completely natural, Swiss Water Process this rich, earthy blend is the favourite amongst pregnant coffee drinkers. And it has been discontinued. Starbucks no longer offers a Swiss Water decaf blend. A note from Starbucks Customer Relations Starbucks will no longer be offering our Decaf Komodo Dragon BlendT coffee.
What Do Komodo Dragons Eat?
This article aims to answer the question what do komodo dragons eat. We will also discuss important informations regarding the Komodo dragon diet. Heavy, strong and deadly, the Komodo dragon has been a subject for fascination among scientists. They're so notorious they remind us of a mythical creature the dragon. And that's probably the reason why we call them dragons. These large lizards dominate their ecosystems with their ferocity and appetite.
How Can Future Oil Spills Be Prevented
Over the last several decades, there have been a number of headline making oil spills that have left the world with shocking images. We have seen the results of drilling in the ocean floors to find oil. We know that our dependency on fossil fuels drives an industry that requires destroying some of our most precious resources.
Sound Production the Tymbal and Its Sound Anatomy of the Tymbal
With respect to behaviour it is of particular significance that the fully developed tymbal system is only found in males. Detailed descriptions are given elsewhere notably Carlet, 1877a, 1877b Vogel, 1923 Pringle, 1954, 1957 Young, 1972 Michel, 1975 Bennet-Clark, 1999b . It consists of two symmetrical membranes, the drums or cymbals of Casserius 1600 and Reaumur 1740 , usually known as tymbals. They are found dorso-laterally on the first abdominal segment Figure 25.1 . In some species, females...
Medicine The Benefits of Biodiversity to
Biodiversity is essential to the maintenance of human health. Extracts from many species of plants and, to a lesser extent, animals are critical to treating infections, disease, and other illnesses. According to the World Health Organization, about 80 percent of people in the developing world still depend primarily on traditional medicine, and 85 percent of that medicine is derived from plants (Farnsworth et al. 1985). Biodiversity plays a central role in Western medicine also 57 percent of the...
Community patterns in time
Just as the relative importance of species varies in space, so their patterns of abundance may change with time. In either case, a are communities discrete entities with sharp boundaries the community not so much a superorganism Fine-scale effects of roots, organic particles and soil structure Figure 16.8 Determinants of spatial heterogeneity of communities of soil organisms including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, mites and collembolans. (After Ettema & Wardle, 2002.) species will occur only...
Plant life forms and biological spectra
3.1.1 Variation in vascular plant and bryophyte life form In addition to taxonomic classifications which endeavour to place closely related species in the same family, botanists have for centuries attempted to distinguish particular life forms, any one of which may be adopted by quite unrelated species. The simplest of these is the distinction between woody and herbaceous plants. Raunkiaer 1934 developed the most widely known scientific description of life forms, and then used it to initiate...
What Do Dingoes Eat? Prey Animals That Dingoes Eat
The dingo, known by its scientific name of Canis lupus dingo, is a wild feral dog that only lives in Australia. Dingo fur can be colored either ginger tan, black, or cream. Ginger tan-colored dingoes account for 74 of the dingo population. Dingoes hunt alone and in packs. Dingoes' food is similar to other pack-canines such as wolves. What Do Dingoes Eat Dingoes are mainly carnivorous and they eat a large range of mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects.
What Do Arctic Foxes Eat?
What do arctic foxes eat The Arctic fox, sometimes known as the snow fox, polar fox or white fox, are both hunters and opportunistic feeders. This article aims to discuss information regarding the arctic foxes diet in detail. What do arctic foxes eat Arctic foxes are predators so they hunt small rodents such as lemmings. Arctic foxes also eat insects, birds, eggs, and fish.
Genetic distance
One way in which we can measure the genetic similarly of two populations is by estimating the genetic distance between them. There are many different ways in which this can be done, one of the most common being Nei's (1972) standard genetic distance, D. To calculate this, we first need to know Nei's measure of genetic identity (I), which reflects the genetic similarity of populations. For a given locus, this is calculated as where pix is the frequency of allele i in population x, piy is the...
7 Ways To Feel Comfortable At Home And Save Energy
Is your air conditioner running full blast this summer, pushing your Maryland electric bill into an uncomfortable zone Americans spend 11 billion on air conditioning costs, according to the Department of Energy. The seven steps you can take to feel comfortable at home while lowering your summer utility bills. 7 ways to save energy in the summer 1. Get a programmable thermostat Programmable thermostats are a proven way to save money. The U.S.
