Some blog posts are pretty easy to write, as I am pretty certain that I know the answers to the problems I present. Of course, as a scientist, I realize that time might prove me wrong, but as far as I believe I have a reasonable explanation, I am fine with that. Others are harder,…
DetailsIn contrast to plant material, meat and other animal products are very rare in nature. The ratio of meat to plants would be in the permilles, or even lower. Mainly that will be because plant matter mostly is bad food, while animal matter has all the nutrients in all the correct combinations for consumers. One…
DetailsWe had a really good year for Rhinopias and several individuals of the Weedy Rhinopias (Rhinopias frondosa) and the Paddleflap Rhinopias (Rhinopias Eschmeyri) could be seen here in Lembeh. So it was not a big suprise when we received whatsapp messages on the BOOT Show in Düsseldorf that our guides had found another Rhinopias while we…
DetailsThere are two main types of reproductive patterns in nature. One is the one we most likely find the “normal” one, with animals reproducing several times during their life time, and not exhausting themselves totally in the process (yeahyeah, I know, parents with small kids might beg to differ, but in general people do survive…
DetailsOne of the questions biologists try to answer is the presence of variance among individuals in populations. Why would variance in genetic composition or looks even be an issue? To make a long story short, it is not to far stretched to interpret natural selection as leading to evolution favoring a specific variant, or form of the…
DetailsWe, as well as fish themselves, recognize fish from symmetric and recognizable patterns. Some predators mask this fish “bauplan” symmetry by have many irregularities in their skin and shape. Many scorpionfish and most notably the different stonefishes are very irregular and asymmetric in their shape. The purpose of the asymmetry is to break the pattern…
DetailsSponges are common and important inhabitants on reefs, as well as elsewhere in oceans. They play an important role in maintaining water quality, as they filter large amounts of water, from several to many times their own body volume, every day, cleaning the water from small particles and bacteria. Sponges are primitive animals, and, as…
DetailsI have earlier written about camouflage as an excellent strategy to evade predator attention. As a camouflager, one could mimic inedible matter such as rocks or sand, which a number of the Lembeh creatures do. The problem with that strategy is that one will be stuck to not moving around very much, as the lie…
DetailsCourtship is ubiquitous in nature, sometimes to the point that we often do not connect specific behaviors to courtship. Few people wake up in the morning and think of the morning choir of birds as a desperate signal for persuading female birds to mate, and few divers would consider the darting to and from by…
DetailsWhy are sea horse females so virtous? When meeting a male of their liking, the female sea horses will keep the male at bay for several days. requiring him to go through quite an elaborate courtship cycle before mating with him. Googling ”sex-on-first-date” will give you an amazing amount of links discussing the pros and…
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