japanese knotweed (reynoutria japonica) in post industrial new england

Chemically sterilized...or mechanically sterilized?

It is clear that applying chemicals to your yard and landscape, be it fertilizers, weed killers, or pesticides, has devastating effects to the community of life that is present in every place.

But is the terrifying decline in insects explainable by chemicals alone?

When i am in mowed environments, even those that I know have no lawn chemicals, they are almost entirely empty of life. There are a few bees and other insects on the dandelions, but not many, and the only birds I see are American robins, Grackles, and European starlings.

Even without any weed killers at all, regular mowing of a lawn type area eliminates all but a few specially adapted weeds.

The plants of a lawn where I live include: Mouse ear chickweed, Birds-eye Speedwell, Common blue violet, Dandelion, Wild Garlic, Creeping charlie, White Clover, Black Medick, Broad-leaved plantain, Mock Strawberry, Crabgrass, Small-flowered Buttercup, Ribwort Plantain, Daisy Fleabane, a few common sedges, Red Deadnettle...That sounds like a lot of plants, but the problem is, almost all of them are non-native species (Only Violets, Daisy Fleabane, and the sedges are native!) and it's. The Same. Species. Everywhere. In. Every. Place.

How come...? Because mowed turf is a really specific environment that is really specifically beneficial to a number of almost entirely European plants, and presents stressors that most plants (including almost all native north american plants) simply can't cope with.

The plants mentioned above are just the flowering weeds. The grasses themselves, the dominant component of the lawn, are essentially 100% invasive in North America, many of them virulently and destructively invasive.

Can you believe that Kentucky bluegrass isn't even native to Kentucky? Nope, it's European! The rich pasture of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky was predominantly a mix of clover, other legumes, and bamboo. The clovers—Kentucky clover, Running buffalo clover, and buffalo clover—are highly endangered now (hell, kentucky clover wasn't even DISCOVERED until 2013) and the bamboo—Giant rivercane, Arundinaria gigantea—has declined in its extent by 98%. Do European white and red clovers fulfill the niches that native clovers once did? Dunno, probably not entirely.

One of the biggest troubles with "going native" is that North America legitimately does not have native grass species that really fill the niche of lawn. Most small, underfoot grassy plants are sedges and they are made for shady environments, and they form tufts and fancy sprays, not creeping turf. Then there's prairie grasses which are 10 feet tall.

What this means, though, is that lawns don't even remotely resemble environments that our insects and birds evolved for. Forget invasive species, lawns are an invasive BIOME.

It's a terrible thing, then, that this is just what we do to whatever random land we don't cover in concrete: back yards, road margins, land outside of churches and businesses, spaces at the edges of fields, verges at bypasses and gas stations...

Mowing, in the north american biomes, selects for invasive species and promotes them while eliminating native species. There's no nice way to put it. The species that thrive under this treatment are invasive.

And unfortunately mowing is basically the only well-known and popular tool even for managing meadow and prairie type "natural" environments. If you want to prevent it from succeeding to forest, just mow it every couple of years.

This has awful results, because invasive species like Festuca arundinacea (a plant invented by actual Satan) love it and are promoted, and the native species are harmed.

Festuca arundinacea, aka Tall Fescue, btw is the main grass that you'll find in cheap seed mixes in Kentucky, but it's a horrific invasive species that chokes everything and keeps killing my native meadow plants. It has leaves like razor blades (it's cut me so deeply that it scarred) and has an endosymbiont in it that makes horses that eat it miscarry their foals.

And this stuff is ALL OVER the "prairie" areas where I work, like it's the most dominant plant by far, because it thrives on being mowed while the poor milkweeds, Rattlesnake Master and big bluestems slowly decline and suffer.

It's wild how hard it is to explain that mowing is a very specific type of stressor that many plants will respond very very negatively to. North American plants did not evolve under pressures that involved being squished, crushed, snipped to 8 inches tall uniformly and covered in a suffocating blanket of shredded plant matter. That is actually extremely bad for many of the prairie plants that are vital keystone species. Furthermore it does not control invasive species but rather promotes them.

Native insects need native plant cover. Many of them co-evolved intimately with particular host plants. Many others evolved to eat those guys. And Lord don't get me started on leaf removal, AKA the greatest folly of all humankind.

So wherever there is a mowed environment, regardless of the use of chemicals or not, the bugs don't have the structural or physical habitat characteristics they evolved for and they don't have the plant species they evolved to be dependent on.

Now let's think about three-dimensional space.

This post was inspired when I saw several red winged blackbirds in the unmowed part of a field perching on old stems of Ironweed and goldenrod. The red-winged blackbirds congregated in the unmowed part of the field, but the mowed part was empty. The space in a habitat is not just the area of the land viewed from above as though on a map. Imagine a forest, think of all the squirrels and birds nesting and sitting on branches and mosses and lichens covering the trunks and logs. The trees extend the habitat space into 3 dimensions.

Any type of plant cover is the same. A meadow where the plants grow to 3 feet tall, compared with a lawn of 6 inches tall, not only increases the quality of the habitat, it really multiplies the total available space in the habitat, because there is such a great area of stems and leaves for bugs and birds to be on. A little dandelion might form a cute little corner store for bugs, A six foot tall goldenrod? That's a bug skyscraper! It fits way more bugs.

It's not just the plants themselves, it's the fallen leaves that get trapped underneath them—tall meadow plants seem to gather and hoard fallen leaves underneath. More tall plants is also more total biomass, which is the foundation of the whole food chain!

Now consider light and shade. Even a meadow of 3ft tall plants actually shades the ground. Mosses grow enthusiastically even forming thick mats where none at all could grow in the mowed portions. And consider also amphibians. They are very sensitive to UV light, so even a frog that lives in what you see as a more "open" environment, can be protected by some tall flowers and rushes but unable to survive in mowed back yard

A leviathan evoking deer, sauropods and stegosaurs. Felt a terrestrial take could be interesting. - BISANOLICH Title - Fungal drake wyvern Monster class - Leviathan Known locales - Savannah, occasional forays to grassland and forest Element/ailment - Dragon + Effluvium Elemental weakness - Fire (3), Dragon (2), Ice (1), Water (1), Thunder (1) Ailment weakness - Poison (2), Stun (1), Paralysis (1), Sleep (1), Blast (1) Bisanolich is a unique leviathan adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle in desert environments, predominantly taking control of grasslands and occasionally migrating to forest regions. Past a lack of aquatic features, it is distinguished by its enormous antlers and thagomisers, alongside a strange fungus growing upon its back. With its pillar-like legs, Bisanolich is appropriately slow and sturdy, but the reflexes on swinging its neck and tail cannot be underestimated. Bisanolich is a herbivore that feeds on myriad plant and tree species, the seeds and saplings of which it nurtures with a unique mutalistic fungus. This fungus is feed on nutrients from the leviathan and has chunks of its biomass jostled loss to serve as a fertilizer for flora that Bisanolich prefers. In this way, Bisanolich can be a boon to its environment, cultivating vast 'farms', but unfortunately this leads the monster to be terribly aggressive in defending its turf. However large or small, other creatures are not tolerated and Bisanolich will lash out at anything that comes close to its farm. Humans are just as quickly expulsed from its territory, so field researchers must keep a safe distance and avoid its attention. Bisanolich is only relatively safe to approach if it is migrating or otherwise away from its farm, where it doesn't feel so protective. The success of Bisanolich's farming is as much due to its reservoir of dragon energy as the use of its fungus. Fuelling its power on dragonfell berry and other high-energy plant species, Bisanolich channels dragon energy through its antlers and thagomisers. It discharges it in powerful bursts that tears the ground, making for dangerous area-of-effect attacks. In addition, charging dragon energy through the spines lining its body triggers a reaction in the mutalistic fungus, causing it to release choking effluviual gases. These spores are believed to be related to a variant utilised by the elder dragon Vaal Hazak, but no such link has been proven. Combining its formidable size and strength with these ailments, Bisanolich is a force to be reckoned with. Bisanolich is sexually dimorphic; only the males produce antlers. The males with the largest farms attract more females, and also rivals. Competition is fierce and males have been known to kill each other for control of the best territory. After mating with several females, a dominant male will shed his antlers and leave for new pastures, altruistically leaving his farm for the females to feed their young. During these times of migrations, males have been spotted in other locales, where they will rebuild their power and antlers. The potential for them spreading the fungus or introducing invasive plant species is a concern to the Guild, so hunting these males is often necessary. A formidable apex monster (Low Rank - 5, High/Master Rank - 4), Bisanolich is well deserved of its reputation as a mighty challenge. Hunters must constantly be aware of how its dragon energy affects the fungus it releases and use fire weapons to nullify their influence. Such a heavy monster is vulnerable to pitfall traps, and targeting the spines along its body can disrupt its dragon charge. Wherever it wanders, Bisanolich's size and ailments usually repels any predators. Though occasionally harassed by the likes of Anjanath, or competing for plant space against Diablos and Monoblos, Bisanolich knows little fear from other monsters. It has even been known to successfully repel attacks from the elder dragon Karakagau, who finds its resilience to paralysis and sheer strength hard to overcome. - Thank you for reading and take care.