The Best Heat Pump Brands
When choosing a heat pump for your home, remember this Over 55 of your annual energy bill goes to heating and cooling your home. And, as you've probably calculated by looking at your utility bills over the years, it takes up to four times more energy to heat your home than cool it. This is the reason why your utility bills are so much higher in the winter months than the rest of the year. You must pay more to heat your home, especially if you have an older home.
Spherical Solar Trackers Capture Sunlight From The Moon
Ordinary solar panels stay in one place, so they can't capture the maximum amount of sunlight as the sun moves through the day and through the seasons. They also don't work after the sun goes down. But a new design from Barcelona-based architect Andr Broessel could take care of both problems his spherical glass solar energy generator tracks sunlight, and can even gain energy at night by concentrating sunlight reflected off the moon.
World's First Commercial Algae To Energy Plant Harvests 81 Tons Of Algae Biomass
The initial phase of the world's first commercial demonstration algae to energy plant is now operational. After beginning construction on the demonstration plant in Columbus, New Mexico back in 2011 at a cost of 135 million, California-based Sapphire Energy has successfully harvested 21 million gallons of algae biomass from its first ponds that were first seeded with algae in March.
Vestas, World's Largest Wind Turbine Manufacturer, Cuts Thousands Of Jobs
What's the future of wind energy With the United States wind energy tax credit potentially expiring at the end of the year, and slow growth around the rest of the world, Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas now plans to cut 1,400 jobs before the year ends. The decision follows 2,300 jobs eliminated earlier this year. The job losses include some in the U.S. Ninety workers at a plant in Colorado lost their jobs last week, and 30 more followed this week.
Polymer-based Organic Solar Cells Set World Record In Efficiency
We can preach about the environmental benefits of solar energy all we want, but until it costs the same as fossil fuels, we're not going to see energy companies tearing up oil fields to erect solar farms. The good news is that the quest for cheaper solar power just took a giant leap forward Chinese researchers set a new world record in power conversion efficiency for polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. The 9.
Box 101 Connectivity in a fragmented landscape
A good example of woodland fragmentation and connectivity is provided by communities of the maritime juniper Juniperus oxycedrus ssp. macrocarpa, a Mediterranean species tolerant of saline spray along the south-west coast of Spain, which are both vulnerable and ecologically important. Though now greatly reduced in area, it seems that these formerly extended from the El Rompido cliff in Huelva to the west all the way to Gibraltar in the east. Studies by Munoz-Reinoso 2004 are designed to form...
Terri's Top 5 Misleading Green Labels
Green is big business these days and some companies are taking advantage by making their products sound eco-friendly when they really are not. It's called greenwashing and it's a growing problem. Most greenwashing terms sound attractive to eco-conscious shoppers when in reality they are vague, misleading or meaningless. A recent study showed a whopping 95 percent of green product claims are inaccurate. Here are Terri's Top 5 misleading green labels and how you can avoid being fooled. 1.
How Much Hazardous Waste Are You Storing?
We all have one that shelf or cabinet with leftover paints, old bug killers, and unwanted cleaners. You don't want that toxic stuff near your kids or pets so you keep it out of reach. It's equally as important to keep those dangerous chemicals out of the environment. So when it's time to get rid of hazardous household items make sure you Do Your Part and do it the right way. It's estimated that every American home has an average of 100 pounds of hazardous household waste.
Go Green With Your Hvac System
As we all know, green is used quite frequently to describe environmentally-friendly products and services. In many ways, it's sometimes far-fetched to call an HVAC system green especially if that system is old and inefficient because of its tremendous use of energy. For these inefficient systems, gray or brown is probably more apt than green Combined, heating, and cooling comprise one of the biggest energy hogs in a household, contributing significantly to the monthly bills.
7 Signs You Need An AC Repair
Air conditioners are designed to thrive in all types of circumstances. They scarcely run into problems. That said, problems do sometimes arise, at which point, repair becomes necessary. Wondering whether you need AC repair Then read on. Here are 7 signs that you need air conditioner service and repair. 1. Your AC Is Making Strange NoisesBy and large, air conditioners should be silent.
Break Free Of the Battery
They are the dreaded three words this time of year batteries not included . As soon as the gift is opened, we are off on a hunt for the right size battery. In fact, this year alone Americans will buy nearly three billion batteries. Sadly the greater majority of these will be single use batteries that will end up in the landfill. You can Do Your Part when buying your next battery and it's as simple as picking one that's rechargeable.
