The lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) is a species of shark from the family Carcharhinidae. The Lemon shark lives in the tropical and subtropical waters of the coastal areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Lemon sharks are named for the yellow-brown skin that helps them camouflage in the sandy, tropical waters they inhabit. They stay in moderately shallow water, normally going no deeper than 80 meters. They are often found in shallow waters near coasts and islands, by coral reefs, mangroves, bays, and sometimes even river mouths.

The lemon shark commonly attains a length of 2.4 to 3.1 m and a weight up to 90 kg by adulthood. They are slightly smaller in size than the whale shark, which is considered to be the biggest of the shark species.

Lemon sharks have a flattened head along with a short broad snout. They have two equal-sized dorsal fins and their yellow coloring serves as a camouflage when they are swimming on the seafloor filled with sand.

Like any other species of shark, have electroreceptors concentrated in their heads, called the ampullae of Lorenzini. These receptors detect electrical pulses emitted by potential prey and allow these nocturnal feeders to sense their prey in the dark. The skin of female lemon sharks is almost three times thicker than that of males.

The lemon shark is viviparous, meaning it gives birth to live young rather than eggs. Embryos develop inside the mother for up to 12 months until the female seeks shelter in a shallow nursery during spring or summer to give birth. A litter of lemon sharks may be as large as 17 pups. Pups remain in the nursery for several years, sheltered from larger predators, and feed on nutrients from nearby mangroves.

The mangrove areas that lemon sharks inhabit are often referred to as their nursery sites. Nursery grounds can be defined generally as habitats that enhance the growth and survival of juveniles. A nursery site is best defined as the most common area sharks are encountered, the location sharks tend to remain after birth or frequently return to, and the habitat used by shark groups repeatedly for several years. Lemon sharks display natal philopatry, whereby a mother will return to where she was born to have her own pups.

One theory is that lemon sharks select mangrove habitats due to the abundance of prey that resides there, while another theory posits that mangroves provide a safe haven from adult lemon sharks that occasionally feed on juvenile sharks and are unable to enter the shallow waters.

Lemon sharks reach sexual maturity at around 6 years of age and may live for up to 27 years. Female sharks deposit their pups in shallow, coastal waters, and they live in these reef and mangrove nurseries for up to four years. As adults, they move to deeper waters of up to about 90 meters deep.

When it comes to hunting, the Lemon shark is known to be very patient. They are able to use their yellow coloring to help them successfully hide in their natural habitat. They are often found swimming along the sand of the bottom of the water so they blend in easily. This makes it easy to hide from predators and also to be able to find prey.

The Lemon shark's diet consists mainly of bony fish and crustaceans. Catfish, mullet, jacks, croakers, porcupine fish, cowfish, guitarfish, stingrays, eagle rays, crabs, and crayfish make up most of the Lemon shark's diet. Also, this species will eat sea birds and smaller sharks. Lemon sharks will eat until full with the rate of digestion depending on the amount of food consumed at a single time. Intraspecific predation, or cannibalism, of juvenile lemon sharks by larger conspecifics, has also been documented.

They also tend to prefer prey when it is more abundant and available. Lemon sharks feed selectively on species that are slower and more easily captured by using a stalking technique.

Lemon sharks are known to be social creatures, who move in groups or loose aggregations. They form groups based on similar size or sex. Living in groups helps to enhance their communication further and intensifies courtship and predatory behavior.

Since Lemon sharks can blend into their surroundings so well. they are able to do fairly well in captivity. That is not usually the case with species of sharks.

Lemon sharks do not represent a large threat to humans. The International Shark Attack File lists 10 unprovoked lemon shark bites, none of which were fatal.

Lemon sharks are listed as a 'near threatened' species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The destruction of the mangrove, which is one of their primary habitats, and the practice of 'shark finning, a practice where their dorsal fins are used to make fin soup and eaten by several communities, have decreased their number form the world gradually. They have also been killed for their meat which is considered a delicacy in several communities and their skin which is used for leather by humans.

#Nature #Mangrove # #NurseryGrounds

The giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) is a form of beetle native to Madagascar, is so-called because of its distended neck that rises up above its carapace. The long neck above a sloped body is reminiscent of the African giraffe. Giraffe weevils live in forests, spending almost their entire lives on a tree known as the “giraffe beetle tree”. The anecdotal "giraffe beetle tree," known by its scientific name Dichaetanthera arborea, is found only in Madagascar. It provides both home and diet for the giraffe weevil. In addition to eating the leaves of this tree, the giraffe weevil also nests in it. Unlike their strange look, the giraffe weevil is completely harmless. They show no aggression towards humans or other species. The giraffe weevil cannot bite or sting and, therefore, are not dangerous to humans.