Cathar Headcanons Masterpost 2.0

(Now with 20% more facts I made up and 40% less meandering!)

But still definitely some meandering. Under a readmore so I don’t do-you-love-the-color-of-cathar your dash.

General

Cathar are basically felids evolved to fill a similar evolutionary niche to humans in the absence of any viable primate species on their native planet, in the same way hyenas evolved to fill a niche normally occupied by canids. 

They're mainly persistence hunters but not terribly efficient ones outside their home planet, mainly because rather than specializing they evolved to be kinda good at both persistence hunting and the more traditionally feline sprinting sneak attack. In terms of both speed and strength they can outperform humans on average in the short term, but have noticeably less stamina. They greatly outmatch any quadrupedal felids for stamina, though. (Mandalorians are an invasive species and in this essay I will...)

They run hotter than humans, around 100-102F.

Though height varies quite a bit across the species, cathar are taller on average than humans and build muscle more easily, making them extremely formidable opponents in hand-to-hand combat.

While they do have elongated canines, their teeth are more even in size than wild felids, and while they do still have barbed tongues, the texture is more similar to a domestic cat than anything of comparable size (ie. if one licks you for some reason it will feel sandpaper-y and weird, but they won’t take your skin off). They also have somewhat thinner skin than wild cats, though they are still more damage resistant than humans.

They have broad non-retractable claws rather than humanlike fingernails. Many cathar choose to either dull them or file them down for convenience but any who find themselves in close combat regularly usually prefer to keep them sharp. Either way they require different maintenance than human nails. They’ve also got pads on their palms, soles, and fingertips that are highly resistant to wear/damage compared to human skin.

They’re plantigrade but only have four toes on each foot arranged more symmetrically than on humans, in keeping with the general layout of felids and also because it is so much easier to draw.

They have approximately lion-like tails used in both balance and communication, and I will personally fistfight George Lucas about this.

They have tapeta lucida, which gives them excellent night vision and makes them very unsettling to encounter in the dark. Their pupils are rounded rather than slitted, and they have roughly the same range of color vision as humans, but they can also see a limited degree into the UV spectrum. They presumably evolved the ability to see red that most felids lack after they developed a more omnivorous diet, but red-green colorblindness is more common than in humans (and seen noticeably more often in northern-type cathar than southern).

Flagrant Bullshitting About Genetics

Wookieepedia describes Cathar as “a planet of savannas and rough uplands” but because I dislike the “single-biome planet” trope and also have very little grasp of geology, my vague headcanon is that Cathar at least has a tropical equator that’s primarily desert and savanna where the cathar species originated, and frozen poles that some of them later migrated to, resulting in there being basically two general types of cathar. They’re not genetically different enough to be subspecies and operate more like different races of human, and there’s a good chance there was more variety before 90% of the species was wiped out, but while they kept apace with galactic technological development they weren’t as thoroughly dominant a species on their own planet as humans are on Earth, and fairly large areas of the planet were unpopulated, at least by anything sapient.

They’re more adjacent to felinae than panthera, and are capable of purring and growling but not roaring. They don’t meow in the typical cat sense, not because they can’t but because meowing, in their species, evolved into speaking. Cathar don’t meow at each other for the same reason you don’t walk up to people and start making chimp noises (I mean, probably, I don’t know your life).

The two types, which I refer to as “northern” and “southern” because I’m from the northern hemisphere of Earth and incredibly lazy, are still recognizable by distinct traits even in SWTOR Times, with the southern type (thought to be the original) having shorter, sleeker fur, larger ears, a tendency toward lankier, more slender build, and coloration that favors deeper, warmer colors and vivid markings. The northern type tend to be less dramatic in color with a lot of pale greys and a prevalence of blue/dilute/silver genes, and lean more heavyset with smaller, shorter ears. Most cathar with northern heritage have a long guard coat and dense, husky-like undercoats, and as a result are extremely cold-tolerant. A lot of present-day (TOR-era) cathar have combinations of traits from both but you’ll still see a fair number of them who are very obviously one or the other purely because there haven’t been enough generations since the Battle of Cathar for the lines to blur much. Strongly southern cathar are more common than northern, mostly because more of them were able to escape the planet, and some of the predominantly-northern colonies tend to be more insular (though they also tend to retain more cultural history as a result, most of it distinctly northern as well, and many still hold a massive grudge against the Mandalorians to a degree that a lot of southern cathar don’t).

They have less sexual dimorphism than SWTOR implies, though females are a little smaller on average and tend to have shorter/finer manes that are closer to their base color. In terms of relative strength/mass the difference is very minor and female cathar are still very capable of fucking you up (the conventional assumption in the Empire that females are weak/docile and males are too uncontrollable to be useful as slaves is not remotely true and probably based largely on confirmation bias). 

Tangential Empire Headcanon: blood sports/gladiatorial fights are a thing in some areas of the Imperial core worlds and popular with a lot of Sith, though not broadly advertised to the galaxy at large. Most cathar slaves not being used for labor end up doing that (usually males, due to the above misconception). It’s very rare in the Empire to find them in any other roles, as they’re considered a more “primitive” species due to their outward appearance.

I now have a whole genetics chart for cathar coloration because I cannot be stopped. I should probably be stopped.

Their manes usually grow in the same area as human hair, but can extend down the back/neck, or not extend down the sides of the head to create a mohawk-looking situation. Length varies widely, sometimes only growing to a few inches and sometimes coming down to mid-back or lower, but shoulder-length is most common in males (females usually have much shorter manes and sometimes they don’t noticeably have one at all), and they frequently grow out in a mullet-like shape. Some cathar will style/trim their manes or clip them down completely, but most can get by with relatively little maintenance beyond brushing.

The rate at which cathar have twins is significantly higher than humans, around 20%. Newborn kittens are also a little smaller and less developed than human babies and require a lot of close attention for the first month or so, after which they become more resilient and catch up with humans in terms of development. They also start speaking a bit later, but begin picking up nonverbal communication around when humans start on speech (if raised by adoptive humanoid parents, their speech development will be on par with a human child but they’ll have heavily underdeveloped nonverbal communication unless socialized with other cathar, which can lead to difficulty relating to their own species later)

Until the onset of puberty, cathar have softer, downy kitten fur and no mane. Some kittens are born with markings that fade when their adult coat grows in (usually an indicator that they’ll have ghost markings as adults), others might gain more vivid and defined markings or shift darker/lighter in color. While a lot of parents will trim their kittens’ coats to keep them clean more easily and avoid mats, it’s broadly acknowledged that clipping a kitten’s coat down too far can mess with the growth pattern of their coat in adulthood and cause areas that stick out or grow in odd directions, especially in northern-type coats. Sometimes the problem corrects itself after they shed out a few times, sometimes they just have to invest in styling products or live with it. I didn’t base this on cats for the record this is not grooming advice for cats.

Food

They’re obligate carnivores and have different nutritional needs from humans (similar but not identical to those of a cat), which can be a problem in places like the military where standardized rations are the norm. In the Republic a cathar can usually put in a request for rations designed to accommodate carnivores (or supplements, failing that), though they might have some trouble on more isolated or under-supplied planets. The rare cathar in the Imperial military will have to procure supplements out of pocket. Later in the timeline when aliens in the military become more common it’s technically possible to get reimbursed for it, if they’re willing to wade through the paperwork, but Imperial rations remain human-formulated only.

Cathar are perfectly capable of eating raw meat with no ill effects, and have a whole genre of cuisine centered around it. They also have plenty of ways of cooking meat.

Their “natural” diet apart from meat mainly consists of fruit, root vegetables, dairy, and bird eggs, though the closer to the poles you get the less likely you are to encounter fruit in a dish, and the more likely you are to encounter milk products. Cathar never cultivated grain and it holds no meaningful nutritional value for them, so bread, rice, and similar products simply do not appear in traditional cuisine. This does not stop some of them from eating grain products in small amounts, as they can still enjoy the taste, but it isn’t any healthier than processed sugar is to humans and they have a high rate of gluten intolerance as a species.

All cathar have a heightened and refined ability to detect savory/umami type flavors, but around 30-40% of cathar, mostly those with northern heritage whose ancestors just didn’t evolve around fruit, have no taste receptors for sweetness at all. This has resulted in the cathar equivalent of the Cilantro Debate centering around desserts, even though they’re all perfectly aware that it’s genetic, and some who can’t taste sweetness still enjoy desserts for the other flavors in them. Those who can taste sweetness are usually about as sensitive to it as humans, though some have dulled sensitivity. 

Citrus smells horrendous and overwhelmingly strong to them.

