Nectar-loving tree frog likely moves pollen from flower to flower
The creamy fruit and nectar-rich flowers of the milk fruit tree are irresistible to Xenohyla truncata, a tree frog native to Brazil. On warm nights, the dusky-colored frogs take to the trees en masse, jostling one another for a chance to nibble the fruit and slurp the nectar. In the process, the frogs become covered in sticky pollen grains—and might inadvertently pollinate the plants, too. It’s the first time a frog—or any amphibian—has been observed pollinating a plant, researchers reported last month in Food Webs.
Scientists long thought only insects and birds served as pollinators, but research has revealed that some reptiles and mammals are more than up to the task. Now, scientists must consider whether amphibians are also capable of getting the job done. It’s likely that the nectar-loving frogs, also known as Izecksohn’s Brazilian tree frogs, are transferring pollen as they move from flower to flower, the authors say. But more research is needed, they add, to confirm that frogs have joined the planet’s pantheon of pollinators.
Source.
SOMETIMES I FORGET HOW BIG MOOSE ARE
JESUS CHRIST
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The difference between a good photograph and a National Geographic photograph is often just a slight shift in perspective. Sometimes a ladder is really inexpensive tool (less so in my case, since I had to fly it to the remote Indian Ocean atoll of Aldabra) to obtain a different point of view. This proved to be the case on assignment for @natgeo in Seychelles a few years ago, when the ladder helped me create the opening image for this story. I have posted that particular photograph before, but I will post it again tomorrow for reference. Aldabra has the highest concentration of blacktip reef sharks I have ever experienced. The sheer abundance of sharks there is completely out of this world. At low tide they congregate in a small lagoon on a reef flat where a brisk current bathes them in cooler well oxygenated water. They avoid the deeper water off the reef edge where bigger sharks may prey on them. Time lapse video by my assistant and talented videographer @ottowhitehead
thomaspeschak
Recovery isn’t linear, so please don’t beat yourself up for having a setback. You’re going in the right direction. You can do this, no matter how bad the bad days feel.
You aren’t actually dying the minute you are born. The definition of dying is when more cells are dying off than are being replaced and this happens once you hit 26. So you aren’t actually dying until you are 26 years old
Amazing. This is ten thousand year old water trapped inside of a polished quartz crystal.
(Source: 1•2•3)