The bright red shell that covers the back of the giraffe weevil is called the elytra. It is a form of the hardened forewing, although it is not formally a wing. The elytra form a casing to protect the fragile hind wings that lay underneath, which are used for flying. To fly, the giraffe weevil, like any other flying beetle, will hold open the scarlet elytra as it lifts and then rotates its hindwings, which are made of a membranous material.

The total body length of the males is just under an inch (2.5 cm), among the longest for any attelabid species. The male giraffe weevil's neck can be up to three times as long as his female counterpart. The length of the beetle's neck is used primarily for nest building and fighting with other male giraffe weevils. Fighting between giraffe weevils is typically done during the mating season, where the male weevils attempt to impress the females by defeating other weevils. The neck itself is used as a weapon to push and wrestle with the opponent, it is rare that one of the opponents will die in the course of a fight.

This unusual neck also comes in handy when it comes time to build a nice little home for their children. The Giraffe Weevil will use its neck to roll up a portion of a leaf on its host plant. The female will then lay a single egg inside of the newly created leaf tube before snipping the tube away from the rest of the leaf. Once the egg hatches the little larvae will have a nice vegetarian meal as they eat their rolled-up nest to get some energy to start their life.

These species are not listed as threatened or endangered, their population is thought to be healthy and, remarkably, they are not predated by any other species. It is suspected that the eggs may be occasionally eaten by smaller bugs, leading the male to protectively hang around after mating, but even this is not proven.

#Wildlife #Rainforest #Tenrec

Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. In the wild, they all form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones.
Depending on species, anemonefish are overall yellow, orange, or reddish or blackish color, and many show white bars or patches. The largest can reach a length of 17 cm, while the smallest barely achieve 7–8 cm.

Anemonefish and sea anemones have a symbiotic, mutualistic relationship, each providing many benefits to the other. The individual species are generally highly host-specific, and especially the genera Heteractis and Stichodactyla, and the species Entacmaea quadricolor are frequent anemonefish partners.

The sea anemone protects the anemonefish from predators, as well as providing food through the scraps left from the anemone's meals and occasional dead anemone tentacles and functions as a safe nest site. In return, the anemonefish defends the anemone from its predators and parasites. The anemone also picks up nutrients from the anemonefish's excrement. The nitrogen excreted from anemonefish increases the number of algae incorporated into the tissue of their hosts, which aids the anemone in tissue growth and regeneration.

Anemonefish lay eggs on any flat surface close to their host anemones. In the wild, anemonefish spawn around the time of the full moon. Depending on the species, they can lay hundreds or thousands of eggs. The male parent guards the eggs until they hatch about 6–10 days later.

#Wildlife #CoralReef #Underwater

The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest.
The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer. It weighs from 2.6 to 4 kg, with a body length of 48 to 79 cm and a tail length of 33 to 51 cm. Unlike most other cats, the female possesses only two teats.
The margay is a skillful climber, and it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability. It spends most of the time in trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops. It can turn its ankles up to 180 degrees, so it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12 ft horizontally.
The margay is nocturnal, although it has also been observed hunting during the day in some areas. It prefers to spend most of its life in trees, but also travels on the ground, especially when moving between hunting areas.
This cat hunts small mammals, including monkeys, and birds, eggs, lizards, and tree frogs. It also eats grass, fruit, and other vegetation, most likely to help digestion. A 2006 report about a margay chasing squirrels in its natural environment confirmed that the margay is able to hunt its prey entirely in trees. However, margays do sometimes hunt on the ground and have been reported to eat terrestrial prey, such as cane rats and guinea pigs.
A margay has been observed to mimic the vocalization of a pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) infant while hunting. This represents the first observation of a Neotropical predator employing this type of mimicry.

#Rainorest #GoldenLionTamarin #AgoutiRat

Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus Dipodomys, are native to arid areas of western North America. Kangaroo rats tend to live in the desert flatlands, creosote flats, and the sandy soils of the desert washes. The scorching heat of the desert is the ideal condition for them to live. They can adapt to desert life with ease. The ideal habitat of this species is a sandy-soiled desert with sparse vegetation, represented by grasses, cacti, and creosote bush. The kangaroo rats burrow into the soil to better survive the sometimes harsh desert environment. The range of Desert kangaroo rats includes parts of the Sonoran Desert as well as arid areas of southwestern North America - Death Valley, the Great Basin, and the Mojave Desert (Mexico and United States).

Kangaroo rats are four-toed heteromyid rodents with big hind legs, small front legs, and relatively large heads. Adults typically weigh between 70 and 170 grams.

The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo. Despite its name and mouse-like appearance, the Kangaroo rat is neither a rat nor a mouse. The Kangaroo rat is a member of the Heteromyidae family, they are more closely related to beavers and pocket gophers than they are to black rats and house mice.

