Friday, May 11, 2007
Bumble Bee
Bumble Bees play an important role in pollination and there has been concern that numbers are reducing. Climate, vegetation (changes in use of agricultural land), competition from other bees, disease and the use of pesticides are possible factors. W are being encouraged by English Nature to manage our gardens more sensitively for wildlife and a leaflet to ‘Help save the Bumblebee’ is being made available. Bluebells, bugle, rosemary, dead-nettle, geraniums, foxglove, honeysuckle, monkshood are identified as being ideal plants to add to our gardens specifically for bumblebees.
As well as creating local oasis's for Bumble Bees, there are a few things that we can do to assess the bumble bee populations in our gardens. Identification of individual species creates a problem for reliable recording by untrained observers, but recording groups of Bumble Bees determined by general banding patterns is being looked at in survey by Rothamsted Research and it is also initiating a survey focussing on recording nests:
"Like all bees, bumblebees eat only pollen and nectar from flowers, and we know quite a lot about their tastes. Different bumblebee species like different flowers and they need a continual succession of flowers within range of their nests throughout the spring, summer and early autumn. Apart from food, bumblebees also require sites where they can nest. We know a bit about where they like to nest as well, but not enough to clearly advise landowners, farmers and gardeners on how best to provide nesting sites. This survey should help us to find out exactly how important different types of habitat, such as gardens, hedgerows, grassland, or woodland are as nesting sites for bumblebees, and whether different species have particular preferences".
Just Contemplate...
While I was out photographing newborn geese and other wonders of nature today, I thought a lot about the misery our government subjects others to. Normally I don't use flickr as a political pulpit. President Bush will not listen to the majority of the U.S. public, the world and even members of his own party. We need to support our troops while they are in Iraq--but we need to get them out soon. It seems like deja vu--stubborn Presidents kept us fighting in a civil war in Viet Nam and the end result was hundreds of thousands of deaths and we left. We are now in a cvil war in Iraq. We were lied to about weapons of mass destruction and every single day lives are lost. In the end we will leave. Why not now? Oil, greed, religion--what a mix. If my politics don't sit well with you, I'm sorry. Feel free to remove me as a contact...but just conemplate a peaceful world.
Peixe Lua_Moon Fish
O peixe-lua é o maior peixe ósseo do mundo, podendo atingir mais de 3 metros de comprimento e pesar mais de duas toneladas!
Esta criatura dócil deita-se frequentemente à superfície da água, deixando-se levar pela corrente. Este comportamento permite-lhe equilibrar a temperatura corporal após consecutivos mergulhos em águas profundas e mais frias.
Apesar da sua fisionomia bizarra o peixe-lua é um animal gracioso pela coloração prateada e pelo lento movimentar das suas duas enormes barbatanas.
As fêmeas produzem até 300 milhões de ovos de cada vez, que são libertados para a água e fecundados pelos machos. As larvas passam por três estágios de desenvolvimento em que o peixe perde a barbatana caudal e ganha uma série de espinhos conspícuos.
O peixe-lua destaca-se por transportar uma impressionante carga de parasitas. Até à data a comunidade científica identificou cerca de 50 espécies diferentes, entre parasitas internos e externos!
Devido à sua natureza delicada e aos movimentos lentos, estes peixes são facilmente capturados por redes à deriva e por outros métodos de pesca. Como consequência as populações poderão estar em declínio.
Sunfishes are the largest bony fish in the World, reaching more than 3 meters in length and weighing in at over 2 tons!
These docile creatures often lie on their sides on the surface of the water and drift in the current. This behaviour helps them adjust body temperatures after consecutive dives in deeper, colder water.
Despite their unusual appearance, sunfishes are graceful animals, with their silvery glow and slow mesmerizing movements of the two huge fins.
Females release up to 300 million of eggs in the water, which will later be fertilized by passing males. Developing larvae undergo three separate stages, some featuring numerous odd-looking spines and also the loss of a tail fin.
Sunfishes are notorious amongst the scientific community for carrying enormous parasite loads. More than 50 internal and external parasite species have been identified so far.
Because of their delicate nature and slow movements, sunfishes easily fall prey to drift nets and other fishing methods. Their numbers are suspected to be steadily declining as a result.
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