They require somewhat less water than humans and can survive longer without it. As with cats, they can also process saltwater much more efficiently than humans and can, for a while, stay hydrated from it.

Social/Cultural Minutiae

They use a fair amount of feline body language, particularly within their own species. While facial expressions play a part in communication and they do smile, scowl, and generally express broad emotions, they have a reduced range of facial mobility compared to more humanoid species and no eyebrows to speak of, which leads to a lot of them having what humans perceive as resting bitch face. It also results in humans underestimating the range and depth of their emotions, and can be a problem with human medics/doctors who haven’t been trained to work with less humanoid aliens and won’t necessarily recognize signs of severe pain or distress.

Their ears are less articulated than a cat’s due to positioning, but still have some degree of mobility that serves more of a social function than a practical one. They also express a lot of emotion through their tails, to the point that it can be a detriment if they haven’t practiced consciously keeping control of it.

Bumping foreheads is a common way to express platonic/familial affection, or can be the equivalent of a chaste kiss between partners. They also squint and slow blink like cats do, though it doesn’t always translate clearly to other species.

They have a wider range of vocalization than humans; while their voices are mostly humanlike and they’re just as articulate, they can also growl, purr, and make sounds outside human hearing range. Those raised among humans or near-humans tend to do this less, if at all, while cathar raised in more insular communities of their own kind can come off as taciturn due to heavier reliance on nonverbal communication.

Sense of smell is much stronger and more refined than a human’s and plays a more significant role in how they perceive and navigate the galaxy. They can occasionally be mistaken for Force-sensitive by humans due to their knack for picking up on emotional distress or the presence of particular species/people by scent. This is more true with people they’re familiar with; they won’t pick out distinct members of another species by default but can reliably identify the scent of a friend or anyone else they spend a lot of time around.

The exception to the above is other cathar, who they can easily tell apart as individuals by scent. They have scent glands around the jaw/neck that come into play for identification, conveying broad emotional states, in some situations can aid medical diagnoses, among other things. They also play a part in building connection and familiarity between friends, family, or romantic partners.

There’s an entertaining but widely-dreaded stage of cathar kitten development, which usually begins when they start learning motor skills and ends mercifully quickly once they’re in the forming-sentences stage of verbal language learning, where their one and only method of problem-solving is to start rapidly smacking whatever is causing them distress until it goes away or stops distressing them. Problems that are considered slap-worthy vary widely from kitten to kitten, including but not limited to a parent trying to get them into a bathtub, an insect that’s in their immediate area, food they don’t want to eat, an object that hurt when they tried to interact with it, an object that happens to be a color they don’t like, the Wrong Parent trying to comfort them, a piece of furniture they bumped into, their own limbs that aren’t doing what they want, and many more. Their claws at this stage are soft and there’s very little actual damage they can do, and it’s a healthy and important stage of kitten development, but first words are universally met with relief by cathar parents, who are usually ecstatic by then that they’ll soon be able to parent their child without getting bapped on the nose.

I’ve thrown the whole “cathar mate for life” idea out the window because I mean. They’re cats. While individual bonded pairs are a thing and they’ll often have someone they consider a primary partner, cathar are really good at nonmonogamy and prone to forming large, complex polycules and families that vary widely in size and structure. It’s also common for them to never have any formal partners at all and simply jump between isolated hookups, and some are perfectly content never to do anything else. Kittens are raised communally within families, and most of them will have more than two individuals they consider parental figures (sometimes in the form of multiple mothers and/or fathers, but family units can contain any combination of romantic partners, aunts and uncles, and assorted godparents who might be helping with kitten-rearing, as well as various grandparents). They don’t culturally have their own marriage practices, though many relationships are lifelong and an informal exchange of meaningful items/gifts as a show of love and commitment is common in some cathar culturs, but since leaving their home planet some have adopted the idea from other cultures, particularly if they’ve formed a bond with some other species of alien that does practice it.

The Horny Section

Cathar don’t really kiss the way humans do among themselves. Their equivalent is gentle biting around the neck and jaw, which is another situation where the scent glands are relevant. When aroused that whole area becomes an erogenous zone. Cathar raised/socialized around humans or near-humans do usually know how to kiss and do so with non-cathar partners, but the whole sandpaper tongue and fangs situation means that a lot of humanoids prefer not to attempt anything more than a very short and chaste kiss.

They tend to be very bitey in general unless specifically asked not to. It only becomes a problem if the cathar in question is inexperienced with humanoids and hasn’t figured out how much bite force is acceptable for a species with thinner, more sensitive skin.

Their dicks are fairly humanoid in size and shape, though somewhat more conical at the head, but they have a sheath rather than a foreskin. After maturity they don’t actually retract into the sheath more than about two inches when flaccid, and tend to be a bit less sensitive than the average human (same keratinization factor that affects circumcised humans). It also makes them more vulnerable to damage, but since it’s customary to wear pants on most civilized planets, that never really becomes a problem in the course of a normal day. The base of the shaft that’s usually covered by the sheath has much higher sensitivity and cathar are generally thrilled when they encounter someone who actually knows that and doesn’t assume they experience sensation exactly like a human.

Conventional understanding is that cathar dicks don’t have barbs, which is true the vast majority of the time, though about 60% of them have some amount of vestigial non-keratinous bumps over their head that have no noticeable affect on anything aside from slightly increased sensitivity. Rarely an individual might develop a few actual barbs at the onset of puberty, but they have no practical function and pose a risk of discomfort and injury, and can easily be removed via a fast and mostly painless medical procedure, so the number of adults who have them is close to zero.

Females do have (mild, and mainly not at all disruptive) heat cycles. Other cathar can generally tell by scent, but not to a distracting degree, and it’s considered rude and inappropriate to point it out with anyone but a close friend or partner. They can be suppressed with some forms of hormonal birth control and plenty choose to. It should go without saying that males don’t have heat cycles, but I’ve gotten enough weird DMs about this to know that I need to say it. Unless said male is trans and not on any sort of HRT, heat cycles are not a thing.

Females kind of have breasts, in that they’re present and obvious while they’re actively nursing a kitten, but they’re flat chested or nearly most of the time. Cathar also technically have eight nipples but only the top two are functional, or visually noticeable unless you’re severely violating their personal space.

Cathar tend to be stereotyped by humans as being rough domineering alpha types in bed, probably because of the biting and the average height difference (and, especially in Imperial space, the perception of them as a more “primitive” species due to their less humanoid appearance/mannerisms). While cathar like that exist just as humans like that exist, the stereotype does not hold up in reality and they have as wide a range of preferences as any sapient species.

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #144

Brought to you by a marine biologist with a native animal gone wild...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

Okay, so, I know my intro doesn’t make sense right now, and that’s fine; I’m here to explain. Ecology is the study of ecosystems - how organisms and inorganic resources interact in all their beautiful, complex ways. Think food webs as the most well-known example in this field of study. You’ll find that everything is in a quasi-perfect balance (as it should be), and when you tweak one of the gears in this machine, you’ll find the machine starts to act funny. For instance, if you remove apex predators, their prey will experience a rise in their population, which could severely hurt the population of their prey, and so on. This is called a trophic cascade. This can also happen if you add non-native species (invasive species) into a system they don’t belong. Sometimes, a native species can start wreaking havoc in this way, and one of the best examples of this is today’s floaty friend, the Nomura’s Jelly, which was available this summer in Pocket Camp:

Native to the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and Sea of Japan, Nomura’s Jelly (Nemopilema nomurai) has always been a common sight in these areas. They’re actually quite astounding to see, as they are one of the largest jelly species, with a bell diameter of 6+ feet (2m)! They are just one of many species within the Class Scyphozoa, the true jellies. Within that Class, Nomura’s Jelly is within the Order Rhizostomae, an order of jellies in which do not have any tentacles extending from the edge of the bell, and have feeling arms instead underneath. This makes it very different than the Moon Jelly we covered a while ago, but nevertheless, it’s a drifter that eats anything unlucky enough to succumb to its venom.

It’s so big, some of the things that succumb to its venom are humans, though those humans don’t get eaten by it. Yeah, don’t fuck around with this thing.

Nomura’s Jelly populations have been blooming out of control recently in their native range. Called “the jellyfish joyride”, Nomura’s isn’t the only jelly on it. In recent decades, jellies of all kinds have been steadily replacing fish in the world’s oceans. A lack of predators (they didn’t have many to begin with, but humans just so happen to find their predators delicious (tuna and swordfish), or are making it really hard for them to survive (sea turtles)), warming seas, and injections of nutrients (such as lawn and farm fertilizer washing into the sea) so their plankton food thrives, have become the trifecta of the jellyfish joyride. Humans are acutely aware we’ve fucked this up, so we’re trying to find ways to mitigate it.

https://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/13233/nomuras-jellyfish/

Attempting to eradicate the Nomura’s Jelly, or any Jelly, for that matter, is easier said than done. Although fishing for them and using them as a food source and medicines, it’s too little too late. Ya see, once jellyfish are on that joyride, it’s really hard to remove them from their new throne as dominant species. This is because they actively eat small fish, especially fish larvae, including the larvae that would have grown up to be the jelly’s predators. It’s a terrible feedback loop. What needs to be done is to prevent the joyride to begin with, but, ya know, we’re a reactive society that still doesn’t understand that maybe being proactive about shit might just save us a ton of money and hassle. *Heh*, just one of the many drawbacks to being a marine biologist is watching this shit happen and no body wants to listen to you STILL.