They are sensitive to extreme temperatures and remain in their burrows during rainstorms and other forms of inclement weather. Kangaroo rats live in complex burrow systems. The burrows have separate chambers used for specific purposes like sleeping, living, and food storage. Because their habitats are hot and dry, they must conserve water. They do this in part by lowering their metabolic rate, which reduces the loss of water through their skin and respiratory system. Evaporation through the skin is the major route of loss.

These animals take dust baths instead of water baths, wallowing in the sand. Nasal passages of kangaroo rats possess a special cooling system, which reduces the loss of moisture and helps the animals cool off. Kangaroo rats never sweat or pant in order to cool off, since they would lose a significant amount of water from their bodies, which helps them to survive.

They hop on their hind feet, using their tails for balance, and eat seeds that they collect in their fur-lined cheek pouches. Extra seeds are stored in their burrows where the seeds can absorb up to 30 percent more moisture. Kangaroo rats are mostly seed-eaters, eating mostly mesquite beans and grass seeds. Occasionally the Kangaroo rat can be seen eating small insects.

The kangaroo rat is almost perfectly adapted to life in the desert. They can survive without ever drinking any water, getting needed moisture from their seed diet. Kangaroo rats have the ability to convert the dry seeds they eat into water. They have excellent hearing and can even detect the silent sound of an owl approaching. Their large back legs enable them to jump up to 9 feet in one jump in order to escape predators. They possess a pair of big eyes, which helps them to see clearly in the dark. It is an essential tool for them to avoid attacks from their predators.

Unfortunately for the kangaroo rat has many predators. There are many creatures out there who would like to make a tasty meal out of this small creature. Owls, snakes, hawks, bobcats, foxes, badgers, coyotes, ringtails, and your cat or dog are just a few. Snakes are considered the deadliest for them.

These animals are solitary, socializing only when mating or rearing their young. Each burrow is used by a single individual. Desert kangaroo rats are highly territorial animals, fiercely driving intruders away from their home range.

According to IUCN, the Desert kangaroo rat is very common and widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. However, numbers of this species are stable today, and it is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

The role of Desert kangaroo rats in the local ecosystem is not fully explored. However, these animals are known to be key prey species for numerous predators. In addition, due to caching seeds, they serve as important seed dispersers of their range. They build burrows that help to support healthy soils and they help maintain native plant communities.

#Wildlife #SonoranDesert ##HarrisHawk

The green humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) is the largest species of parrotfish, growing to lengths of 1.5 m and weighing up to 75 kg.
It is found on reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea in the west to Samoa in the east, and from the Yaeyama Islands in the north to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, in the south.
Other common names include bumphead parrotfish, humphead parrotfish, double-headed parrotfish, buffalo parrotfish, and giant parrotfish.
Larger juvenile green humphead parrotfish are found in lagoons, often in seagrass beds, and the adults are found in clear outer lagoons and seaward reefs up to a depth of 30 m. They feed on benthic algae and live corals.
Adult green humphead parrotfish may ram its head against corals to facilitate feeding. Each adult fish ingests over five tons of structural reef carbonates per year, contributing significantly to the bioerosion of reefs. The fish sleeps among corals, in caves and shipwrecks at night, usually in large groups.
The giant humphead parrotfish is an amazing fish that can live to be 40 years old, growing up to four feet long and 100 pounds. They use their large head bumps to literally bump heads during competitive displays, when large numbers of fish aggregate to spawn on a lunar cycle. The bumphead parrotfish excretes white sand, which it may produce at the rate of several hundred pounds a year.

#CalmingMusic #Fish #CoralReef

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert and ecoregion which covers large parts of the Southwestern United States in Arizona and California as well as Northwestern Mexico in Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is the hottest desert in Mexico. It has an area of 260,000 square kilometers. The Sonoran desert has an arid climate. In the lower-elevation portions of the desert, temperatures are warm year-round, and rainfall is infrequent and irregular.

Many plants not only survive but thrive in the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert. Many have evolved to have specialized adaptations to the desert climate. The Sonoran Desert's bi-seasonal rainfall pattern results in more plant species than any other desert in the world. The Sonoran Desert includes plant genera and species from the agave family, palm family, cactus family, legume family, and numerous others.

The Sonoran Desert is world-famous for the numerous types of cacti that grow in it, especially the famous saguaro cactus which only grows here. This tree-like cactus can grow up to 12 meters.
Salli the saguaro cactus is one of over 2,000 native plants that live in the Sonoran Desert. Although it's dry and hot in the desert, Salli blooms every year, and when pollinated, she grows fruit. She loves the summer monsoon rains because that's when she soaks up and stores enough water to last her the rest of the year.
Cactus provides food and homes to many desert mammals and birds, with showy flowers in reds, pinks, yellows, and whites, blooming most commonly from late March through June, depending on the species and seasonal temperatures.

