wildlife

The Mariana Trench Mystery

environment, wildlife

Marianas Trench is fast becoming a name and location everyone know about but this time it’s in the news because of a different purpose.

whirlpool
whirlpool (click here for original source image)

With a depth of almost nine hundred feet this is the deepest oceanic trench in the world.

It was believed to be an ocean bed that was later uplifted due to plate movements when the Earth quaked. Scientists were not able to figure out at first why this deep oceanic layer of the planet had suddenly stopped drying up, but now they know. It is believed the sudden drop was caused by the eruption of Mt. volcano, which has an active underground fault line.

With the eruption of the Mariana Trench became a sanctuary for some rare marine species like few reef dwellers and a variety of sponges. This protected zone has since been shrinking due to the increasing amount of sediment. Part of the shrinking is caused by global warming and increased ocean acidity. The shrinking is also causing the Mariana Trench to produce more black corals. These unique creatures were last seen in the depths of the Mexican Pacific Ocean, but now they are found in the total darkness of the Mariana Trench.

There is another interesting thing about the Mariana Trench Mystery.

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New Dinosaur Species Discovered in Greenland

wildlife

A group of new dinosaur species has been discovered in Greenland.

sunset in greenland
sunset in greenland (click here for original source image)

The announcement of the discovery was made at a meeting held by the Royal Society of Chemistry in London. This was the first time that scientists have reported on a new dinosaur species from this region in more than a century. The announcement comes just months after the discovery of another dinosaur species from the same area. This one is thought to be the most complete fossils from this area in half a century.

One of the greatest hopes for finding new dinosaurs in remote areas of the Earth come from paleontologists. Many years ago paleontologists were able to discover some dinosaur tracks from these remote areas, but they were very difficult to read and weren’t too well formed. With the recent technological advances though, it is now possible to look over these new tracks with the use of high tech equipment. These tools help provide better details about what the tracks are composed of.
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Can Single Protein Can Switch Some Ants From A Worker To A Queen?

wildlife

Single proteins may have a role in the control of Ants.

ant queen observed
ant queen observed (click here for original source image)

In fact, scientists have recently discovered that certain types of single proteins have a chemical switch that controls whether an Ant is a worker or a queen. The chemical, which is called a transcription switch, works like a gatekeeper. If the concentration of the hormone that controls the worker caste is high enough, the ants are workers and if it’s low enough, they are queens.

This was discovered by entomologists working in the fields of plant sciences. It was found that when the concentration of this hormone was higher, the queen lay more eggs. Apparently, her offspring also had a higher rate of survival. Thus, if the worker caste had a higher concentration of this hormone, it meant that the colony could reproduce more. And that, in turn, meant that the Ants in the colony had more time to make more babies to share the workload.

But, how does this single protein switch some ants from a worker to a queen?
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What Dinosaurs Had Horde Mentality?

wildlife

The question ‘What did dinosaurs have herd mentality?’

Prehistoric era
Prehistoric era (click here for original source image)

Is a very good one as we look into the past and study all that was previously depicted in the media.

We have all seen so many of the famous T. Rex’s that have become popular merchandise and dinosaur toys.

But, were you aware that the T. Rex were herbivores and that they would have been part of a working flock of animals?

This group of dinosaurs would have done well together in a cooperative effort as they were specialized for it. This is also very common in modern day stock dogs as well as herding goats or sheep in some instances.

So, why did the dinosaurs of old have this group of characteristics?

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Latest Successes and Strategies for Wildlife facing Extinction in Arizona

wildlife

As reported by the E.P.A. in June, the rate of decline of many species of wildlife in Arizona is increasing at an alarming rate.

gloomy horse
gloomy horse (click here for original source image)

Many species are threatened with extinction and the recent findings from the Center for Wildlife Species Research and Rehabilitation in Tucson, AZ indicates that two-thirds of all Arizona wildlife species are in decline. The following article will provide some of the latest successes of Arizona wildlife programs and strategies to stop the alarming decline of wildlife populations.

There are six species of wildlife facing extinction in Arizona. These are the Sawhorse, the Bighorn Deer, the Raccoon, the Bald Eagle, and the Phoenix Eagle. The populations of these six species are all declining with some facing extinction. The Arizona’s Department of Education is in the process of writing an endangered species act to protect these six species.

One species is in a fragile state right now. The population of the Black Skunk has been reduced to as low as fifteen. The remaining population is small and migrates very rarely. This is a huge concern since it is the only specie of vertebrate that is not doing so well in captivity. Other threatened species include the Phoenix Hawk, the Northern Pheasant, and the Wasp.

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