Top 5 - Solutions to Recycling Problems
Most of us know how to recycle the usual stuff like plastic milk jugs or aluminum cans. So what do we do with some of the other items that we don't think we can just toss in the recycling bin Never fear Here are Terri's Top 5 Solutions to Your Recycling Problems'. 1) Light Bulbs CFLs or compact fluorescent light bulbs should never be thrown away because they contain a small amount of mercury. There are several big companies which have convenient drop off sites and will recycle them responsibly.
Holiday Decorating on a Dime
These days, there is inspiration for holiday decor and decoration nearly everywhere. You can find extravagant displays at craft and holiday shops. You can search out elaborate designs on places such as Pinterest and Facebook. And, you can also find elegant inspiration right outside your front door. This season, Do Your Part to bring the outdoors in as you decorate. Not only is it inexpensive and attractive, it's a whole lot easier on the environment.
Obama Administration Announces Southwest ‘solar Zones'
As part of President Obama's All of the Above energy policy, the administration has announced plans for solar zones in six southwestern states in order to encourage development of the technology. As reported by Reuters, a total of 17 zones, encompassing nearly 285,000 acres of government-owned land in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, will now be available for large-scale solar power generation facilities through the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement...
When Is the Best Time for HVAC Maintenance?
Why Maintenance Is ImportantIt is easy to assume that because your HVAC system worked perfectly last year that it should just kick on when you tell it to, right Checking the condition of your systems before they become a necessity ensures working order and helps you to combat emergency situations. How Often Should You Have Your HVAC Maintenance Done Seasonal maintenance is highly recommended for all residential HVAC units.
Better Sweet Treats for You and the Planet
Lowering the amount of sugar we eat is good for our health and good for our planet. Do Your Part to pick better foods that will still satisfy your sweet tooth. Sugarcane plantations are taxing on the land where its produced from rainforest clearing and intensive water usage to the polluted waste water it generates. Your best option when it comes to cutting back on sugar and high fructose corn syrup is to look for foods that are naturally sweet.
What Do Possums Eat? Foods For Opossums
Possums have adapted well to the expansion of human population. Dense urban environments bring an abundance of shelter as well as food sources. They are also sometimes referred to as Opossums. They will live under a deck, in underbrush, or even a hollow log. They are generally nomadic creatures. They do not spend much time in one place preferring to move every three or four days. In fact, it may not spend more than several nights in one location.
Why Does My Dog Follow Me Everywhere?
They always want to be around with their owner all the time, but too much can be frustrating. This habit is unhealthy for both you and your dog because it might make you trip over and have a sudden visit to the ER and on your dog's side, he might be masking shadowing a physical or behavioral problem. If you're wondering why does my dog follow me everywhere here are five possible explanations why 1.
Geology Geomorphology and Geography
Geology, geomorphology, and geography are all scientific disciplines that study the earth. At first glance these three disciplines may seem separate and easily distinguishable from one another. As you read on, however, you will find that the overlap is considerable, and in many instances one cannot be exactly sure of which discipline a particular subject pertains to. Geology is the study of many aspects of the earth, but it does not include meteorology, climatology, oceanography, geochemistry,...
Fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in mutualistic plants
The inability of most plants and animals to fix atmospheric nitrogen is one of the great puzzles in the process of evolution, since nitrogen is in limiting supply in many habitats. However, the ability to fix nitrogen is widely though irregularly distributed amongst both the eubacteria 'true' bacteria and the archaea archaebacteria , and many of these have been caught up in tight mutualisms with systematically quite different groups of eukaryotes. Presumably such symbioses have evolved a number...
Pterodactyloids
The first fossils of short-tailed Pterodactyloidea were discovered in the Upper Jurassic strata of Europe. They were assigned to the genus Pterodactylus (Fig. 55 'flight finger'), and possessed all the typical features of pterosaurs. Many different species of Pterodactylus have been found, varying mainly in size and the shape of the head. Their narrow jaws and sharp teeth suggest that they must have been mainly piscivorous, like most of the rhamphorhynchoids. Nothing is known about the direct...
Stable Isotope Constraints on Net Ecosystem Production Under Elevated CO2
King, Arvin R. Moser, Jack Morgan, Daniel Milchunas Introduction Approaches for Estimating Net Ecosystem Production Net ecosystem production (NEP) is the total carbon accumulated in an ecosystem over a time interval, usually a year. The C is stored above- and belowground in plants, animals, and soils, and has residence times ranging from less than one to several hundred years or more.
Suspension Feeders
B T Hentschel, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA J Shimeta, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. What Is Suspension Feeding Organisms That Suspension Feed Mechanisms of Particle Contact Retaining Contacted Particles Suspension Feeding in More Complicated Flow Regimes Ecological Interactions Related to Suspension Feeding Further Reading Suspension feeding is the capture and ingestion of food particles that are suspended in water....
