The Nile Crocodile and Egyptian Plover
The Nile crocodile is found in Africa and on some islands, including Madagascar. The Nile crocodile was eradicated long ago in Palestine and Egypt and now cannot be found below the second cataract of the Nile. They are widespread throughout southern Africa but are absent in the northwest and Sahara regions as well as in the extreme southern portions of South Africa.
Nile crocodiles are strictly carnivorous, but there are unverified reports that they have been spotted eating vegetation. They certainly ingest vegetation accidentally when foraging among water plants for other prey.
The Nile crocodile lives in large communities ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred individuals, depending on their habitat. Although they live together, they engage in no group behaviors other than large feeding frenzies where all the crocodiles near a large prey animal converge on it and eat together with surprisingly little fighting. During one of these feeding frenzies, it is reported that there may be no other crocodiles within three kilometers of the event.
Egyptian plovers are found in Southeast Egypt, Senegal across to Eritrea; South to Uganda, Angola, below 1500 ft. in the immediate vicinity of rivers. Seldom seen around lakes and ponds, and does not like heavily forested areas. Once abundant along part of the Nile in Egypt, these birds have been extinct there since the early 20th century. Egyptian plovers are glossy black on the crown and nape, the under-eye stripe, ear covets, and on the mantle stripe. The stripes on the mantle and belly are heavily edged in white, and a white line passes fron the nape over the eye to the base of the black bill. The eyes are dark brown, and the legs and feet are blue-gray.
The Nile crocodile often swims in the Nile, which is full of leeches. In order to get rid of the leeches, the crocodile opens its mouth. Egyptian plovers fly into the mouths of the crocodiles and eat the leeches. The Nile crocodile does not eat the Egyptian plover.
Bumblebee and the Red Clover
Bumblebees (Bombidae) leave their nest in the autumn, and the fertilized queens hibernate in some protected place during the winter. In the spring each queen builds a nest of moss or grass, preferably in a deserted rodent nest. From scales secreted by abdominal glands, she makes a honeypot of wax and then makes a cell and half fills it with pollen before depositing her eggs in it. The queen covers the eggs with a layer of wax and sits on them like a brooding hen, sipping honey from her pot. After the larvae hatch, they eat the pollen and grow, then spin cocoons in which to pupate. When the workers emerge, they cut away the upper half of the cells, and the remainder is used as a receptacle for nectar. Bumblebee populations vary from year to year, depending on environmental factors; but one typical nest collected in Wisconsin contained one queen, 515 adult workers, 117 worker and 119 queen pupae, 101 larvae, 308 eggs contained in 18 cells on cylinders of pollen, and 709 empty worker cells filled with honey.
Red clover(Trifolium pratense) is an important forage legume for eastern Oklahoma, and is generally grown with grasses or small grains for pastures. Red clover makes abundant growth from spring through late summer, and produces high-quality forage for stocker and cow-calf operations. It is used as a short-lived perennial (2-3 years) in Oklahoma where alfalfa is not adapted because of shallow or acid soils. Red clover plants are leafy and grow erect up to 3 feet tall. The leaves are marked with a white "V". Red clover leaves, stems, and petioles are covered with thick hairs, and its pinkish-violet flowers are produced in dense clusters. Red clover exhibits greater seedling vigor than many other forage legumes, making it somewhat easier to establish. Red clover creates pollen for reproduction.
Bumblebees fly to red clover plants and drink the nectar that is produced in the flower. While sitting on the flower, pollen from the red clover is brushed upon the bodies of the bumblebee.
The Resplendant Quetzal and the Avocado
The Resplendent Quetzal is often held to be the most beautiful bird in the Western Hemisphere. A member of the elegant Trogon family, the Resplendent Quetzal is unique in that the breeding plumage of the males includes spectacular tail feathers that can reach two feet (60cm) in length. Birdwatchers from around the world make the long and bumpy trek to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in the Tilarán mountains of Costa Rica to attempt to catch a glimpse of this magnificent bird.
The breeding season for Resplendent Quetzals in Monteverde lasts from March though June or July. The birds naturally choose to nest in dead trees and stumps 3-20 meters (10-60 feet) above the ground. They will often enlarge cavities started by woodpeckers, but can also use their beaks to chip out their own holes if none are available already. The female lays two blue eggs and both parents help incubate for the next 18-19 days until they hatch. The growing chicks are initially fed mostly small invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles, but begin to eat fruit as they mature. The chicks fledge about 25 days after hatching -- if they escape the constant threat of predation. Less than 20 percent of the young survive to leave the nest. Toucanets, Brown Jays, squirrels, Tayras, and weasels are all happy to make a meal of young Quetzals.
