JOIN US‘JELLYVORES’
There are not many ‘jellyvores’ in the world, or so scientists have long thought. Gelatinous sea animals, like the jellyfish (jellies), have traditionally been regarded as ‘dead ends’ in food webs. Because they are so low in calories, it was thought that most predators would not benefit from eating them. But a recent study has identified a new, unexpected jelly-eater:
penguins. In a paper published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, an international consortium of scientists have reported that penguins frequently attack jellies as food, a behaviour that had not been documented before. The study, led by Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, a researcher at the National Institute of Polar Research in Japan, teams from five countries monitored the Magellanic penguins in Argentina, Adélie penguins in Antarctica, little penguins in Australia and yellow-eyed penguins in New Zealand. Strapping mini video cameras to the penguins, they documented nearly 200 strikes on jellies at seven sites. The researchers estimated that jellies provide only 1 to 2% of penguins’ daily energy needs. But why would penguins expend the energy to catch jellies for such low return? One possible clue comes from the fact that the researchers saw penguins eating only carnivorous jellies, not herbivorous ones, like salps.
LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATIONS
Tracking hints of changes
Ever wondered if natural surroundings give out subtle hints before going through landscape level transformations? Scientists from Princeton University, USA and Indian Institute of Science, India, have collaborated to figure out if there are any such hints in nature which can help in predicting transformations within grassland and woodland habitats in Serengeti-Mara. The researchers were working on ‘Critical Slowing Down’ (CSD), a phenomenon where as ecosystems approach natural landscape-level changes, they tend to become slow to recover from external disturbances in nature (also called perturbations).
A few common examples of such perturbations are earthquakes, storms and even human-induced alteration of natural landscapes. The researchers used rainfall as a potential indicator. With the help of information retrieved from satellite imagery and by using advanced statistical modelling, they have come close to predicting these transformations before they occur. CSD effect has been tested and proven in laboratory settings as well as in well-mixed landscape systems. But this is the first time scientists are trying to study its effect on a large landscape-level scale.
MYSTERY NO MORE
Swapping teeth for beaks
The world once trembled before the theropods. This dinosaur group, which included the Tyrannosaurus rex (T rex), was notorious for sharp, serrated teeth. But over millions of years, the fearsome beasts evolved into today’s birds, replacing their terrifying teeth with beaks.
How the theropod mouth transformed has long been a mystery, but a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides insight on the transition. Amy Balanoff, an evolutionary biologist from Johns Hopkins University, USA and an author of the paper, described the findings as further “evidence showing the line of evolution from a T rex to a pigeon.”
Using fossils and a large comparative analysis of modern animals, Amy and a team of evolutionary biologists, led by Shuo Wang from Capital Normal University, China, found that the loss of teeth and the emergence of beaks are connected processes in theropods. As the beak grew across the dinosaur’s face, it also inhibited the growth of teeth, the team suggested. In earlier research, Shuo ’s team had discovered an theropod called Limusaurus that started with teeth, but lost them as it grew older.
DOCUMENTARY
Flight of the Butterflies
Flight of the Butterflies, directed by Mike Sle covers Dr Fred Urquhart’s nearly 40-year-long scientific investigation into the monarch butterfly, tracking the details of what is considered one of the longest known insect migrations: the flight of the monarch butterfly from Central Mexico to the United States and Canada and back.
The documentary weaves together factual information about the monarchs with a dramatic re-enactment of the search for the answer to the mystery of where they spend the winter. It also looks into how these butterflies travel so far and know where they have to go each year. To watch the documentary, visit www.netflix.com/title/70259094.