Statistics
Perhaps the most common method for quantifying the genetic differentiation between populations is based on F-statistics, which were developed by Wright (1951). F-Statistics use inbreeding coefficients to describe the partitioning of genetic variation within and among populations and can be calculated at three different levels. Note that in describing these levels we will follow the convention set by the literature underlying the theory of F-statistics, and refer to spatially discrete samples as...
West Nile Outbreak Linked To Climate Change
This year may be the worst for West Nile virus in the United States since it emerged 13 years ago, and there's reason to think that global warming may be to blame. One of the most frustrating things about discussing climate change is the difficulty to pin down cause and effect. Anyone with a basic understanding of the subject knows that an October snowstorm doesn't disprove global warming.
What do Moose Eat? Life and Feeding Habits
Given you have been to the wilderness of Canada, North America or Russia, you may have already encountered them. For one, it is nearly impossible to not see their screaming antlers and stern appearance. Not to mention the vivid description of them in media, in cartoons or in documentaries. Yes, you probably guessed it right, the creature that I am talking about are Moose.
Egyptian Farm Owner Aims For Sustainability
An organic vegetable grower in Egypt has remained committed to sustainable farming practices despite a lack of governmental support for environmentally responsible agriculture. Khalil Nasrallah, co-founder of Wadi Food, a network of organic farms that produce more than 300 products including olives, pickles, pasta sauces and honey, is passionate about sustainable farming. But he told the Egypt Independent that most sustainable farming techniques are not cost-effective in Egypt.
Dairy Farm Simulation Tests Sustainable Practices
A simulated dairy farm run by Pennsylvania State University's College of Agricultural Sciences is being used to identify best practices for sustainable farming. Using a computer model to simulate milk production and herd management, the research project is based on a 12-acre crop bed that represents a 240-acre farm with 65 lactating cows, according to GantDaily.com. Scientists from Penn State are leading the project with help from students and the U.S.
Elemental Composition of Biomolecules
Variation in elemental composition among organisms can be driven by stoichiometric differences at many levels of internal organization. As outlined below, major classes of biomolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, protein, and nucleic acids contain different concentrations of C, N, P, and other major elements such as H, O, and S Table 2 . Table 2 Approximate C N P H O S stoichiometry of mass of selected macromolecules and other organic compounds Table 2 Approximate C N P H O S stoichiometry...
What Do Ladybugs Eat? The Food A Ladybug Wants To Find
The ladybug or ladybird beetle is one of the most popular insect all over the world. It is familiar because of its polka-dotted body covering and its association with the springtime. But did you know that ladybugs are not actually bugs Taxonomically speaking, ladybugs belong to order coleoptera or the beetle order.
The Reproductive Anatomy Of Weasels
The testes of males are simple oval sacs within the furry scrotum. The coiled tube of the vas deferens leaves the epididymis, at the distal end of the testis, and ascends back into the body cavity again. The penis is stiffened by the baculum, a small rod-shaped bone attached to the pelvis by muscles at one end, which acts as a rigid support during copulation. The urethra fits within a groove on the underside of the baculum, shown in Figure 9.1. Normally the whole apparatus is hidden inside the...
What Do Beetles Eat? Learn How The Beetle Types Feed
To describe beetles on a very artistic manner, you would probably go with the biggest insect in a shining armor'. Often seen in trees and shrubs, beetles come with apples and persimmons when we try to reap such fruits. As we have all seen, and most probably touched, these insects are distinctively known to have such exoskeleton, or bones which will serve as a framework of their body- but just on the outside. Like any other insects, beetles have the usual body parts.
Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle represents one of the most important nutrient cycles found in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Nitrogen is used by living organisms to produce a number of complex organic molecules like amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric ecosystems receive nitrogen inputs through natural processes and human activities. The Earth's atmosphere contains about 78 nitrogen. Nitrogen in the atmosphere is abundant but not in the right chemical form...
An Innovative Control of Shoreline Erosion
In addition to the traditional problems of agriculture-related erosion, erosion control for natural ecosystems Figure 1 Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Photographer Jack Dykinga, http Figure 1 Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Photographer Jack Dykinga, http Figure 2 Wind erosion on Ulen fine sandy loam, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Photographer Adrian Fox, http Photo 20File FrontAgr3.jpg. Figure 2 Wind...
More Protections to Keep Children Safe From Lead
Kids who are exposed to lead suffer in many ways. Experts say even low levels of lead exposure can impair a child's IQ, learning capabilities and memory. That's why the Environmental Protection Agency is expanding the nation's air quality monitoring network. The EPA announced it is strengthening lead monitoring requirements to ensure that air quality is measured near industrial facilities that emit a half ton or more of lead per year.