And there you have it! Frustrating af, no? 

Umm...I always see Yautja being paired up with someone strong and skilled and stuff. I was wondering if you could write something with any Yautja being with someone who is shy, meek, and a little chubby. And when they're alone or think they are they sing along to music and dance even though they can't.XD Sorry if I'm asking too much or anything...

Fegris, the dump world where the unwanted are left to rot and crumble.

  This was once a world where the yautja would crash their obsolete vessels so that they could not fall into use by the other space faring races. Ships were not the only things they left behind. Exiles, heretics, or anyone who upset the balance of their society were also left to wither, but not all did.

  In the following ages, other peoples would use Fegris as a place to forget their burdens. The Faceless Ones unloaded their collected specimens here when science deemed that their time of usefulness had ended.

  Now generations of humans, yautja, clade, mind eaters and all manner of invasive species build their cities here, clinging to half remembered mockeries of their mother cultures. Here, all Forgotten busy themselves mining ore, seeking pleasurable escape, stripping precious metals from ancient wrecks, gambling, farming, extorting, building, destroying, breeding, killing.

  One of the few honest livings to be made anywhere, the food service industry, prospers here. Organic people must eat, so this work will never die.

  Heather, an old name from an old world no one can recall, worked for her room and board at what would best resemble a mall food court. It wasn't a particularly hazardous occupation, so long as you don't taste-test the food or stay long after the coalition of retail outlets close.

(OOC: Okay this ran WAY longer than I anticipated and I had to make the choice to cap it off at 2,500ish words. I’m sorry if this TOTALLY misses the vibe you were hoping for, I kinda got carried away. Oops)

  Once, she'd made that mistake. Even her cold hearted rock-sucker of a boss told her not to bother finishing the cleaning if it meant staying after hours, but she hadn't listened. Heather hadn't wanted to leave her work half done and risk losing her job and newly acquired living space on her first day. So she'd stayed to wipe down the counters and load the trolly cart with the leftovers for the cooler. The reward for a job well finished was stepping out into the market spaces abandoned by customers and workers but repopulated by the local Yautja Bad-bloods and their rivals, The Cranium Skaggers. They were working through a territorial dispute.

  The Skaggers were human, but barely. They injected enhancement serums, most barely tested, directly into their brain tissues via an implanted port installed at the top of their shaved heads.

  Heather had stepped out of her safe enclosed little work area into a street brawl, and was pinned between the doors she'd only just locked and the carnal violence of the city. One of the yautja, who's vision was... not like hers, must have mistaken her bright heat signature and rapid heart rhythm for a Cranium Skagger.

  Oh, she tried to run when she saw him move on her with his unhuman, talon tipped hand outstretched to seize her. Heather had dropped her bag, the keys, the silly hat which matched with her uniform, and she ran but he was fast, so horridly fast for something so big, heavy, and grieved with bulky armor.

  It only took him three strides, thud thud thud, to reach her and tangle his terrible claws into the back of her long tunic. She was thrown, landing hard, disoriented and crying out as deep, raw pain shot up her left hip and into her pelvis. Something was broken.

  She saw him, her attacker, and the blades attached to his dominant arm glistening with the blood of Cranium Skagger's, but she didn't even think to cover her face. All she could do was scream for help.

  Her plea was answered. A great clawed fist smashed across the Yautja's mask with such force that his yowling face was revealed as his helm was torn from him. Next, skulls collided with a clapping of flesh so sharp, Heather thought someone had cracked a whip above her.

  One Yautja had begun to fight another. That was when she did the sensible thing, curling her arms over her head and making herself as small as she could.

  She survived that night. That battle resolved itself as she lied on the ground trembling and weeping in terror, but her savior stuck around after all the others had left. He put her things next to her, and waited until her boss came to collect her and get her help. The yautja must have gone through her communicator for her contacts.

  The fractured hip was easily and painlessly repaired but the procedure had completely drained her savings. To her shock and mild horror, someone had wired to her account credits in the exact amount to replace what she'd spent at the Urgent Intervention Facility to fix her leg.

  When she returned to work, who was there at the food court? The yautja who'd stayed that night. He stood out like a broken finger, the cleaned hand bones and torn out skull ports of Skaggers littered about what he wore like grim badges of honor. The sight of him watching her enter her workplace sent a chill up Heather's spine.

  This kept up for weeks, until The Indecent was months behind her. She'd go to work, and he'd be there, just watching. Heather's co-workers weren't fans of her admirer. Yagon, the young clade boy who took the morning shift before her was the least fond of the yautja lingering around.

  Today, as Heather stepped past her bad-blood observer who had decided to lean against the wall next to the employee entrance, Yagon was peeking out from the door to keep a watchful eye on her as she came in for her shift.

  Yagon chittered irritably, antennae vibrating as he took off his smock and hat so he could scratch his double claws at the translator hanging on a lanyard around his the joining of his head and thorax.

  The voice emanating from the little box was monotone and purposefully slow so that it could be heard clearly as he continued chirping and tweeting.

  "You know what that creep does all day waiting for you to come in? He listens to recordings of you singing on your shifts."

  Heather cringed. That was creepy. She'd had a feeling that he'd been able to hear her sing to herself from where he usually hung around, but she never thought he'd record her. It felt incredibly invasive. She briefly imagined confronting him about it, but thought better of it. He could crush her skull between his hands as if it were a brittle little Skitterling egg. She hunched her shoulders and hugged herself a bit.

  Yagon then turned and dropped the claws of his primary arms on her shoulders.

  "I can file an anonymous report for you. Please? I don't want to come in to work one day and find out something happened to you."

  Heather sighed, trying not to vividly imagine how an exiled yautja might retaliate to that.

  "N- no, I think that would just make things worse, Yagon," Heather tried not to whimper.

  Yagon finished folding his smock and hat into his bag and left, but not before offering twice more to file that report.

  A few hours passed and Heather caught herself singing a handful of times as she fell into her work routine but always stopped when she remembered who was listening. It felt awful, being observed so closely and denied the personal freedom do anything without fear of having it recorded for some stranger's entertainment.

  Again, she thought about confronting the yautja watcher, but couldn't help the violent catastrophes imagined with the idea.

  She felt like she couldn't make a noise or do a thing for herself to make this crappy job the least bit bearable without putting on some bizarre show for Captain Cranium Crusher out there! Heather's frustration built and built until she couldn't take it anymore.

  The walk-in cooler. It was sound proof, right? The moment she finished the lunch-rush line of customers holding out their trays for their greasy food, Heather tore off her gloves, tossed them in the general direction of the trash chute and turned on her heel to stomp her way to that cooler door.

  Heather glanced over the counter to confirm the Skull Collecting Jerk was still out there haunting the seating area. There he was, arms crossed against his chiseled chest, ass planted on a chair that could barely hold his weight with his big ugly sandled feet propped up on one of the tables. Bastard.

  She pulled open the thick insulated door and slammed it behind her. First she simply bellowed angrily, stomped her foot, slapped a bag of single serve condiments as hard as she could manage, doing anything to break the severe edge from her frustration.

  "UGH! WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" She tore off her work smock and threw her hat on the floor to stomp on it, "I'M JUST A SHORT, ROUND, NOBODY WHO SHOVELS SLOP ONTO PLATES SIX HOURS A DAY. I'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN IN A REAL FIGHT! I'M NOTHING! WHY ARE YOU WATCHING ME? WHAT THE FUCK COULD BE SO INTERESTING ABOUT ME?! STOP WATCHING ME, YOU ASSHOLE!"

  Then, spitefully, she sang her favorite song, watching the misty puffs of her breath dissipate as her heart pounded.

  Now, she felt cold and her throat hurt from belting out her very favorite lyrics so harshly. It wasn't fair, she shouldn't have to be reminded of that night every afternoon on her shift. It sucked, and somehow she felt guilty for being angry even though none of this was her fault and she knew she had every right to be angry. So Heather curled up and cried in the cooler for a half-hour at the helplessness she felt. It felt gross, and she knew by now there had to be a never-ending line of pissed off customers outside. She was afraid of confrontation and couldn't ever imagine herself actually standing up to anyone. She could already tell that she'd be crying in her apartment after work too. Whob wouldn't after the verbal abuse she'd no doubt suffer at the service counter from customers tired of waiting.