The desert is home to 350 bird species, 20 amphibian species, over 100 reptile species, 30 native fish species, over 1000 native bee species, and more than 2,000 native plant species can be found in the desert area. Species that have higher heat tolerance are able to thrive in the conditions of the Sonoran Desert.
Desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, collared peccaries (commonly known as javelinas), mountain lions, gray foxes, and coyotes make their homes in the desert. Other typical residents include desert tortoises, ground squirrels, Gila monsters, tarantulas, scorpions, and a variety of lizards and snakes. Rabbits and rodents, such as jackrabbits and kangaroo rats, are abundant, as are several species of bats. Birds include roadrunners, Gila woodpeckers, Gambel’s quail, and a variety of owls and hawks.

#Wildlife #HarrisHawk #SaguaroCactus

The Bengal tiger (Panthera Tigris Tigris) is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent. It lives in Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and northern India. Bengal Tigers present in India are mainly found in subtropical and temperate upland forests. In Bangladesh, they can be seen living in the Sundarbans mangrove region where they are known to swim between islands. The prime lowland forest is their favorite habitat within Nepal, and in Bhutan, they live in the subtropical Himalayan foothills and north temperate forests.

The Bengal tiger's coat is yellow to light orange, with stripes ranging from dark brown to black, the belly and the interior parts of the limbs are white, and the tail is orange with black rings. Their distinguishing striped coat is useful for camouflage and is just like our fingerprints, unique to every individual. A white Bengal Tiger with black stripes is owing to gene mutation and not because they are albino.

Males and females have an average total length of 270 to 310 cm and 240 to 265 cm respectively, including a tail of 85 to 110 cm long. They typically range 90 to 110 cm in height at the shoulders. The standard weight of males ranges from 175 to 260 kg, while that of females ranges from 100 to 160 kg.

The smallest recorded weights for Bengal tigers are from the Bangladesh Sundarbans, where adult females are 75 to 80 kg. They may have adapted to the unique conditions of the mangrove habitat. Their small sizes are probably due to a combination of intense intraspecific competition and the small size of prey available to tigers in the Sundarbans, compared to the larger deer and other prey available to tigers in other parts.

Bengal tigers can climb trees, however, they are not as agile as the leopard. Bengal tigers are also strong and frequent swimmers, often ambushing drinking, or swimming prey.

Bengal tigers make a range of vocalizations. One of the most recognized is the roar which can be heard as much as 3.2km away.

The tiger is a carnivore. It prefers hunting large ungulates such as chital, sambar, gaur, and to a lesser extent also barasingha, water buffalo, nilgai, serow, and takin. Among the medium-sized prey species, it frequently kills wild boar, and occasionally hog deer, Indian muntjac, and grey langur. Small prey species such as porcupines, hares, and peafowl form a very small part of its diet. Because of the encroachment of humans into tiger habitat, it also preys on domestic livestock.

Bengal tigers have been known to take other predators, such as leopards, wolves, jackals, foxes, crocodiles, Asiatic black bears, sloth bears, and dholes as prey, although these predators are not typically a part of their diet.

These powerful hunters are most active at dusk and dawn when they use tall grass and trees to stalk prey and silently attack. In most cases, tigers approach their victim from the side or behind from as close a distance as possible and grasp the prey's throat to kill it. Then they drag the carcass into cover, occasionally over several hundred meters, to consume it.

The tiger in India has no definite mating and birth seasons. Males reach maturity at 4–5 years of age, and females at 3–4 years. After a gestation period of 104–106 days, 1–4 cubs are born in a shelter situated in tall grass, thick bush, or in caves.

They suckle for 3–6 months and begin to eat small amounts of solid food at about 2 months of age. At this time, they follow their mother on her hunting expeditions and begin to take part in hunting at 5–6 months of age.

At the age of 2–3 years, they slowly start to separate from the family group and become transient, looking out for an area, where they can establish their home range. Young males move further away from their native home range than young females.

The Bengal Tiger can survive for almost 25 years in confinement and a little less in the jungle terrains.

Habitat losses and the extremely large-scale incidences of poaching are serious threats to the species' survival. Those tigers living within the mangrove area are also sensitive to climate change as sea levels rise and alter the structure of mangrove systems. The most significant immediate threat to the existence of wild tiger populations is the illegal trade in poached skins and body parts between India, Nepal, and China. Other factors contributing to their loss are urbanization and revenge killing. Farmers blame tigers for killing cattle and shooting them. In the past, evidence showed that humans and tigers cannot co-exist.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) still lists these tigers as endangered. In India and Nepal, 11 main protected areas are existing to protect prime Bengal Tiger habitat. The Tiger Project, established in the 1970s, has helped stabilize Bengal Tiger populations in these reserve areas although overall populations are still decreasing. Much more work is still needed to ensure their survival in the wild.

