#wildlife ecology

[a-typical]

American Holocaust — David E. Stannard

[kidzncrew]

Understanding the Adaptation of Aquatic Animals - Surviving and Thriving in Water

Aquatic animals have evolved a myriad of fascinating adaptations to thrive in their watery habitats. From streamlined bodies to specialized breathing mechanisms, these adaptations enable them to navigate, hunt, and survive in diverse aquatic environments. In this comprehensive exploration, we'll delve into the remarkable world of adaptation of aquatic animals, shedding light on their unique features and evolutionary strategies.

The national aquatic animal of India, the Ganges River Dolphin, exemplifies the incredible adaptations of aquatic species. This majestic creature, with its sleek body and elongated snout, is perfectly suited for life in the murky waters of the Ganges River. To learn more about the national aquatic animal, visit the KidzNCrew website for insightful information.

Adaptations for Life in Water

Aquatic animals have undergone remarkable adaptations to thrive in their aquatic habitats. Some of the key adaptations include:

Streamlined Bodies: Many aquatic animals, such as fish and dolphins, have streamlined bodies that reduce drag as they move through the water. This hydrodynamic shape allows them to swim swiftly and efficiently, conserving energy during long-distance travels or predator evasion.

Gills for Breathing: Unlike terrestrial animals, aquatic species rely on gills to extract oxygen from water. Gills are specialized respiratory organs that absorb dissolved oxygen from the surrounding water and expel carbon dioxide, enabling aquatic animals to breathe effectively in their underwater environment.

Buoyancy Control: Aquatic animals have various mechanisms for controlling their buoyancy, allowing them to float, sink, or maintain a neutral buoyancy level in water. Some species, like sharks, use oil-filled livers to adjust their buoyancy, while others, such as pufferfish, regulate their buoyancy using swim bladders.

Camouflage and Coloration: Many aquatic animals have evolved camouflage techniques and coloration patterns to blend in with their surroundings and avoid detection by predators or prey. From the cryptic coloration of seahorses to the disruptive patterns of cuttlefish, these adaptations help aquatic animals survive in their often challenging underwater habitats.

Conclusion and Call to Action

The adaptation of aquatic animals is a testament to the incredible diversity and resilience of life in water. Through millions of years of evolution, these creatures have developed an array of specialized features and behaviors to thrive in their aquatic environments.

For more wonderful and amazing facts about aquatic animals, consider visiting the KidzNCrew YouTube Channel. Our videos are packed with educational content that's perfect for kids and adults alike.

[cleverwitch-wolfskin]

I'm starting my new degree in spring (wildlife/fisheries conservation science)

I'm also starting volleyball then, too (libero!!)

And I'm shooting for my first endurance ride with Firefly soon (10 miles intro ride!!)

And I think I'm starting to write my new book of poetry (themed after connection/love of humans)

It's all this new and amazing stuff and I'm probably going to dump about it all over this blog~ 🩷✨

2024 looking to be full and fun!

[sunflowerrex]

Not Star Wars, but I found these in my camera roll n I figured someone might like them :-))

These were an assignment for an environmental communications class I took, I had to create a form of visual communication that required no further explanation - and I only had 60 mins to produce 3 products

This was part of an exam to see how adaptable we could be when it came to communicating environmental issues with little to no preparation

I just think back to this class often, n I wanna remake these pieces but with more time to give them the Justice they deserve

Feat my graduation cap :)) (BS in environmental sciences and ecology, currently working on a degree in ornithology and wildlife conservation)

[protectoursharks]

The shape of a fish's caudal tail can tell you a lot about how fast the fish moves! A rounded tail is the slowest and a lunate tail is the fastest! The lunate tail has the most optimal ratio of high thrust and low draw, making it the fastest.

Ichthyology Notes 2/?