  Miserably, Heather stood and steeled her resolve to go back out there. With a deep, shaky breath, put her smock back on and fixed her hat.

  "I'll get through it because I'm good at getting through it," she told herself to make it easier to reach for that door.

  Chur-clunk. Chur-clunk. It was jammed. Oh no the cooler door was stuck. Heather put her weight into her next push, then her entire being into the push after that.

  "Oh GODS I'm going to freeze to death!" she wailed, pushing at the door again with everything she had.

  Frustration, anger, helplessness, now panic. She didn't want to die alone of hypothermia at work.

  There was a bang and a great dent had appeared in the thick door. Before she could figure what was happening, the door was torn completely from the reinforced hinges. Heather shrieked and fell squarely on her bottom.

  There he was again, who else would it be coming to her rescue and staring coldly down at her through the dead lenses of that helmet.

  In one swift motion he lifted his left arm and clicked away at the keys of his gauntlet computer with those claws. The hologram display showed Heather a collection of files marked with icons she recognized. They were just cropped, slightly fuzzy pictures of her name tag for work. With a few more taps of his claw, all of the icons dissolved. He deleted them. He'd deleted all of his recordings which pertained to her.

  "Oh, shit, you heard all of that," Heather whimpered, clutching her head with both hands in mortification. He must have heard what Yagon said earlier too.

  He said nothing, made no noise. He just stood there like an imposing statue for a few tense seconds before turning to stride away.

  She wasn't fired for the broken door and spoiled food. Before she could even collect herself from the floor in the cooler, her boss was wired a credit transfer for "damages".

  Later as she heard of his generosity, it also explained the mysterious funds appearing in her account after the hip procedure. That had been Him too.

  Her "admirer" didn't come back after that, which was a relief for the first week or two. After a while she found herself over thinking the whole thing. Yautja were notorious for being socially incomprehensible. Heather wondered if he just pitied her so much after one of his own kind damn-near destroyed her that he felt responsible for her continued safety. Or, maybe he was just a stalking sleeze-ball. She tended to flounder between the two conclusions, but one thing was certain, he was respecting her boundaries now and she appreciated that.

  After nearly a month, she decided that the best closure she'd get was accepting that the entire ordeal was some bizarre misunderstanding, totally on his part, and he did a few nice things but that didn't make up for the weeks and weeks of discomfort he'd inflicted.

  More time passed, Heather became more comfortable with her new job, and she very nearly forgot about that Yautja. The only time she remembered him were on cold days when her hip would ache, but it was pleasantly warm out on the afternoon she came in for her shift and found Yagon agitated with his antennae twitching so fast one might expect them to fly off his head. Heather looked around, hoping that the cleaning she couldn't finish the night before hadn't upset him. What she found was... Unusual, and she certainly hadn't left the thing there last night.

  It was a skull, from what she wasn't sure, sitting there on the counter by the check out scanner.

  "The Creep is back. This time he left a name with that." Yagon's translator couldn't read the inflections in his speech, but Heather could tell where the translator omitted expletives.

  "W-hat was it? His name?"

  "Stone Fist was the direct translation. I can't get the translator to say the correct pronunciation in his language and he made a scene about it until I threatened to call security. You know what that thing means, don't you?"

  Heather nodded, she knew what it meant. Everyone did. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the empty sockets of the skull. It was as if it were staring through her being.

  "I can still file that report, Heather," Yagon offered again.

  "Don't, I mean... As long as I don't take it, then nothing happens. Right?"

  "As far as I'm aware? I think that's how it works."

  If Heather didn't touch it, he wouldn't come back. If she took it home, he'd follow her home because accepting an offering like that was an act of giving permission to pursue courtship.

  Working with that lifeless skull watching her was eerie to say the least. She covered it with her hat midway through her shift so she didn't have to look at it. At the end of her shift as she fiddled with the patterned key to lock up before she left, she considered the skull one last time. No, She wasn't taking it, but she'd leave a note. Two notes actually, one to ask Stone Fist if he would consider an actual conversation before anything else, and a second note to apologize to Yagon for asking him to speak with Stone Fist again.

To Be Continued?

Feyward Tree

In a book heavy with fey, it’s only fair to include something meant to fight back against them effectively. Whether the most efficient way to go to war with faeries is to make a cold-forged iron tree, cultivate it carefully with rust to give it a more natural color, then fill the branches with razor sharp leaves is the best method is up for you to decide. Regardless of your personal issues with it, the fact that it’s weapons are cold iron means that the blades tear through fey creatures terribly efficiently when they get the chance.

Now, as part of working to get that chance, the feyward tree is slow. This is a factor in pretty much every animated tree type monster, that they’re easy to kite if they fail to get the jump on their target. With impressive armor and resistances, most weaker creatures will struggle to even scratch the tree’s “bark” but escaping it is still simple enough. Get enough distance that you can lose it completely (and don’t let it track you, because a tireless tree construct hunting you down is not a great thing to wake up to suddenly). That being said, a tree in a tactically advantageous spot, like a narrow pass with plenty of twists, the destination to a planar rip, or wandering right into a settlement will cause plenty of damage to those stumbling across it or unable to escape.

Feyward trees masked with illusions hide among the natural trees surrounding a city. Placed there centuries ago by defenders back when fey armies were invading nearby areas, they have been forgotten by most since peace was established with the fey courts. Now almost a quarter of the city’s population is fey, a fact that some people resent greatly. A particularly hateful politician finds reference to the trees while reviewing historical documents and resolves to find and transplant the trees into the city center before speaking the codeword to activate them again. The constructs are imbued with the ability to recognize fey even if they are disguised by most common illusions, and will set about hunting and destroying all they can sense. The goal of this plan is nothing more than senseless violence, though unleashing such powerful weapons on the citizenry may be enough to rekindle the ashes of war.

As a growing hobgoblin empire seeks to expand and conquer further lands, they come into conflict with elvish settlements. The empire believes in a divine mandate to dominate all other species, and so when the elves resist they begin making their plans of terror and subjugation. An early aspect of this invasion was the creation and release of dozens of feyward trees, massive symbols of hobgoblin ingenuity and power that hunt elves without pause or rest. Whenever possible, the trees are directed towards elvish towns and communities, the better to destroy their homes and those unable or unwilling to flee. Rangers and outriders are working to redirect and distract the constructs, leading them on long chases away from less defended areas.

A powerful wizard researching into otherplanar beings constantly captures such creatures while on planar trips. Different sections of her tower are dedicated to certain planar regions, such as the elemental planes, the shadowfell, and the feywild. When one of her trips to the feywild results in the kidnapping of a well connected pixie, adventurers are hired to recover the stolen fey by any means possible. Complicating the procedure is that the pixie is being held by the wizard’s feyward tree, nestled in a cage among its branches along with other tiny fey she’s captured.

Your Guide to Former Wildlands

“In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy.” - John C. Sawhill

When you’re young, everything moves quickly, far too quickly, really. Remember before you were ten? Before you were five? I’d bet those memories are filled with noise and light. Then you move - imperceptibly in an ideal situation, in a few stuttering leaps in mine, when you no longer have to worry about being the center of the world you inhabit; you have to become comfortable imagining the world without you in it. It’s beyond frightening, until you realize that much of the planet will remain unchanged. We are guests at the art museum, not residents. As disturbing as that is, it’s also a little comforting; we can’t take it with us, but we can’t burn it, either.

I was originally going to write about my favorite topic - brain damage - but, as Dad reminded me, a successful writing career depends on writing about more than cancer, or cancer recovery, or the weird, gray, recurring area between the two if you have chronic cancer. So, today, we’ll be discussing another topic: metastatic human real estate development. I was inspired to do so after seeing Fearless Leader’s Pre-Superbowl Trailer Announcement (or whatever it is he’s leading up to to turn that idiotic wall proposal into something that looks like a win for him), and I realized, humans love building things. Sort of. We really like knocking things over and destroying things, but that’s not cost-effective, so we rationalize it under “development.” Given Fearless Leader’s obsession over massive, (presumably phallic) fortifications with his name on it, the ancient Egyptians’ decision to forever blight the landscape with over-sized coffins (yeah, I’ll say it; I prefer pristine wilderness to condos for dead kings), the Chinese emperor of Qin’s (I think that’s who it was) decision to build a wall that can supposedly be seen from space, and my own recent revelation that legacy is an important, innate human drive; I’m wondering if the American obsession with hyper-developing the landscape isn’t some sort of unhealthy mechanism for coping with mortality.