#Wildlife #Mangrove #Rainforest

#RelaxingSound #ThunderLightning #Rain

Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk or dusky hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argentina, and Brazil.

The Harris's hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of tolerant groups, while other raptors often hunt alone. Harris hawks' social nature has been attributed to their intelligence, which makes them easy to train and has made them a popular bird for use in falconry.

The diet of Harris's hawk consists of small creatures including birds, lizards, mammals, and large insects. Harris's hawks hunt in cooperative groups of two to six. This is believed to be an adaptation to the lack of prey in the desert climate in which they live. Because it often hunts in groups, Harris's hawk can also take down larger prey. In one hunting technique, a small group flies ahead and scouts, then another group member flies ahead and scouts and this continues until the prey is bagged and shared. Harris's hawks will often chase prey on foot and are quite fast on the ground and their long, yellow legs are adapted for this. Groups of Harris's hawks tend to be more successful at capturing prey than lone hawks.

Harris's hawks are permanent residents and do not migrate. Harris's Hawks occur in semiopen desert lowlands—often among mesquite, paloverde, saguaro, and organ pipe cactus. They also frequent urban and suburban areas because these areas offer easy access to water and food (pigeons).

This species occurs in relatively stable groups. A dominance hierarchy occurs in Harris's hawks, wherein the mature female is the dominant bird, followed by the adult male and then the young of previous years. Groups typically include from 2 to 7 birds. Not only do birds cooperate in hunting, but they also assist in the nesting process. They nest in small trees, shrubby growth, or cacti. The nests are often compact, made of sticks, plant roots, and stems, and are often lined with leaves, moss, bark, and plant roots. No other bird of prey is known to hunt in groups as routinely as this species.

No accounts show predation on adults in the United States and Harris's hawk may be considered an apex predator. The Harris's Hawk isn't threatened by too many natural predators. They may fall prey to Great-horned Owls or the occasional coyote, and ravens may try to steal eggs or young from nests. But because they live in family groups, they have many eyes looking out for predators, which helps everyone stay safe.

Since about 1980, Harris's hawks have been increasingly used in falconry, They are one of the easiest to train and the most social. The ability of the Harris hawk to coordinate as a group to drive their prey into a trap demonstrates their intelligence and co-dependency; they are quick to learn and, therefore, easy to train. It is a combination of these factors that make the Harris hawk an excellent choice for the falconer and - therefore - the most popular bird of prey used in UK falconry today. Trained Harris's hawks have been used to remove an unwanted pigeon population from London's Trafalgar Square, and from the tennis courts at Wimbledon. Trained Harris hawks have been used for bird abatement by falconers in the United States at various locations including resorts and industrial sites.

#SonoranDesert #GroundSquirrel #SaguaroCactus

Polymita is a genus of large, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Helminthoglyptidae. These snails are endemic to Cuba.

Polymita inhabits the subtropical hardwood forests growing on the coastal plains and mountains of the Eastern end of Cuba. The Polymita displays a marked preference for certain tree species. The preferred or host tree is; Hicaco (Chrysobalanus icaco). Other host trees are varieties of Poisonwood (Metopium toxifera, brownei ), Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simarouba), Hicaquillo (Coccoloba retusa), and other smooth-barked hardwoods.

The Polymita snails feed on the confervoid algae, fungi, sooty molds, and lichens which grow on subtropical hardwood trees and shrubs. Polymita does not eat the leaves or bark of the host tree. Feeding paths may be seen where the snail has scraped the algae and lichen growths with their radula. The quality of the habitat, that is, the amount of food and type of food, affects the shell growth of the Polymita. The Polymita is a welcome guest in the Coffee and Guava orchards of the Oriente province as they eat the sooty molds on the leaves and branches of the trees.

It’s no surprise that land snails like Polymita would be so successful on an island. With the ability to secrete a mucus seal around their shell openings, these invertebrates can go dormant for long periods without drying out. This makes them good travelers, hardy enough to survive a trip at sea on vegetation that comes loose from the mainland during a storm or flood.

The beauty of these striped snails is a many-splendored thing, and differences in color occur not just between species, but also within individuals of a single species. Some scientists suggest that the variations might confuse predators, preventing them from homing in on these snails as a predictable meal, but the question is far from settled.

Polymita is preyed upon by a variety of vertebrates and invertebrates; birds, rats, and the most destructive enemies of all; bulldozers and the ensuing destruction of habitat. Habitat destruction is by far the greatest threat to the Polymita.

If Cuba is the paradise for land-shells, Polymita must be Adam and Eve's Apple. It has such a beautiful species that it seduces the human mind. Both for good (well-illustrated and emblematic for the Cuban malacofauna) and for worse (because of its beauty its species are being over-collected and used as souvenirs). The threats by human activities have plagued these species and eventually may drive them into extinction.