More College Campuses Ban Plastic Bottled Water
In September Seattle University became the first Washington state higher education institution to stop selling plastic bottled water campus-wide. Bottled water sales were removed from vending machines, athletic concessions stands, the bookstore, on-campus restaurants and catering services in order to reduce the university's impact on the environment.
Do Your Part To Stomp Out Electronic Waste
Bring your old electronics to one of our Do Your Part To Stomp Out Electronic Waste collection sites and have it recycled for free. Your e-waste will be refurbished or responsibly recycled* through Goodwill. All funds raised will support local job training programs in our communities. So Do Your Part and help stomp out dangerous electronic waste in our community.
New Georgia Utility Building Solar Plant To Replace Retired Coal Plants
One more coal plant down, only a few hundred more to go A new solar utility company in Georgia has big plans to replace several coal-fired power plants being retired in the state. When Georgia Power Company announced it was set to take two coal-burning units offline at its Plant Branch facility in order to reduce the area's dependence on coal energy, Georgia Solar Utilities Inc. offered to build a solar plant on-site and sell them the plant and power through a power-purchasing agreement.
Shape of Ecotones
The morphology of the borders is of great importance for the functioning of the ecotones and for the role that they can play in the dynamics of a mosaic. Several empirical studies have demonstrated that the more a border is convoluted, the more complex are the processes that can be observed Fig. 6.6 . Many species of animals Fig. 6.6 The border of a patch may be highly convoluted as in A or less convoluted as in B . Generally human activity tries to reduce border irregularity depressing the...
Basic Definitions
The water hydrologic cycle Figure 3 depicts transport of water and its conversion in different statuses as it circulates throuth both local and global systems. Water exists in three basic states of aggregation liquid, solid, and gas. Conversion from one state to another is associated with either release or consumption of energy. The water cycle is composed of many components inter connected in a web of complex interactions. Water vapor is able to move fast both...
Fluvial Processes along the River Continuum
We are now familiar with many of the principal features of streams, including the shape of their channels, the lateral connection to the flood-plain, the presence of riffles, pools, and meanders, and the sediments of the streambed and its banks. These features vary along the river's course from headwaters to lowlands, and with regional differences in climate and terrain. As stated earlier, streams seek a state of dynamic equilibrium between the imposed conditions of valley slope, discharge, and...
What Do Gorillas Eat? Feeding Habits Of A Gorilla
As far as population genetics is concerned, gorillas are considered by scientists as one of the few species of great apes that are closely related to humans. What are great apes by the way What are their differences with monkeys Great apes are monkey relatives but they differ in size, posture, the presence of tails and size of brains. Great apes which include gorillas are larger in size. They are able to walk upright for hours.
Water Uptake in Deserts Animals
Vertebrates are able to obtain water from three sources 1 free water, 2 moisture contained in food, and 3 metabolic water formed during the process of cellular respiration. Some are able to receive water from all three sources, while others are able to exploit only one or two methods. Highly mobile animals tend to be restricted to the use of open water sources that are often sparse and far between. Typical examples are desert birds that fly in regular intervals to the few bodies of water...
What Do Woodpeckers Eat?
Woodpeckers are part of the Picidae family of birds. Members of this family are found all over the world, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extremely cold polar regions of the planet. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in desert areas, and peck at cactus instead of trees.
How to make a liquor bottle lamp for $10
Want to add some upcycled style to your home bar How about reclaim the waste from your local pub to turn a personal profit Either way, this DIY liquor bottle lamp project is a simple and creative way to do both. Suzi's Crafts has some of the best DIY instructions I've ever seen for working with glass bottles safely and easily. The main thing you need for any project that requires drilling a hole in a glass bottle is a diamond tip drill bit.
The Biotic Enhancement of Weathering and the Long Term Carbon Cycle
The biotic enhancement of weathering (BEW) is defined as how much faster the silicate weathering carbon sink is under biotic conditions than under abiotic conditions at the same atmospheric pCO2 level and surface temperature. If BEW is significantly greater than 1, on an abiotic Earth the steady state would occur with higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and surface temperatures doing the 'work' generating an equal flux as the outgas-sing flux, than the biotic cover on land does at lower...
Mysterious Trails In The Skies Of Malta
A few weeks ago the blue skies of Malta were covered with persistent white lines that looked like airplane trails, but according to some are more likely to be what are sometimes called chemtrails . In theory, chemtrails differ from trails in that they last much longer than traces left by airplanes. Airplane trails or contrails , depending on weather conditions and altitude, can last five minutes or, as the trails over the skies of Malta did, hours.