Originally from Mexico, the avocado's wild relatives date back over 9000 years. The Aztecs dubbed the fruit 'ahuacatl' and ate it mashed on corn tortillas. By 1527 the Spanish had carried the fruit to Spain and from there it made its way to other parts of the world. Henry Perrine is said to have planted the first domesticated avocado in Florida in 1833. Today the state boasts it grows over 56 varieties of the tree, a relative of the laurel, cinnamon, bay and sassafras. Though growing only about seven varieties, California produces about 95 percent of all avocados grown in the U.S. Spain, Mexico and Israel are also major avocado producers.
Resplendent Quetzals rely heavily on the fruit of wild avocados for food. The fruits are swallowed whole, and the large seeds, still viable, are often regurgitated at some distance from the source tree. Because Quetzals are among the only frugivorous (fruit-eating) birds able to eat these large fruits, it is thought that the wild avocados are quite reliant on them to disperse their seeds.
Ants and Aphids
Like all insects, ants have six legs. Each leg has three joints. The legs of the ant are very strong so they can run very quickly. If a man could run as fast for his size as an ant can, he could run as fast as a racehorse. Ants can lift 20 times their own body weight. An ant brain has about 250 000 brain cells. A human brain has 10,000 million so a colony of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size brain as a human.
The average life expectancy of an ant is 45-60 days. Ants use their antenae not only for touch, but also for their sense of smell. The head of the ant has a pair of large, strong jaws. The jaws open and shut sideways like a pair of scissors. Adult ants cannot chew and swallow solid food. Instead they swallow the juice, which they squeeze from pieces of food. They throw away the dry part that is left over. The ant has two eyes, each eye is made of many smaller eyes. They are called compound eyes. The abdomen of the ant contains two stomachs. One stomach holds the food for itself and second stomach is for food to be shared with other ants. Like all insects, the outside of their body is covered with a hard armour this is called the exoskeleton. Ants have four distinct growing stages, the egg, larva, pupa and the adult.
Aphids aretiny, usually green, soft-bodied, pear-shaped insect injurious to vegetation. It is also called greenfly and blight. Aphids are mostly under 1/4 in. (6 mm) long. Some are wingless; others have two pairs of transparent or colored wings, the front pair longer than the hind pair. In typical aphids (family Aphididae), two tubes called cornicles project from the rear of the abdomen and exude protective substances. Aphids feed by inserting their beaks into stems, leaves, or roots, and sucking the plant juices. Usually they gather in large colonies.
Some aphids (e.g., the woolly apple aphid) secrete long strands of waxy material from wax glands, forming a conspicuous woolly coating for their colonies. Gall-making aphids live in galls, or swellings of plant tissue, formed by the plant as a reaction to substances secreted by the insects; galls of different aphid species are easily identified (e.g., the cockscomb gall of elm leaves). One group of aphids lives only on conifers (e.g., the eastern spruce gall aphid).
Aphids feed on trees by sucking sugary tree sap out of the tree's phloem. But aphids are not very neat, just look at cars parked under aphid infested trees. The cars are covered with tree sap. But not all of the sap reaches your car. Some species of ants take advantage of this smaller insect by effectively domesticating the aphids. The ants directs the aphids from plant to plant, then milk them for the sap like a group of dairy cows.
Fungus and an Algae = Lichen
Lichens are able to grow in extreme environments; found in the hottest desert, the coldest tundra, and the wettest rain forest. They may grow on soil, debris, rocks, tree bark or leaves. There are more than 3600 species in the United States and Canada. Lichens are extremely vulnerable to habitat alteration and pollution. As such, scientists use them as indicators of ecosystem continuity and pollution damage. Most lichens grow very slowly, often less than a millimeter per year. They are able to shut down ("hibernate") during extended periods of unfavorable conditions and survive extremes of heat, cold, and drought.
With the right amounts of light, moisture, clean air, and freedom from competition, lichens can colonize almost any undisturbed surface. They have even been found growing on old auto tail-light lenses. Lichens provide refuge for spiders, mites, lice and other insects. Many cultures use lichens in many varied ways; some eat lichens (beware a few are poisonous), cloth has been dyed with lichens, drug companies make antibiotics from lichen substances.