[great-and-small]

When I was in vet school I went to this one lecture that I will never forget. Various clubs would have different guest lecturers come in to talk about relevant topics and since I was in the Wildlife Disease Association club I naturally attended all the wildlife and conservation discussions. Well on this particular occasion, the speakers started off telling us they had been working on a project involving the conservation of lemurs in Madagascar. Lemurs exist only in Madagascar, and they are in real trouble; they’re considered the most endangered group of mammals on Earth. This team of veterinarians was initially assembled to address threats to lemur health and work on conservation solutions to try and save as many lemur species from extinction as possible. As they explored the most present dangers to lemurs they found that although habitat loss was the primary problem for these vulnerable animals, predation by humans was a significant cause of losses as well. The vets realized it was crucial for the hunting of lemurs by native people to stop, but of course this is not so simple a problem.

The local Malagasy people are dealing with extreme poverty and food insecurity, with nearly half of children under five years old suffering from chronic malnutrition. The local people have always subsisted on hunting wildlife for food, and as Madagascar’s wildlife population declines, the people who rely on so-called bushmeat to survive are struggling more and more. People are literally starving.

Our conservation team thought about this a lot. They had initially intended to focus efforts on education but came to understand that this is not an issue arising from a lack of knowledge. For these people it is a question of survival. It doesn’t matter how many times a foreigner tells you not to eat an animal you’ve hunted your entire life, if your child is starving you are going to do everything in your power to keep your family alive.

So the vets changed course. Rather than focus efforts on simply teaching people about lemurs, they decided to try and use veterinary medicine to reduce the underlying issue of food insecurity. They supposed that if a reliable protein source could be introduced for the people who needed it, the dependence on meat from wildlife would greatly decrease. So they got to work establishing new flocks of chickens in the most at-risk communities, and also initiated an aggressive vaccination program for Newcastle disease (an infectious illness of poultry that is of particular concern in this area). They worked with over 600 households to ensure appropriate husbandry and vaccination for every flock, and soon found these communities were being transformed by the introduction of a steady protein source. Families with a healthy flock of chickens were far less likely to hunt wild animals like lemurs, and fewer kids went hungry. Thats what we call a win-win situation.

This chicken vaccine program became just one small part of an amazing conservation outreach initiative in Madagascar that puts local people at the center of everything they do. Helping these vulnerable communities of people helps similarly vulnerable wildlife, always. If we go into a country guns-blazing with that fire for conservation in our hearts and a plan to save native animals, we simply cannot ignore the humans who live around them. Doing so is counterintuitive to creating an effective plan because whether we recognize it or not, humans and animals are inextricably linked in many ways. A true conservation success story is one that doesn’t leave needy humans in its wake, and that is why I think this particular story has stuck with me for so long.

(Source 1)

(Source 2- cool video exploring this initiative from some folks involved)

(Source 3)

[hawkpartys]

i think of this image approximately every day of my life

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) observation by kiwikiu

[robster2016]

Morning Mischief

Note: The photo is not a good one, I need to take a better photo of the painting when I go to Ohio (Winter in the Woods) Saturday as in this photo, one cannot see any of the detail in the fur and eyes. “Morning Mischief” captures a playful, almost whimsical scene of a fox poised amid a serene forest setting. The painting presents an interplay between light and shadow, where the vibrant greens of…

[kafkasapartment]

Looks like a nudibranch, but it’s a Gold-spotted Flatworm, Thysanuzoon flavomaculatum, Red Sea.

[unravelingwires]

Associationism

I was today years old when I learned that Pavlov is supposed to be psychology-adjacent, not ecology-adjacent. 

See, in wildlife ecology, my class discussed cues a lot. A cue is something an animal uses to determine good habitat from bad habitat. Sometimes the link is obvious, and sometimes it seems entirely random. Oftentimes, cues can be actively harmful: snakes associate warm stone with good habitat, and therefore flock to roads where they’re crushed by cars. Pavlov’s experiment, connecting the idea of food to a completely unrelated stimulus, seems like it fits right in with the discussion of how ecosystems grow and change over time.

Then it turns out that he was thinking about humans. How boring.

[mowgliproductions]

Roaring Intrusion: Tiger Invades Pilibhit Home! Unbelievable Nighttime S...

[reasonsforhope]

"The Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans has recently witnessed an incredible eco-renaissance following decades of damage and neglect.