Competition between Paramecium species
The fourth example comes from the classic work of the great Russian ecologist G. F. Gause, who studied competition in laboratory experiments using three species of the protozoan Paramecium (Gause, 1934, 1935). All three species grew well alone, reaching stable carrying capacities in tubes of liquid medium. There, Paramecium consumed bacteria or yeast cells, which themselves lived on regularly replenished oatmeal (Figure 8.3a). When Gause grew P. aurelia and P. caudatum together, P. caudatum...
Industrial Revolution Industrialization
The transformation from an agricultural to an industrial society began only about 250 years ago, but its consequences for the natural world are almost unprecedented. The major innovation that marks the industrial era is the exploitation of the earth's vast stocks of fossil fuel. The availability of more energy per capita has led to undreamed of material wealth for a significant percentage of the world's population, but it has also put tremendous pressure on land and natural resources. The major...
What Do Humpback Whales Eat?
Humpback whales are found in every ocean on Earth. They are intelligent creatures, that live in groups called pods. The average humpback whale weighs around 35 tons, or 80,000 lbs, and can grow up to 50 feet in length, so the definitive answer to what do humpback whales eat is definitely a lot of food The scientific name for the humpback whale is Megaptera novaeangliae'. They are mammals known as cetaceans.
Rapidly Rising Ocean Acidity Threatens Marine Life
Carbon dioxide causes global warming, but it also is the reason behind another problem ocean acidification. The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide that would otherwise contribute to global warming, but it's not all good news. This additional CO2 changes water's chemistry, making it more acidic, which will vastly alter marine life in the next several decades and force extinction of many species.
Angiosperms
Angiosperms, commonly known as flowering plants, are the largest and most diverse group of plants, with 275,000 species representing more than 80 percent of all green plants. As a consequence, they are the principal components of the earth's terrestrial vegetation and are the most economically important group, as the principal source of foods, fiber products, timber, medicinals, dyes, spices, and ornamentals. In terms of number and phytomass, they contribute to the food chain in many ways. The...
What Do Hedgehogs Eat?
The African pygmy hedgehog is the most often type of hedgehog to be domesticated and kept as a pet by many consumers. It is a hybrid of two African species. A Hedgehog kept as a pet requires dedication and patience. This may be more than some people are willing to provide. Providing the correct environment and diet will help to ensure that your hedgehog provides you and your family with a great deal of enjoyment.
Fungi with algae the lichens
Of the 70,000 or so species of fungus that are known, approximately 20 are 'lichenized' (Palmqvist, 2000). Lichens are nutritionally specialized fungi (the so-called 'mycobiont' component) that have escaped from their normal way of life into a mutualistic association with a 'photo-biont'. In around 90 of lichen species the photobiont is an alga, which provides carbon compounds to the mycobiont through photosynthesis. In some cases, the photobiont is a cyanobacterium, which may also provide...
Evolution of Biogeochemical Cycling
Structural Peculiarities of Biogeochemical Cycles' Development Although ecological systems can be considered as the next level of matter self-organization after the biological one, it is quite probable that biogeochemical cycling preceded the origin of separate organisms. First, the cyclic chemical reactions, including both synthetic and decomposing processes, were formed in the ocean. Then their main links were shaped as separate self-reproduced organisms. The formation of the biological...
What Do Panthers Eat?
A black panther is not a species in its own right the name black panther is an umbrella term that refers to any big cat with a black coat. When a big cat is completely black, it is called melanism'. Melanism is the opposite of albinism. Black Panthers in Asia and Africa are actually leopards, whilst black panthers in the Americas are, in fact, Jaguars.
What are the Sources of Indoor Air Pollution?
Indoor air pollution is one of the leading causes of health issues in the Indian sub-continent. The deteriorating air quality inside homes is mostly affecting women and children as they spend most of their time indoors. In urban city centres, the problem is made severe by pollutants from vehicular exhaust and industrial emissions. These hazardous particles can stay indoors for long periods of time without getting noticed.
Oregon Man Gets 30 Days In Jail For Collecting Rainwater
Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, Oregon has been sentenced to 30 days in jail but not for something you would think would warrant it he collected rainwater on his own property. Stemming from a dispute that started in 2002 over three pond reservoirs that Harrington had on his own 170 acre property, his conviction was decided under a 1925 law handing all against private reservoirs and that according to Oregon water laws, all water is publicly owned.