Prior to Mom moving to the Southwest, I’d lived in areas that didn’t really permit the sort of massive, urban outgrowth you see everywhere here (and in southern California, I’ll admit). If you’re in some place like Miami or New York or the East Bay Area - places all noted for rabid development - it’s pretty obvious that humans are hell-bent on knocking things over and building atop the rubble. You’d have to be blind not to notice all the construction projects. When you’re in a suburban-wildlands interface, you may not notice it immediately, but, when you do, it’s genuinely upsetting. There is now an entire subdivision in Mom’s neighborhood that wasn’t there two years ago, when she first moved in. That wouldn’t be upsetting, except I know what they’re building on: animal habitat. And plants. And assorted other things that make up an ecosystem. Or did make up an ecosystem, before human beings moved in (we’ll get to the photojournalistic part of this essay soon). To be fair, the American landscape has always been dominated by humans and their needs - Native Americans didn’t use concrete, but they regularly burned down large swathes of Yosemite to make hunting easier, and I can’t imagine they’d be the only ones. I have, on a shelf behind me, a relatively rare book titled “Nature and the American,” by a gentleman named Hans Huth. A brief inquiry suggests that Mr. Huth is not a Real American. His fundamental thesis is that Americans - or the European settlers who killed them, stole their lands, and then assumed the title - have a notoriously prickly, convoluted relationship with pristine wilderness. On the one hand, we have a philosophical history of the Noble Savage, in which modernity corrupts and ruins things (as someone whose life depends on access to very, very modern medicine, I say humans can take their false, pseudo-nostalgic narratives and shove them). On the other hand, that landscape has, traditionally, killed more Americans than our traditional enemy: other people (I hate to say it, but disease, deprivation, and hypothermia undoubtedly killed way, way more people than sexier causes of death, like arrows or bison). I can’t recall the sum total of his thesis/findings, other than that this weird sort of wink-and-nod attitude toward revering nature and hating it is a deeply American philosophy.

My own part in all this, is this: if you live in an area where there’s a constant, low-level of construction all around, you can fail to notice it as it happens. You can drive by a cement mixer one day, a road development crew the next, and then you miss it when you’re surrounded by McMansions. You (or me, anyway) only notice that the quail aren’t around.

Yes, that is a billboard in view of red rocks. I don’t like to imagine the hellish psychological state that would think we’d improve on a desert landscape by adding advertising.

That’s a very carefully-framed shot so that the insignificant, human buildings are hard to notice. I like to think it’s a preview of 5000 years and we wise up before destroying the mountains.

That’s a more-frequent view than one would think; humans separated from wilderness by nothing more than paved roads and walls. That’s how you get cougars prowling the backyards of east Los Angeles (and, if walls can’t keep out large cats who are only mildly curious about Fluffy, El Chapo - who has thumbs - isn’t going to be deterred).

That’s what all this is being paved over for. Over-priced real-estate and tacky fin-de-siecle street lamps. This isn’t a case of people coming in, needing a home, and then buying and/or building a house; this is a case of “if you build it, they will come.” Which, as we know from 2007, is a solid economic development tactic.

Here’s my basic complaint: those condos went up in less than six months. What they were built on took millions of years of geological development and natural selection to create. And, even if all humans die tomorrow, it’s not coming back. Seen through the lens of cancer, it’s invasive, destructive, and will eventually starve itself to death (or kill the host, which has the same result). And life afterward is perpetually changed - whether for better or worse is debateable, but we’ve just cashed in that ecological potential for McMansions. And all it cost was some worthless natural wonder. I realise I’m much more maudlin about needless, reckless destruction now than I was two years ago (brain damage!), but, still, who wants to live where there’s naught but ash and concrete? Certainly, you can’t eat asphalt, to the best of my knowledge; that might be something of a problem if the human population continues unchecked. It strikes me, suddenly, in the context of what I wrote about the world being like an art museum (that’s Peter Alison’s metaphor)(his book is also somewhere on my shelves), we’re hell-bent - as global warming closes in - on taking the planet with us.

It brings to mind Edward O. Wilson’s horrifying prophecy of life in just 80 years, from his book, “The Future of Life” (which is also somewhere on my shelves, I just haven’t seen it in a while):

“In 2100, the natural world is suffering terribly. The frontier forests are largely gone - no more Amazon or Congo or New Guinea wildernesses - and with them most of hte biodiversity hotspots. Coral reefs, rivers, and other aquatic habitats have deteriorated badly. Gone with these richest of ecosystems are half or more of Earth's plant and animal species. Only a few fragments of wild habitats persist as relics here and there, guarded by governments and private owners rich and wise enough to have held them fast as the human tidal wave washed over the planet. Like human genetic diversity, the fragmentary biodiversity that survived to 2100 has also become much more geographically simplified. The cosmopolitan flow of alien organisms has flooded each fauna and flora with immigrants from multiple other faunas and floras. To travel around the world along any chosen latitude is to encounter mostly the same small set of introduced birds, mammals, insects, and microbes. These favored aliens compose the small army of companions that travel best in our globalized commercial transport and thrive in the simplified habitats we have created. An aging and wiser human population undestands very well - too late now - that Earth is a much poorer place than it was back in 2000, and will stay that way forever. Such is likely to be the world of 2100 - if present trends continue. The most memorable heritage of the 21st century will be the Age of Loneliness that lies before humanity. The testament we will have left in launching it might read as follows: We bequeath to you the synthetic jungles of Hawaii and a scrubland where once thrived the prodigious Amazon forest, along with some remnants of wild environments here and there we chose not to lay waste. Your challenge is to create new kinds of plants and animals by genetic engineering and somehow fit them together into free-living artificial ecosystems. We understand that this feat may prove impossible. We are certain that for many of you even the thought of doing so will be repugnant. We wish you luck. And if you go ahead and succeed in the attempt, we regret that what you manufacture can never be as satisfying as the original creation. Accept our apologies and this audiovisual library that illustrates the wondrous world that used to be.” - The Future of Life, pp 77-78

We may finally know the extreme route fish take through air to colonise new lakes

https://sciencespies.com/nature/we-may-finally-know-the-extreme-route-fish-take-through-air-to-colonise-new-lakes/

We may finally know the extreme route fish take through air to colonise new lakes

It has long been a mystery how some fish can colonise isolated lakes and ponds surrounded by inhospitably dry land. It’s not like fish can get out of the water, shake themselves off, and walk between far-flung pools to spread their spawn.

Yet, from remote crater lakes to desert ponds, these fish are somehow there. Did birds shuttle them in, perhaps? The softness of fish eggs has had biologists thinking the spawn are too squishy to survive an epic adventure through a bird’s digestive system. But all may not be what it seems.

A new study has shown that most fish eggs really don’t make it out the other side of a duck’s digestive tract – but a teeny tiny 0.2 percent were pooped out and still viable. So, while busy doing all their important developmental things, these few egg-encased fish embryos endured being squeezed through body tubes, pummelled in a gizzard, assailed by digestive enzymes, and squashed through a bird’s bottom.

This type of journey, called endozoochory (dispersal via the gut of an animal), is a common transport tactic for plant seeds; it’s also known in some insects. But the first evidence that fish also have this ability was only found last year, when eggs of killifish survived to hatch after being eaten by a swan.

However, killifish eggs are unusually tough – able to survive dry soil for months in a kind of hibernation, until rains return to their ephemeral desert pools.

It has been widely assumed fish eggs travelled to such secluded locations by catching a sticky lift on bird legs, beaks and feathers, but there was no actual evidence for this. Until now, we didn’t know if such eggs could make it through bird bodies alive.

To test the idea, biologist Ádám Lovas-Kiss from the Danube Research Institute in Hungary and colleagues fed captive mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) eggs from two types of carp – common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio). 

Each of the eight birds was fed around 500 eggs. Of all these, 18 eggs were recovered from the ducks’ poop. Twelves were still viable, but only 3 successfully hatched. 

While the odds might seem terrible, when you consider all the available fish eggs and all the waterbirds known to enjoy feasting on nutritious roe, it all adds up. A single common carp can lay up to 1.5 million eggs in one spawning event, and during certain parts of the year fish eggs can make up 100 percent of the stomach content of some waterbirds. A staggering 63,501 fish eggs were once found in a glaucous gull’s (Larus hyperboreus) stomach.

“Such survival was not a freak event,” the team explained in their paper. It “occurred in 75 percent of the experimental ducks and in both fish species studied.”

Most of the fish embryos that made it all the way through the birds but then failed to hatch, succumbed to a fungal infection that also decimated the control eggs which didn’t have to travel through a duck.

This fungal presence was likely due to experimental set-up, as it is a known problem in artificial fish breeding, so the researchers suspect more eggs would survive through to hatching in the wild.

It took most of the carp eggs only an hour to make their way from one end of the duck out to the other. The team calculated this means a dispersal range of around 60 kilometres (37 miles) for eggs taking their journey via duck. One of the eggs, however, hatched after 4-6 hours, increasing that range to a maximum of 360 kilometres (220 miles).

This explains a lot. Carp are notoriously invasive species. Common carp have come to dominate many Australian waterways, composing over 80 percent of fish biomass in some areas. They cause damage to fragile ecosystems by modifying waterways through their mud-sucking feeding habits, they take valuable food away from native species, and contribute to algal blooms. 