#Wildlife #BeautifulSpecies #Cuba

Agama is a type of lizard. There are more than 60 species of agama that are native to Africa, Europe, and Asia. Agamas are the most dominant type of lizards in Africa. They are very flexible animals that can easily adapt to the changes in their environment. In the past, agamas were living in the forests of Africa. When forests began to disappear, agama managed to adapt to life in open spaces. Most species of agama live in mountains, rocky steppes, and arid areas. Certain species of agama have adapted to life in both rural and urban areas. Some people keep agamas as pets because of the beautiful coloration of their bodies. Agamas are not listed as endangered animals.

Red-headed rock agamas can be found native in countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, and Madagascar. These lizards live in deserts, savannas, forests, and mountains. They also occur in urban and suburban areas. They are a semi desert-dwelling species that live within rock crevices. If close to man, they may even live within their huts or gardens.

The male African Red Headed Agama has a bright red head and a deep blue body. These colors may intensify during the breeding season. Females and young male Red Headed Agamas are olive green or brown with cream-colored bellies. This reptile can grow to be about 14 inches long from tip to tail. Agama lizards are sometimes called rainbow lizards because of the colorful displays put on by the dominant males. While most agamas are green and brown, dominant males show off by rapidly turning their bodies blue and their heads bright red or yellow. Changes in coloration play a key role in their behavior, communication, and reproduction. They reach an adult length of around 12 to 14 inches heads to the tip of tail, males tend to be slightly larger than females. Agamas communicate mainly with their bodies, either through movements and postures or by changing colors. Red-headed agamas spend their days hunting for food, basking in the sun, and occasionally seeking out a bit of shade to cool down.

Most agamas live in small groups with the dominant male ruling over several females and sub-males. While sunning themselves each morning, the dominant male will claim the most elevated spot, with subordinates in lower areas. Agamas hunt by the vision and prefer to wait for an insect to come by. Their sticky tongues help them hold onto prey.

Agamas mainly eat insects, especially ants, grasshoppers, beetles, and termites. They will also consume berries, other fruit, seeds, eggs, flowers, grasses, and even small mammals. They wait in shadows for prey to pass by. When it does, they give chase and catch it, usually with the aid of their sticky, mucous-coated tongues.

Females are sexually mature at age 14 to 18 months; males reach maturity at 2 years. Only the dominant male mates with the females in his territory. Mating tends to occur in the wet season, but agamas can breed any time they have access to water. A male courts a female by head-bobbing to her. After mating, the female digs a two-inch (5-cm)-a deep hole in moist, sandy soil where she lays five to seven eggs. During the day, she leaves the top open so that the sun can warm the eggs; at night, she covers the hole with plant matter. Hatchlings emerge in eight to ten weeks.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has not evaluated this lizard, however, there are no significant threats to this species.

#WildLife #Lion #SpidermanAgama

An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing.

Many reefs are built using objects that were built for other purposes, such as by sinking oil rigs (through the Rigs-to-Reefs program), scuttling ships, or deploying rubble or construction debris. Other artificial reefs are purpose-built (e.g. the reef balls) from PVC or concrete. Shipwrecks may become artificial reefs when preserved on the seafloor. Regardless of construction method, artificial reefs generally provide hard surfaces where algae and invertebrates such as barnacles, corals, and oysters attach; the accumulation of attached marine life, in turn, provides intricate structures and food for assemblages of fish.

Artificial reefs can show quick increases in local fish population rehabilitation, coral reef, and algae growth. However, far more than half the amount of biomass found on artificial reefs is attracted from other areas rather than developing there. Artificial reefs do not increase fish populations. Instead, they operate as fish aggregating devices bringing in fish from other reefs. Concentrating fish on a reef also makes for easier fishing.

The fish attracted to artificial reef zones vary from reef to reef depending on their age, size, and structure. Large reef structures such as large sunken ships attract larger fish.

The use of shipwrecks in rocky zones creates a new trophic structure for the local ecosystem. They become the home for certain species and many nearby animals migrate to the shipwreck. This unbalances the natural ecosystem and has the potential to alter many other habitats.

Thousands of popular wreck diving sites throughout the world are shipwrecks sunk as artificial reefs. Some of these wrecks were sunk deliberately to attract divers. The USS Spiegel Grove and USS Oriskany in Florida, USS Indra and USS Aeolus in North Carolina, and Bianca C. in Grenada draw thousands of divers annually.

There are many factors that can make an artificial reef a success or failure, and even the same techniques and materials may work well in some situations and not in others.

The materials used in most artificial reefs often cause pollution by releasing chemicals and nutrients that are not naturally found in reef environments. Ships can release polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, iron, lead paint, and anti-fouling paint leaches into the ocean and enters the food chain.

