the following video provides a close-up view of the the development of 5 frog embryos.
11 days in 66 seconds:
more information on the making of this time-lapse video: [more...]
Archive for the 'nature' Category
great news for one of the most endangered bird species of the planet:
In the last two weeks, five kakapo chicks have hatched with another two due to arrive in the coming fortnight.
While seven may seem a meagre birth-rate, it’s big news for a bird that has battled back from the brink of extinction.
The births are the culmination of an extensive recovery programme launched by the Conservation Department, after research expeditions discovered that numbers had slumped to 51 kakapo in 1995.
Kakapo recovery team leader Emma Neill said “boosting the population from 86 to 91 is awesome especially considering these birds only breed every few years”.
source: five an ‘awesome’ boost to kakapo pop, stuff.co.nz
video clips:
- Endangered Kakapo hatch on island (tvnz.co.nz)
High hopes for kakapo breeding season with discovery of eggs (tv3.co.nz)
i laid my hands on romanesco - and couldn’t give it away before i had taken some photos of it.
if you know what this vegetable looks like, you might be able to understand why:
romanesco is a variant form of cauliflower (brassica oleracea var. botrytis), looks more like broccoli in its general shape and colour, but has one amazing feature: its flower buds exhibit a high level of self-similarity.
each little “bud cone” is made up by lots of smaller cones - they are fractal spirals (romanesco is sometimes called “fractal broccoli”).
furthermore, the number of cones in each spiral is part of the fibonacci sequence.
very well-suited to stare at in amazement ;-)
i’ve prepared a few photos of a bat skeleton from last summer.
it’s a preparation of a greater mouse-eared bat (myotis myotis, grosses mausohr), that i received for a bat presentation. it had been used for demonstration purposes for a long time, so the ribcage is damaged.
i think it’s fascinating to actually “trace back” their evolution and see how over time, the fingers were prolonged, connected with skin (similar to the webbed toes of a duck) and made into wings.
the photos also show that these little creatures adhere to the basic “blueprint” of all mammals.
rainfall is very rare in the desert - that’s why many species of desert plant have developed special mechanisms that help them to increase the offspring’s chances of survival.
cheiridopsis sp. (family aizoaceae) is one of these species: it has dry woody fruits that protect the seeds during dry periods.
when it starts to rain - sometimes it takes years from one rainfall to another - time is of the essence: as soon as a drop of rain lands on the capsules, they absorb the water and hydrostatic pressure opens them.
within minutes, seeds are released onto humid ground and find a good base to germinate.
while in south africa last september, i tried it myself: a drop of water sufficed, and the seed capsule was completely open just 10 minutes later.
i’ve also created an animated time-lapse gif that shows the process: [more...]
(für die deutsche version bitte auf “more” klicken.)
more stuff from my studies:
oops, wrong link. has now been fixed. thanks john.
this is a report i wrote last summer. it’s about myricaria germanica, the german tamarisk.
myricaria germanica is a very specialized species of plant that grows on freshly accumulated, unsettled riverbanks. since there are hardly any wild rivers left in europe (and consequently not a lot of natural riverbanks), it’s facing extinction.
the paper includes information on the plant itself, its habitat, range, utilization, associated plant communities, endangerment and conservation status, and a list of further reading.
AND - again, some pretty pictures for those of you who don’t understand german. ;)
related post: myricaria germanica photos
kakapo (strigops habroptilus)
new zealand’s department of conservation has revealed that kakapo have already laid two fertile eggs this breeding season, and two kakapo that were previously thought to be too young have also started laying eggs.
“This discovery is a great surprise for the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) Kakapo Recovery Team, and although the eggs may not be fertile, it’s big news that these birds could lay eggs at all.”
up until march 4th, there have been 11 matings alltogether.
full article: Kakapo breeding season off to a great start
related news: Cutting edge technology to film endangered birds
see also: kakapo-related blog posts at thinkoholic.com (including photos)