Movements of land masses
Long ago, the curious distributions of species between continents, seemingly inexplicable in terms of dispersal over vast distances, led biologists, especially Wegener 1915 , to suggest that the continents themselves must have moved. This was vigorously denied by geologists, until geomagnetic measurements required the same, apparently wildly improbable explanation. The discovery that the tectonic plates of the earth's crust move and carry with them the migrating continents, reconciles geologist...
11 Malnourished Siberian Tigers Die at Chinese Zoo
In a horrific case that highlights the possibility of poor animal care and neglect, 11 Siberian Tiger deaths occurred over the past 3 months at China's Shenyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo. Reporters blame the deaths on starvation and poor living conditions, claiming the endangered big cats were fed nothing but chicken bones and confined to small, metal cages. Zoo officials state otherwise, blaming the deaths on unspecified diseases.
Contrasting Homeostasis in Plants and Animals
Autotrophs rely on either light or chemical energy to turn CO2 into organic carbon molecules. Photoautotrophs are photosynthesizing organisms such as algae and higher plants that use light for this process. Heterotrophs, in contrast, obtain their chemical energy from preexisting organic molecules. Examples ofheterotrophs include bacteria, which absorb organic substances from their surroundings, and many different animals, which consume and digest other organisms. These two major contrasting...
What Do Llamas Eat?
Llamas belong to the same family as camels and are classed as Camelidae. They do not have humps to store fat, but like camels, they can go for long periods of time without drinking water. Llamas live in the wild, and as domesticated animals reared on farms, in zoos, and as pets. What do llamas eat can really depend on where they are raised. What do llamas eat Llamas are usually fed grains, grass hay, and herbivore pellets.
Sprainting behaviour and other scent communication
An otter spraint is usually tiny, no more than a small dollop of faeces. Both river otters and Eurasian otters usually produce spraints that are grey or black and tarry, with fish bones, shapeless, sometimes very liquid but, if solid, generally less than 1-2 cm across. Even a human nose can smell the insignificant, fishy-reeking objects several metres away, at least during the first hour after an animal has been there. Spraints are incontrovertible evidence of the passage of an otter, and are...
Water Resources of the World
Water is the most abundant substance at the Earth's surface, with most (almost all) of it contained in the oceans, which cover nearly 71 of the surface area of the Earth. Oceans are by far the Earth's largest reservoir, but their water is salty (with salinity from 33 to 37 g kg ). If evenly distributed on the Earth-sized uniform sphere, water would form a layer of a depth of 2.7 km. The global water resources constitute approximately 1.385 billion km3 (Figure 1). This makes up 0.17 of Earth's...
Genetic drift
Genetic drift is a process that causes a population's allele frequencies to change from one generation to the next simply as a result of chance. This happens because reproductive success within a population is variable, with some individuals producing more offspring than others. As a result, not all alleles will be reproduced to the same extent, and therefore allele frequencies will fluctuate from one generation to the next. Because genetic drift alters allele frequencies in a purely random...
What do Pheasants Eat: Read This First Before Feeding Your Pheasant!
This article aims to give you background in raising pheasants as pets. We will focus on the diet aspect of pheasants by answering the question what do pheasants eat. We will also discuss basic information about pheasants such as What are pheasants What do pheasants eat in the wild How do I start raising pheasants from chicks What should I feed my pet pheasants What are pheasants Pheasants are game birds that are closely related to chicken, partridges, and quails.
Primary Productivity
Primary productivity is the rate of conversion of solar energy into plant matter. The total rate of solar energy conversion into carbohydrates (total photosynthesis) is gross primary productivity (GPP). However, a portion of GPP must be expended by the plant through metabolic processes necessary for maintenance, growth, and reproduction and is lost as heat through respiration. The net rate at which energy is stored as plant matter is net primary productivity. The energy stored in net primary...
What Do Crawfish Eat?
What do crawfish eat Let's learn the food types that this favorite sea food eats before we eat them. Crawfish, also called crayfish, freshwater lobsters, crawdads, yabbies, mudbugs or mountain lobsters are freshwater crustaceans that are similar to small lobsters, in which they have some relation. Just like lobsters, they have pincers and are colored brown, gray and red. They are members of the family Parastacoidea and family Astacoidea. Crawfish breathe through feather-like gills.
The Highlands
Physiography Moving from east to west, upon leaving the Piedmont province one encounters the Blue Ridge and the Ridge and Valley provinces, and the Appalachian plateaus. The Blue Ridge Mountains, a belt 5 to 80 miles wide, extends from beyond the northern extremity of the southern Appalachians in Virginia southward to Georgia. This is the province through which passes the Appalachian Trail, the uninterrupted footpath from Maine's Mt. Katahdin to Springer Mountain in Georgia.12 This is also the...