It is important to recognize that artificial reefs only work in areas where water quality is still conducive to coral growth. Artificial reefs are a great tool for marine resource managers, but it is only one tool on our belt. It needs to be used in conjunction with a wide variety of other actions such as establishing rules and regulations, reducing local land and sea-based threats, reducing over-fishing/over-use, and other mitigation or protection methods to create an effective and holistic coral reef restoration program.

#Nature #Underwater #CoralReef

The blacktip shark has a robust, streamlined body with a long, pointed snout and relatively small eyes. The five pairs of gill slits are longer than those of similar requiem shark species.The jaws contain 15 tooth rows on either side, with two symphysial teeth (at the jaw midline) in the upper jaw and one symphysial tooth in the lower jaw. The teeth are broad-based with a high, narrow cusp and serrated edges.The first dorsal fin is tall and falcate (sickle-shaped) with a short free rear tip; no ridge runs between the first and second dorsal fins. The large pectoral fins are falcate and pointed.
The coloration is gray to brown above and white below, with a conspicuous white stripe running along the sides. The pectoral fins, second dorsal fin, and the lower lobe of the caudal fin usually have black tips. The pelvic fins and rarely the anal fin may also be black-tipped. The first dorsal fin and the upper lobe of the caudal fin typically have black edges.Some larger individuals have unmarked or nearly unmarked fins. Blacktip sharks can temporarily lose almost all their colors during blooms, or "whitings", of coccolithophores. This species attains a maximum known length of 2.8 m, though 1.5 m is more typical, and a maximum known weight of 123 kg.
Most blacktip sharks are found in water less than 30 m deep over continental and insular shelves, though they may dive to 64 m. Favored habitats are muddy bays, island lagoons, and the drop-offs near coral reefs; they are also tolerant of low salinity and enter estuaries and mangrove swamps. Although an individual may be found some distance offshore, blacktip sharks do not inhabit oceanic waters.
The blacktip shark is an extremely fast, energetic predator that is usually found in groups of varying size. They feed on small schooling fish such as anchovies, herrings, menhadens, and sardines, and many other bony fish including numerous elasmobranchs. They are known to follow fishing trawlers consuming discarded by-catch. They also consume crustaceans and squids.

#CalmingMusic #Shark #FeedingFrenzy

Acanthaster planci is known as the Crown of Thorns Starfish. This sea star is an organism that has caused great concern all over the world. When the starfish come into a reef ecosystem in these plague proportions, they feed so heavily on corals that they can completely destroy a reef. Crown of thorns starfish outbreaks causes significant damage to coral reefs across large spatial scales. The damage from crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks adds to the damage from other major causes of coral decline, tropical cyclones, and coral bleaching events.

Crown of thorns starfish usually eats the polyps of hard, relatively fast-growing stony corals, such as staghorn corals. If food is scarce, they will eat other coral species. Their feeding preferences and behavior patterns vary with population density, water motion, and species composition. They feed by extruding their stomach out of their bodies and onto the coral reef and then using enzymes to digest the coral polyps. This process can take several hours. After the coral polyps are digested, the sea star moves off, leaving only the white coral skeleton behind. An individual starfish can consume up to 6 square meters of living coral reefs per year.

The lack of predators of these crown-of-thorns starfish is due to overfishing. The most common crown-of-thorns starfish predators include the giant triton snail, the titan triggerfish, brilliant pufferfish, hump head Maori wrasse, yellow edge triggerfish, harlequin shrimp, lined worm. Small crabs living within the complex structures of branching corals may ward off the starfish as it seeks to spread its stomach over the coral surface. The crabs pinch the starfish’s tube feet or even its stomach lining. Through this symbiosis, the crabs protect the coral colony from potential predators, and in return, they receive a safe place to live and avoid their own predators.

When crown-of-thorns starfish populations are at healthy levels, they can be good for a reef. They can keep larger, fast-growing stony corals in check, allowing small corals to grow. They also can open space for more slower-growing corals to grow and increase diversity.

The crown of thorns starfish has a healthy enough population that there is no need to evaluate it for conservation. In fact, sometimes crown-of-thorns starfish populations can get so high, they devastate reefs. The starfish are emerging at night to feed. When the starfish are at high densities, they may move day and night, competing for living coral. One issue is runoff, which washes chemicals (for example, agricultural pesticides) from the land into the ocean. This pumps more nutrients into the water that causes a bloom in plankton, which in turn provides extra food for crown-of-thorns starfish larvae and causes the population to boom. Another cause may be overfishing, which has decreased the population of starfish predators. An example of this is the overcollection of giant triton shells, which are prized as souvenirs.

