A very MindRomp biological sciences thread

[Majiffy]

Idk Cave was a real test of inner strength

[Majiffy]

No jiffy game tho

[MSG]

great multimedia article telling depressingly familiar story https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...te-change.html

The global collapse of migratory shorebird populations is much more than a calamity facing a group of exquisitely evolved birds. It also tells us that our global network of aquatic systems is fraying. If water is the world’s lifeblood and aquatic systems are its connective tissue, then the decline of the planet’s most spectacular global travelers signals a systemic illness that demands our attention and action.

eta

[borealis]

Fewer and fewer shorebirds every year. It's quite noticeable.

[Majiffy]

[borealis]

Maybe ravens are why wolves hunt in packs.

Peterson’s team witnessed a single wolf killing a moose 11 times, which weakened the notion that wolves hunt in packs because of the difficulty of killing a moose without help. Vucetich, Peterson and Waite used the years of data from the Isle Royale wolf study to calculate that — in terms of energy burned and meat gained — wolves would do best hunting in pairs.

A 1,000-pound moose is much more than two wolves can eat right away, and that’s where the ravens come in. In a study published in Animal Behaviour, the scientists detailed these facts about ravens found by other scientists: individual ravens can eat and carry away up to 4 pounds of food per day from a large carcass. Ravens were responsible for moving half of a 660-pound moose carcass from a kill site in the Yukon Territory.

During the 27 years of Peterson’s wolf observations used in the recent study, ravens were present at every wolf kill, often within 60 seconds of a moose’s death. Noted raven researcher Bernd Heinrich has suggested that ravens evolved with wolves, with ravens possibly leading wolves to moose or caribou, and then later feeding upon the carcasses torn open by wolves.

That the wolf pack exists because of ravens is a new idea, supported by the group’s “conservative assumption” that wolves lose up to 44 pounds of food per day to ravens while feeding upon a carcass, and that a pair of wolves loses about 37 percent of a moose carcass to ravens while a pack of six wolves loses just 17 percent.

https://www.gi.alaska.edu/alaska-sci...ble-wolf-packs

[gib]

Speaking as a mammal i find the last few posts very encouraging when it comes to our age old rebellion against the dinosaurs. Victory is in sight comrades!

[borealis]

I dunno, if you have birds stealing 44 pounds of meat from your store every day, even if it's just pepperoni sticks, that's a large beakful of profits, I'd guess.

[MSG]

the MindRomp / vBulletin Twitter app doesn't work very well in that embedded links and pics and tweets that are being replied to don't appear so

[MSG]

How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia?
John Woinarski , Brett Murphy , Russell Palmer , Sarah Legge , Christopher Dickman , Tim Doherty , Glenn Edwards , Alex Nankivell , John Read , Danielle Stokeld

Abstract

Context. Feral cats Felis catus are a threat to biodiversity globally, but their impacts upon continental reptile faunas have been poorly resolved. Aims. To estimate the number of reptiles killed annually in Australia by cats; to list Australian reptile species known to be killed by cats. Methods. We used: (1) data from >80 Australian studies of cat diet (collectively, >10,000 samples); and (2) estimates of the feral cat population size, to model and map the number of reptiles killed by feral cats. Key results. Feral cats in Australia’s natural environments kill 466 million reptiles yr-1 (95% CI: 271–1006 million). The tally varies substantially between years, depending on changes in the cat population driven by rainfall in inland Australia. The number of reptiles killed by cats is highest in arid regions. On average, feral cats kill 61 reptiles km-2 yr-1, and an individual feral cat kills 225 reptiles yr-1. The take of reptiles per cat is higher than reported for other continents. Reptiles occur at a higher incidence in cat diet than in the diet of Australia’s other main introduced predator, the European red fox Vulpes vulpes. Based on a smaller sample size, we estimate 130 million reptiles yr-1 are killed by feral cats in highly modified landscapes, and 53 million reptiles yr-1 by pet cats, summing to 649 million reptiles yr-1 killed by all cats. Predation by cats is reported for 258 Australian reptile species (about one-quarter of described species), including 11 threatened species. Conclusions. Cat predation exerts a considerable ongoing toll on Australian reptiles. However, it remains challenging to interpret the impact of this predation in terms of population viability or conservation concern for Australian reptiles, because population size is unknown for most Australian reptile species, mortality rates due to cats will vary across reptile species, and there is likely to be marked variation among reptile species in their capability to sustain any particular predation rate. Implications. This study provides a well-grounded estimate of the numbers of reptiles killed by cats, but intensive studies of individual reptile species are required to contextualise the conservation consequences of such predation.