Carps’ ability to disperse via endozoochory, along with their adaptability across many environment types, helps to explain their incredible success in invading new lands and is a key piece of information for people trying to manage their invasions.

“Given the abundance, diet, and movements of ducks in nature, our results have major implications for biodiversity conservation and invasion dynamics in freshwater ecosystems,” Lovas-Kiss and colleagues concluded.

This research was published in PNAS.

#Nature

Everglades Field Trip

Warnings and Safety Tips for Your Everglades Field Trip

Are you planning an Everglades field trip? There is no other place that is more beautiful than this is U.S. This is the largest subtropical wilderness. Moreover, it has a unique landscape which serves as a habitat for many endangered species. This a world heritage site and is also specially protected. However, this till faces threats of pollution, invasive species, and development.

There are more than hundreds of birds and fishes. If you are an animal enthusiast, your dream will come true once you visit this place. There are different hiking trails, as well as camping areas. However, when you are on your path to discover on your Everglades field trip, you need to consider this following warning.

Everglades Field Trip

Permits

You have to make a list of the activities and campsites that you prefer. This is because you might need a permit for this. Keep in mind that they will not issue the permit over the phone. Moreover, it will be issues the day before the activity. Thus, planning is very necessary when it comes to this.

Wild Animals

You need to be alert regarding the aggressive animals. This includes the panthers, snakes, and crocodiles. Keep in mind that you are in their home and they might feel threatened if you go too near them. This will make them attack you. Mosquitoes are prevalent in the Everglades areas and might cause some disease. Hence, you should carry a mosquito repellant along with you. Moreover, you also have to carry a net to cover the face and net.

Hurricane Season

You should not forget that from May to November, it is hurricane season. As a matter of fact, this is also the rainy season. Humidity here is about 100%. In case you have reserved a guided tour, camping tour, or boat rental and it starts to rain, you might get the money. However, this largely depends on the return policy.

How to Stay Safe in Everglades Boat Ride?

Everglades filed trop is a fun for your entire family to explore. There is not scarcity of creatures to meet or activities to try out. You can explore the mangroves. Moreover, you will also be able to enjoy the thrill of airboat rides. However, when you are in your going for the Everglades boat ride, you need to make sure that everyone in your boat is safe. This way you will be able to have a good time.

Do not Feed the Animals

The animals might look cute. However, keep in mind that these are wild creature. Thus, they might become aggressive if you try feeding them. For the sake of your family and friends, you should avoid feeding the Everglades creatures. The rule is the same for alligators and crocodiles.

Get to Know the Terrain You Want to Explore

No doubt, the Everglades are one the largest national parks of U.S. if you know the way around, you will be able to roam around without any worry. As a matter of fact, you can keep your family and friends from getting lost.

Prepare for an Activity that You Want to Try

Whether you paddle, hike, or bike through the Everglades, you need to dress appropriately. Make sure that you wear hats, clothes, and sunglasses which will protect you from the sun. It is necessary to bring along a compact medical kit for this. Moreover, you should bring enough water so that your family is always hydrated.

Keep an Eye on the Kids

You need to keep a close eye on the kids. This is because supervising is necessary in an area like this. Thus, keep a track of where they are what they are up to all the times.

If you keep the safety measures in mind, you will have an experience that people will talk about for weeks. However, for your Everglades field trip, you need to make the booking early on in order to save some money.

The post Everglades Field Trip appeared first on Miami to Key West Tours Guides.

Source: https://www.miamitokeywesttoursguides.com/everglades-field-trip/

from Miami to Key West Tours Guides https://miamitokeywesttoursguides.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/everglades-field-trip-4/

WHAT IS MINT?

Mint is a perennial plant in the genus Mentha., in the family of Lamiaceae. Known for it’s distinct odor and volatile oil, This herb has around 20 species, such as Peppermint (Mentha Piperita), Spearmint (Mentha Spicata), as well as Pennyroyal (Mentha Pulegium). It’s a well known plant for it’s reputable medicinal and culinary properties.

HISTORY

Historically valued, mint has been used in ancient years. In ancient times in Athens, herbs were used to scent different parts of the human body. Mint was commonly used as a scent on the arms. In the 14th century, there has been first forms of toothpaste, and the herb was used to whiten teeth, as it does today. In ancient Egypt, mint was so much valued as a herb, that it was used as a form of currency. Spearmint was once used to be added to milk to increase the shelf-life. Dried peppermint leaves have been found in the pyramids in Egypt that has been carbon dated to 1,000 B.C.

MEDICINAL VALUE

Medicinally, Mint has been used for a variety of alignments. For instance, it’s used to aid in digestion. Containing anti-inflammatory properties, Mint helps for stomach aches and indigestion. Mint can also help in relieving respiratory problems and cough. The pungent odor relieves irritation in the throat, nose and lungs relieving colds and chronic coughing. Used as a great anti-septic as well as anti-pruritic, the juice of mint is used for skin problems such as acne or infections. It works by relieving itchiness and irritation, relieving pimple size and restoring skin tone. Since the aroma of mint is very pungent, it’s used as an insect-repellent. The odor of mint juice is used to repel insects because an aroma that strong is unappealing to them. The juice could also be used to relieve swelling by an insect bite or sting.

CULINARY VALUE

The leaves of mint are used in cooking as a flavoring to soups, sauces, and tea. By using Mint as a calming and cooling tea, the herb can help nausea, to sooth an upset stomach, as well as to alleviate motion sickness. Peppermint is a popular herb used to flavor candies, desserts, as well as cocktails such as the well-known drink of Mojito. In the region of the Middle East, dried up mint is used to be sprinkled over hummus, rice, as well as flavoring in yoghurts. In the country of Brazil, Mint Jelly is used and served with different meats.

HABITAT

Mint is a common perennial garden herb that is grown worldwide. Originally, Mint has been a herb commonly propagated found in Europe and Asia. Spearmint and Peppermint has been brought overseas by colonists to be used as medicine and in beverages. Now, the herb is naturalized from southern Canada down to Mexico. Although this herb is beneficial and valuable in many ways, it’s terribly invasive. When thriving in moist, rich soil, in can overtake one’s yard or an area of land quickly.

DISEASES

One common disease that overtakes Mint is called Mint rusting (Puccinia menthae). This is a fungus caused by increased humidity on leaves and spacing too closely between plants. This disease most often targets the Peppermint and Spearmint species. The dusty brown or yellow appearance on leaves kill the leaf tissue and is incurable. To control this, the infected rhizomes and plant should be quickly removed. Mint is also prone to pests such as Thrips, Spider mites, and Aphids. To control Thrip populations, avoid planting mint next to crops such as onions or garlic where large numbers of Thrips can build up. Spider mites can be controlled by using strong pressured water, or by using chemical insecticides. Aphid infestation can be pruned out for control of the plant. If the infestation is high, insecticides should be used.

PROPAGATION

Mint is able to be grown quickly and easily, which is why It’s used as a common garden herb. Ways to propagate mint include taking and planting cuttings, growing by the seed, or dividing an already established plant. When growing from seed, the seed should be planted in Spring or Fall seasons away from cold or frost. Since this is a rapid growing plant, as mentioned, it’s terribly invasive. Therefore, it should be grown in a controlled area such as a container or sink the container in the ground, so it doesn’t dominate a yard or garden. Mint likes to be grown in rich and moist soil, and enjoys partial shade to full sunlight. The soil should also be slightly acidic, with the pH being 6.0 to 7.0.  Since Mint is a quick-growing plant, there must be regular maintenance to keep the plant growing healthy. Pruning must be done constantly, plant runners should be clipped as well as flowers to preserve the flavor that’s in the leaves.

New Post has been published on http://www.lifehacker.guru/protecting-bees-the-futility-of-bay-leaves-and-five-years-of-raspberry-pi-in-this-weeks-highlights/

Protecting Bees, the Futility of Bay Leaves, and Five Years of Raspberry Pi in This Week's Highlights 

This week we learned why some types of wildflowers won’t help the bees who need it most, investigated whether or not bay leaves actually add any flavor, looked back on five years of tinkering with Raspberry Pi, and more. Here’s a look back.

Don’t Plant Those “Bee-Friendly” Wildflowers Cheerios Is Giving Away

Bee populations are in decline, and Cheerios wants to help. So far, so good. But they are sending free packets of wildflower seeds to people all over the country—and some of the flowers included are invasive species that, in some areas, you should probably not plant.

Do Bay Leaves Even Do Anything?

Bay leaves are the dryer sheets of the kitchen. I know that they do something, I’m just not entirely sure what it is, and I don’t really miss them when I run out. Yet I keep buying them, because this what humans that cook do. They buy bay leaves and put them in things.