#Nature #CoralReefs #Fish

Tasmania is a heavily forested state. Just over half of the total area of forest in Tasmania is held in reserves for conservation. Tasmania’s forests are home to the tallest flowering trees on the planet.
Tasmanian rainforest is classified and as cool temperate rainforest, it represents the most floristically complex and best developed form of this forest type in Australia. In Tasmania, they can be found in the West, Savage River National Park, South West, North East and in patches on the East Coast. These forests are climax vegetation and are dominated by angiosperms such as Nothofagus cunninghamii (myrtle beech), Atherosperma moschatum (sassafras), and Eucryphia lucida (leatherwood) as well as gymnosperms such as Athrotaxis selaginoides (King Billy Pine), Lagarostrobos franklinii (huon or macquarie pine) and Phyllocladus aspleniifolius (celery-top pine). The limited number of woody species is thought to be due to repeated glaciation.
Tasmanian cool temperate rainforest can be divided into four types: Callidendrous rainforest, Thamnic rainforest, Implicate rainforest and Open Montane. These four major types differ in many of their characteristics such as structure, floristics, distribution, level of endemism and ecology.

#CalmingMusic #GiantTree #AncientForest

The harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) is a small rodent native to Europe and Asia. It has reddish-brown fur with white underparts and a naked, highly prehensile tail, which it uses for climbing. An adult may weigh as little as 4 grams. They have a reddish-yellow coat with a distinct white underside, small hairy ears, and a much blunter nose than other mice.

They are mostly nocturnal, although are active during the day in warm summer months. Harvest mice are less active in winter but do not hibernate; they stay close to the ground for warmth and insulation and store food to sustain them through the winter months.

Harvest mice can be found in a variety of habitats including rough grasslands, reed beds, riparian margins, roadside verges, hedgerows, cereal crops (e.g. oats and wheat), field margins, and wild bird seed crops.

They eat a mixture of seeds, berries, and insects, although moss, roots, and fungi may also be taken. Harvest mice sometimes take grain from cereal heads, leaving characteristic sickle-shaped remains. Unlike some rodents, harvest mice don't eat enough to cause damage to crops. So farmers don't mind having these tiny gymnasts in their fields. The mice may even help farmers by eating insect pests. These mice are not dangerous, there are no specific diseases that are known for spreading to humans either.

Like other species of rodents, are very active contributors to the ecosystem, wildlife, and nature around them. They actively participate in pollination by being pollen bearers and serving as transporters for pollen.

They communicate using their senses, primarily through chemical responses and tactile behavior.

One feature, other than its small size which makes the harvest mouse truly unique amongst mammals is its tail. The harvest mouse has a tail about as long as its own body which can be used to hold onto things just like a monkey does. This prehensile tail is useful to the mouse when climbing amongst the stems of corn and grass in a field enabling it to maintain its balance and spread its weight. They are excellent climbers and can move about off the ground in tall grass, reeds, or bramble during the summer and autumn. Their hearing is acute and they will react sharply; they either freeze or drop into cover in response to rustling sounds up to 7m away.

Harvest mice don't live long, probably only up to 18 months, but they do reproduce quickly. Their breeding season begins in May and sometimes lasts until December. They can raise to seven litters during that time, each consisting of up to eight young.

Harvest mice are thought to be solitary, and the females prefer familiar males over unfamiliar. When females are in oestrus they spend more time with familiar males and prefer the heavier ones. Pregnant females construct specific breeding nests about 10 cm across (double the size of a non-breeding nest) and gestation takes 17 – 19 days. Females give birth to up to seven young who are dependent on their mother for the first two weeks of their life. They are born blind and without fur, weighing no more than 0.8 g each. Grey fur starts to develop after four days, teeth at one week, and their eyes open after around nine days. They venture outside the nest at around 11 days and their golden fur starts to come in at two weeks.

One of the best ways of spotting the presence of harvest mice is to look for their nests. The nest of a harvest mouse is a beautiful structure of interwoven grass leaves, usually created some 50cm off the ground and about the size of a tennis ball. It is made by pulling leaves of adjacent grasses together, shredding them along their lengths, and weaving them together to form a spherical nest suspended between the grass stems. In this way, the grass which forms its nest continues to live so it will remain green and provide ideal camouflage. If its nest should turn brown then it will be abandoned.

Because harvest mice are active both night and day, they can be preyed on by several different predators even though they usually only constitute a very small proportion of their diet. Predatory species include mustelids (such as weasels and stoats, and polecats), foxes, domestic cats, owls, hawks, corvids, shrikes, and pheasants. Young may be eaten by blackbirds or even toads.

Globally harvest mice are not endangered and they are currently listed as Least Concern on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List.

However, according to the Mammal Society IUCN-authorised Red List of British Mammals, they are Near Threatened in Great Britain as a whole. In Scotland, where we know very little about their numbers, they are Critically Endangered, in Wales they are Vulnerable and in England, they are classified as Least Concern.

As of 2019, the harvest mouse is protected under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 and the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework: Implementation Plan.

#Wildlife #PrehensileTail #Grassland