WR17160 Accepted 18 March 2018

© CSIRO 2018

[Imp]

So nossy, how much funding did you allocate to answer the burning question of 'do cats eat things?' and how do you look the other scientists in the eye after this?

[nostrum]

those biodiversity people are unmanageable

[Jerome]

For a group that is soo stuck on evolution, you sure don't seem to want it to take place.

[MSG]

That must be why my sister who works for the department refers to a critically endangered bird as the regent moneyeater

[MSG]

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/env...18-p4zg3y.html

When it came to temperature, they found the chainsaw hollows were comparable to natural hollows. That is, they were cooler during the day and warmer at night.

The difference between nest boxes and chainsaw hollows is analogous to the difference between a demountable house and a grand old home with thick, insulating walls.

That's because the living cells of a tree trunk form a thin layer just below the bark which carries water from roots to leaves – and it’s thought this moving water may draw heat from tree hollows during the day.

Which also explains why the trees appear not to be harmed by the chainsaw hollows, carved as they are into the dead heart of the tree.

[MSG]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0521143827.htm

Variegated fairy-wrens and splendid fairy-wrens are two small songbirds that live in Australia. The males of each species have striking, bright blue feathers that make them popular with bird watchers. Their behavior also makes them an appealing subject for biologists. Both species feed on insects, live in large family groups, and breed during the same time of year. They are also non-migratory, meaning they live in one area for their entire lives, occupying the same eucalyptus scrublands that provide plenty of bushes and trees for cover.

When these territories overlap, the two species interact with each other. They forage together, travel together, and seem to be aware of what the other species is doing. They also help each other defend their territory from rivals. Variegated fairy-wrens will defend their shared territory from both variegated and splendid outsiders; splendid fairy-wrens will do the same, while fending off unfamiliar birds from both species.

[gib]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44243644

[spruce]

Yes, they kilt a direwolf pup, thought to be extinct. Oh, the humanity.

[Zeluvia]

One of my favorite Dead Songs

In the timbers to Fennario, the wolves are running round,
The winter was so hard and cold, froze ten feet 'neath the ground.
Don't murder me, I beg of you, don't murder me. Please, don't murder me.

I sat down to my supper, 'twas a bottle of red whisky,
I said my prayers and went to bed, that's the last they saw of me.
Don't murder me, I beg of you, don't murder me. Please, don't murder me.

When I awoke, the Dire Wolf, six hundred pounds of sin,
Was grinning at my window, all I said was "Come on in".
Don't murder me, I beg of you, don't murder me. Please, don't murder me.

The Wolf came in, I got my cards, we sat down for a game.
I cut my deck to the Queen of Spades, but the cards were all the same.
Don't murder me, I beg of you, don't murder me. Please, don't murder me.

In the backwash of Fennario, the black and bloody mire,
The Dire Wolf collects his dues, while the boys sing 'round the fire.
Don't murder me, I beg of you, don't murder me. Please, don't murder me.
No, no, no don't murder me. I beg of you,
Don't murder me. Please, don't murder me.

Songwriters: Jerome J. Garcia / Robert C. Hunter

[MSG]

15,000

[Zeluvia]

tree lobster? wtf. are they delicious?

[MSG]

the rats and pigs apparently thought so

also this is my chance to reprise an oldie but a goodie

Spoiler

priceless ancient fossil meets

Lord Howe Island stick insect

https://www.smh.com.au/video/sponsor...07-gyd2n6.html

[MSG]

[Majiffy]

Originally Posted by Zeluvia

tree lobster? wtf. are they delicious?

Not as much as a rock lobster

[MSG]

Originally Posted by MSG

Ducks of doom, but they were probably not carnivorous

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-1...utback/9870192