Lichens are the symbiosis between a fungus and an alga. Some fungi may be in association with more than one species of algae. The alga, under optimal conditions, produces simple sugars from atmospheric carbon dioxide and water by photosynthesis. The fungus provides shelter and protection for the alga. The alga's sugar production supplies both fungus and alga with nourishment. It does not destroy trees on which it is found growing; but may be a indicator of a stressed or weakened plant. They are not diseases. Haematomma accolens above is growing on the bark of a tree, while Xanthoparmelia cumberlandia is growing on a stone.
The Shark Remora and the Great White Shark
A remora is any of the several species of warmwater fishes of the family Echeneidae, characterized by an oval sucking disk on the top of the head. With this apparatus (a modification of the dorsal fin) the remora, or suckerfish, attaches itself to sharks, swordfishes, drums, marlins, and sea turtles. In this way it travels without effort, feeding on scraps from the prey of these larger creatures and in some cases on their crustacean parasites. The adhesive power of their sucking disks is so great that the natives of some tropical regions use remoras to catch sea turtles by attaching lines to their tails. Different species prefer different hosts. The whalesucker, Remilegia australis, is usually found attached to whales. The smallest remora, the 7 in. (18 cm) Remoropsis pallidus, prefers swordfishes and tuna. Largest and most common is the shark remora, or sharksucker, which reaches 3 ft (90 cm) in length and attaches itself to sharks. Remoras are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Echeniformes, family Echeneidae.
When a great white shark is born,along with up to a dozen siblings, it immediately swims away from its mother. Baby sharks are on their own right from the start, and their mother may see them only as prey. At birth the baby shark is about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long already; as it grows it may reach a length three times that.
The pup (which is what a baby shark is called) will live its life at the top of the ocean’s food chain. As the largest predatory fish in the ocean, great white sharks are the top predators of the sea. But before it grows larger, the pup must avoid predators bigger than it is—including other great white sharks. Many baby sharks do not survive their first year.Young great white sharks eat fish (including other sharks) and rays. As it grows, the shark’s favorite prey becomes sea mammals, especially sea lions and seals.
Sharks count on the element of surprise as they hunt. When they see a seal at the surface of the water, sharks will often position themselves underneath the seal. Then they swim upward at a fast sprint, bursting out of the water in a leap called a breach, and falling back into the water with the seal in their mouths.
Sharks don’t chew their food; they rip off chunks of meat and swallow them whole. After eating a seal or a sea lion the great white shark can last a month or two without another big meal.
The remora and the great white shark have a symbiosis. The dorsal fin of the remora (a bony fish) is modified into a sucker with which it forms a temporary attachment to the shark. When the shark feeds, the remora picks up scraps. The shark makes no attempt to prey on the remora.
Clownfish and Sea Anemones
From their very first minutes of life, the clownfish cover themselves with a special mucus coating made of a combination of their own secretions and the secretions of the anemone's tentacles. Because they are covered with this coating, they are protected, just as the tentacles are protected from their own stings. The brilliantly colored Clownfish gets its name from its distinctive black and white markings.
Clownfish belong to a group of small, brightly colored fish called damselfish. Clownfish lay their eggs in batches on the clear coral or rock adjacent to the anemone, or at the base of the male guards the eggs until they hatch 4-5 days later. In some species of clownfish, the male cares for the young until they reach sexual maturity, at which time they leave to find their own host anemone. Most clownfish spawn on coral near their host anemone, not within the anemone itself.
A Sea anemone is any of the relatively large, predominantly solitary polyps (see polyp and medusa) of the class Anthozoa, phylum Cnidaria. Unlike the closely related corals, these organisms do not have a skeleton. Sea anemones occur everywhere in the oceans, at all depths, but are particularly abundant in coastal waters. Many are beautifully colored (reds, pinks, yellows) and look like flowers when the oral, or feeding, end, equipped with many extensions called tentacles, is fully open. Some anemones are tiny, but most are from one to several inches (2.5–10 cm) long. Most sea anemones attach temporarily to submerged objects; a few thrust themselves into the sand or live in furrows; a few are parasitic on other marine organisms. Some anemones feed on small particles, which are caught with the aid of a mucus secretion and moving currents that are set up by the tentacles. Most sea anemones are predaceous, immobilizing their prey with the aid of specialized stinging cells called nematocysts. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia.
Clownfishes live within the waving mass of tentacles of sea anemones; Because most fishes avoid the poisonous tentacles, the clownfishes are protected from predators. Perhaps this relationship borders on mutualism because the clownfishes actually may attract other fishes on which the anemone can feed. The sea anemone's tentacles quickly paralyze and seize other fishes as prey.