Led by a local community development group, a 40-acre wetlands park has been restored to glories past with hundreds of local trees that attract over a hundred species of birds, plus joggers, picnickers, and nature lovers besides.

The story begins with Rashida Ferdinand, founder of Sankofa Community Development Corporation (CDC). Growing up in this historic part of New Orleans, where Black homeownership thrived, where Fats Domino was born, and where locals routinely went out into the wetlands to catch fish and crustaceans, she watched as it suffered from years of neglect.

Poor drainage, ruined roads, illegal trash dumping, and unmitigated damage from hurricanes slowly wasted the wetland away until it was a derelict eyesore.

In the name of restoring this wild heritage indicative of the culture in the Lower Ninth, and in order to protect her communities from flooding, Ferdinand founded the Sankofa CDC, and in 2014 entered into an agreement with the City of New Orleans for the restoration of Sankofa—a 40-acre section of neglected wetlands in the heart of the Lower Ninth.

The loss of Sankofa’s potential to dampen flooding from storms meant that over the years dozens of houses and properties were flooded and damaged beyond the ability of the inhabitants to recover. Forced out by a combination of nature’s fury and government failure, the cultural heritage of the community was receding along with the floodwaters.

Ferdinand knew that restoring natural flood barriers like Sankofa was key to protecting her community.

“Hurricane protection is a major concern in the community, but there’s a lack of trust in the infrastructure systems that are supposed to protect us,” Ferdinand told the Audubon Society. 

Today, Sankofa Wetlands Park is a sight to behold. Hiking trails snake through a smattering of ponds and creeks, where bald cypresses and water tupelo trees continue to grow and cling to the ground even during storms. Picnic benches have appeared, wheelchair-accessible trails connect sections of the park to parts of the Lower Ninth, and local businesses are seeing more visitors.

It needed a lot of work though. Thousands of invasive tallow trees had to be uprooted. 27,000 cubic meters of illegally dumped trash compacted into the dirt had to be removed. A 60-year-old canal dug by the US Army Corps of Engineers had to be disconnected, and all new native flora had to be planted by hand.

Audubon says that Ferdinand routinely can’t believe her eyes when she looks at the transformation of Sankofa into its current state.

��Seeing butterflies, birds, and other pollinators in the park is a sign of a healthy ecosystem,” she says. “All we had to do was create the right conditions.”

Slated for official completion in 2025 with an outdoor amphitheater, interpretive signage, and additional trails, Ferdinand and the CDC have their eyes set on an even larger area of wetlands to the north of Sankofa.

Along the way, Ferdinand and the CDC attracted many helping hands, and entered into many partnerships, But the catalyst for change arose from the spirit and determination of one woman in the right place at the right time, for the benefit of hundreds in this historic heart of a historic city."

-via Good News Network, September 17, 2024

[platypu]

[considernature]

Hey. You.

Check out this weird fish.

Cool, huh? It's got no bones and it's older than T rex. Wanna learn more? Check out Consider Nature:

[protectoursharks]

The body shape of a fish can tell you a lot about it! It can tell you where they like to hang out, how they hunt, what they eat, and more!

Let's use the Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) as an example!

Based off the rounded caudal fin (the "tail"), this fish is not a very fast swimmer

Having the dorsal fin and anal fin right near the end of the fish's body suggests it is an ambush predator

The flat head suggests it hunts at the surface

The upturned, large mouth suggests it catches its prey from below

Arowana are ambush predators that hunt at the surface!

They don't need to go very far very fast, hence the rounded caudal fin (which is the slowest moving fin)

Having posterior dorsal and anal fins are a common trait amongst ambush predator

They primarily hunt at the surface! They will sit near the surface and grab small fish, bugs, crustaceans, and even occasionally a bird!

4. Fish that catch their prey from below sometimes do it via suction. They'll open their large mouth, and as the water gets sucked in, so does anything in the water. And the larger the mouth, more water will more quickly fill into the mouth, catching larger and faster prey

[wumbologyandecology]

Insects that have a primary color of white, from the Montreal Insectarium