The Real History of St. Patrick’s Day

When you think of St. Patrick’s Day, you probably think of green beer, shot glass necklaces that say “Kiss Me I’m Irish,” and everybody talking about how Irish they suddenly are. That’s all well and good, but I bet you don’t know much about the holiday’s origins, or the saint it celebrates. Well, take off that stupid hat, stop talking like a leprechaun for a second, and educate yourself a smidge.

What I’ve Learned From Tinkering With the Raspberry Pi for Five Years

Today is Pi Day and what better way to celebrate everyone’s favorite mathematical constant than by taking a look back at everyone’s favorite $35 hobbyist computer, the Raspberry Pi. Since the launch of the Raspberry Pi, I’ve written an absurd number of guides, blogs, and an already outdated book on the variety of projects you can do with it. I’ve learned a lot in that time.

Why You Should Scare the Crap Out of Yourself for Fun

“I don’t like scary stuff,” you tell people—as if it’s an allergy of some kind. You won’t go to haunted houses, you wouldn’t dream of playing the new Resident Evil, and your fingers are perpetually crossed in the hope your moviegoing friends won’t pick a horror flick. Well, what if I told you scaring yourself is actually good for your mind, body, and soul?

Beware This Clever “Fake Attachment” Gmail Phishing Scam

With a little know-how, most phishing scams are pretty easy to detect. This one, on the other hand, is devilishly clever and just might dupe you if you’re not careful.

We’ve Brought These Stupid ‘Internet of Things’ Hacks Upon Ourselves

Whether it’s poorly reported stories of hacked Samsung TVs, sadly hilarious tales of hacked teddy bears, or even more bizarre claims about wiretapped microwaves, real, fake, and overblown accounts of all the things that can happen with the devices we choose to connect to the internet dominate the news. We’ve brought this stupid future on ourselves.

What’s Going to Happen to My Insurance If the Obamacare Replacement Becomes Law?

We finally have some numbers on what the Republicans’ proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act is going to do to health insurance coverage and costs. The estimate, from the Congressional Budget Office, says that 24 million of us will lose coverage, and the rest of us will probably see our deductibles go up.

What to Do If You’re Attacked By a Dog, According to a Former Navy SEAL

Hopefully, you’ll never be in a situation where you have to use these tips, but they might just come in handy to help you handle a dog attack. In this Business Insider video, a former Navy SEAL tells you what you need to know to protect yourself.

iPhone Browser Showdown: Chrome vs. Safari

Safari has long been the go-to browser on the iPhone, but after Apple finally opened up the secret speed enhancements in Safari to other browsers way back in iOS 8, it’s now possible to ditch Safari entirely for another browser. Chrome is the most obvious choice for doing so. But is it worth it?

How to Play Virtual Reality Games Without Barfing

Virtual reality is the next big thing in gaming, but wearing the headsets causes motion sickness for some. Even I’ve experienced a little motion sickness while playing despite the fact I never struggled with it in the past (no barfing yet). If you’re worried about hurling, there are a few things you can do to make the experience more pleasant.

What the “Alternative Minimum Tax” Is and Why It Matters for the Rest of Us

One standout item from Trump’s 2005 tax return, revealed last night, was something called the “Alternative Minimum Tax” (AMT). If you’re not terribly familiar with it, here’s what the AMT is all about and why it matters.

Sephora’s Virtual Makeup Artist Made Me Hate Makeup and My Face

You wouldn’t know it from looking at my face, but I buy and own a lot of makeup. I don’t really wear a ton of it; I just enjoy having it around. I also enjoy shopping online, eliminating the need to go out into the world and interact with other people. These two factors make me the target demographic for Sephora’s Virtural Artist, and yet it did not inspire me to buy cosmetics.

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Pest Control, Termite Control for Palm Desert, CA

Various rat control associations give information particularly on their destinations about how to abstain from having a rat attack regardless. Remember that mice and rats can fit in incredibly minor crevices, so filling openings with steel wool or sealant is an uncommon methodology for evasion. Keeping pet support, and your own particular sustenance, settled and expelling garbage from the home right away will avoid rodents, as will empty chaos. Various rodents love to make settles in garden sheds and second story rooms that give comfortable spots to move in. Remember that rodents are extraordinary climbers, and tree appendages should be kept trimmed for from the house to suspect area. Pesticides are destructive and can be exceptionally convincing with rat control. They are planned to consolidate grains, seeds, and oats to draw in rodents, and are unscented and dull. Poisonous substance is a traditionalist decision for a little infiltration and is instantly open. If you are pregnant or have energetic adolescents, pesticides may not be your first choice for annoyance destruction or, you could leave the application to Commercial Pest Control in Palm Springs. In case you are dealing with a determined rat infiltration, or an attack of greater rodents, the most secure and best option is utilizing a specialist Commodity Fumigations in Palm Springs. A readied proficient will come almost to assess the issue and recommend decisions for end, ordinarily with a confirmation. Rat control associations offer others cognizant decisions for getting and removing greater rodents, and have the dominance to manage the chemicals and instruments required to perform rat murdering. In case you are dealing with a rat infiltration, it is your most noteworthy preferred standpoint to oversee it immediately. While a couple people get a kick out of the opportunity to keep little rodents as pets, mice and rats are prepared for making terrible damage homes. They in like manner pass on diseases that are destructive and even dangerous to individuals. For a little invasion, you may have the ability to discard the issue by using one or a blend of a couple business things. For greater invasions (and greater species, like raccoons and squirrels), it is more secure and all the more intense to set up your neighborhood rat control association. Specialists in Trusted Pest Control Services in Palm Springs have the strategies, things, and planning to safely approach and handle pretty much nothing and broad rodents. At whatever point, possible, rat control associations offer common, engineered free plans and moreover unselfish decisions for departure of rodents. For more information on a bit of the DIY and master methods for rat control get to, peruse on.

Everglades Field Trip

Warnings and Safety Tips for Your Everglades Field Trip

Are you planning an Everglades field trip? There is no other place that is more beautiful than this is U.S. This is the largest subtropical wilderness. Moreover, it has a unique landscape which serves as a habitat for many endangered species. This a world heritage site and is also specially protected. However, this till faces threats of pollution, invasive species, and development.

There are more than hundreds of birds and fishes. If you are an animal enthusiast, your dream will come true once you visit this place. There are different hiking trails, as well as camping areas. However, when you are on your path to discover on your Everglades field trip, you need to consider this following warning.

Everglades Field Trip

Permits

You have to make a list of the activities and campsites that you prefer. This is because you might need a permit for this. Keep in mind that they will not issue the permit over the phone. Moreover, it will be issues the day before the activity. Thus, planning is very necessary when it comes to this.

Wild Animals

You need to be alert regarding the aggressive animals. This includes the panthers, snakes, and crocodiles. Keep in mind that you are in their home and they might feel threatened if you go too near them. This will make them attack you. Mosquitoes are prevalent in the Everglades areas and might cause some disease. Hence, you should carry a mosquito repellant along with you. Moreover, you also have to carry a net to cover the face and net.

Hurricane Season

You should not forget that from May to November, it is hurricane season. As a matter of fact, this is also the rainy season. Humidity here is about 100%. In case you have reserved a guided tour, camping tour, or boat rental and it starts to rain, you might get the money. However, this largely depends on the return policy.

How to Stay Safe in Everglades Boat Ride?

Everglades filed trop is a fun for your entire family to explore. There is not scarcity of creatures to meet or activities to try out. You can explore the mangroves. Moreover, you will also be able to enjoy the thrill of airboat rides. However, when you are in your going for the Everglades boat ride, you need to make sure that everyone in your boat is safe. This way you will be able to have a good time.

Do not Feed the Animals

The animals might look cute. However, keep in mind that these are wild creature. Thus, they might become aggressive if you try feeding them. For the sake of your family and friends, you should avoid feeding the Everglades creatures. The rule is the same for alligators and crocodiles.

Get to Know the Terrain You Want to Explore

No doubt, the Everglades are one the largest national parks of U.S. if you know the way around, you will be able to roam around without any worry. As a matter of fact, you can keep your family and friends from getting lost.

Prepare for an Activity that You Want to Try

Whether you paddle, hike, or bike through the Everglades, you need to dress appropriately. Make sure that you wear hats, clothes, and sunglasses which will protect you from the sun. It is necessary to bring along a compact medical kit for this. Moreover, you should bring enough water so that your family is always hydrated.

Keep an Eye on the Kids

You need to keep a close eye on the kids. This is because supervising is necessary in an area like this. Thus, keep a track of where they are what they are up to all the times.

If you keep the safety measures in mind, you will have an experience that people will talk about for weeks. However, for your Everglades field trip, you need to make the booking early on in order to save some money.

The post Everglades Field Trip appeared first on Miami to Key West Tours Guides.

Source: https://www.miamitokeywesttoursguides.com/everglades-field-trip/

from Miami to Key West Tours Guides https://miamitokeywesttoursguides.wordpress.com/2017/12/24/everglades-field-trip-3/