Aquatic Cuisine: What Do Lobsters Eat Before We Eat Them?
Think of a steamed lobster with seared mushrooms in front of you, with the tasty combination of thyme and butter. Lobster toast on your other side and Maine Lobster Roll a few inches away from the knife and fork that you are holding. Just the thought of these things makes me hungry. One can never deny the tasty goodness of these aquatic animals.
Ecology Of Birds In Natural Landscape
The approximately 9,800 species of living birds belong to what zoologists call the Class Aves of the Animal Kingdom. Modern birds are easily distinguished from their fellow vertebrates such as amphibians, reptiles, and mammals by a unique feature that they all share feathers. Even penguins, which don't fly, but swim in the sea using their flippers to propel themselves, have feathers although their coat may look superficially like fur. Feathers are modified scales. Unlike scales, feathers are...
What do Clams Eat? Learn About the Life of a Clam
One of most people's fondest childhood memories is going to the beach, strolling along the shore and picking up seashells. And, I believe none of us thought that they are different from each other. They might come in different shapes, colors and sizes, but if you are a six-year old, they are all the same creatures with hard and colorful shells. This article aims to further explain the world of clams. From the small creatures on the shore, we will look at them in a more precise perspective.
What Do Jellyfish Eat: Things You Need To Know
What jellyfish eat is a very common query asked by people over the internet. Students are looking for information about the jellyfish diet for their science or biology class. Hobbyist who are planning to get a jellyfish from the wild or pet shop are also wondering about the food of this weird, yet fascinating creature.
Apple Plans Eco-Friendly Campus
Photo Credit Apple Apple computer is working to design a state-of-the-art environmentally friendly campus for the company. They are calling it a city within a city in Cupertino, California. The 98 acre site will be just two miles from the company's current headquarters at One Infinite Loop. Spanish business newspaper El Economista reports the campus will be a car-free city that will claim to be the world's first metropolis to shun carbon emissions altogether.
The nutritional content of plants and animals as food
As a 'package' of resources, the body of a green plant is quite different from the body of an animal. This has a tremendous effect on the value of these resources as potential food Figure 3.23 . The most important contrast is that plant cells are bounded by walls of cellulose, lignin and or other structural materials. It is these cell walls that give plant material its high fiber content. The presence of cell walls is also largely responsible for the high fixed carbon content of plant tissues...
Hardy Weinberg equilibrium
Under certain conditions, the genotype frequencies within a given population will follow a predictable pattern. To illustrate this point, we will use the example of the scarlet tiger moth Panaxia dominula. In this species a one locus two allele system generates three alternative wing patterns that vary in the amount of white spotting on the black forewings and in the amount of black marking on the predominantly red hindwings. Since these patterns correspond to homozygous dominant, heterozygous...
Variants on the Basic Model
There are two main types of allopatric speciation. First, in vicariant speciation sometimes called dichopatric or dumbbell speciation , a species is split into two large populations by the appearance of a barrier to dispersal Figure 2 , such as mountain building, changes in ocean circulation, continental rifting, glaciation, and climate-driven habitat fragmentation. Vicariant specia-tion corresponds to the geographic mode of speciation highlighted by Mayr in Systematics, and since then there...
Types of Measurement Scale
Stevens (1946) defined four types of measurement scale nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales. The outcome of a nominal scale measurement is a yes or no decision about whether an object belongs to a class. An example is whether a species occurs in an area. The outcome of ordinal scale measurement is a ranking first, second, third, and so on. Comparison of objects produces a ranking, with no information about the magnitude of the difference between adjacent ranks. An example is the order...
The Ocean Currents Climate and Biosphere
The Role of the Ocean Currents in the Climate System Modern ocean circulation represents a complex three-dimensional phenomenon which is determined by the Earth's geography and spatial patterns of surface wind, and surface heat and freshwater fluxes. Surface ocean currents are directly driven by wind and the existence of large-scale oceanic gyres Figure 1 is explained by prevailing westerlies in the mid-latitudes and trade winds in the tropics. The divergence of surface wind-driven currents...
Scent Communication
Weasels are solitary animals for most of the year, but that does not mean that they are totally nonsociable. Weasels must be well aware of their neighbors, even if only to avoid them. They keep in touch with each other by a well-developed system of scent communication an efficient mechanism for small animals living on large home ranges covered with thick vegetation. Even under snow, the conditions are good for scent communication cool, dark, humid, still, and quiet and odor signals last well,...