Smithsonian.com

Yasuní National Park, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, according to scientists who recently completed a study examining the park’s plant and animal populations. A single hectare (2.47 acres) of land, for example, contains 655 tree species, more than you would find in all of the continental United States and Canada. Even more impressive, that hectare would contain around 100,000 different insect species (such as the spiny-headed katydid, Panacanthus cuspidatus, seen above).

The scientists aren’t certain why the biodiversity of Yasuní is so high, but several factors, including its location at the intersection of the equator, Andes and Amazon, certainly contribute. But there is reason to worry that this biodiversity may not last. The park is isolated from other protected areas in the region, of which there are few. And despite its designation as a national park, oil extraction, along with the building of access roads, has been permitted in places. The biggest threat to Yasuní and its biodiversity is probably oil, the scientists say. Ecuador’s second-largest field of untapped oil lies under the northeastern section of the park. The Ecuadorian government has proposed a plan to keep that oil off-limits from development, but lack of funding threatens the government’s plans.

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(Photo credit: Bejat McCracken. H/T Eurekalert)

We should all know by now that lawns of green grass aren’t so “green” for the environment. Keeping turf from turning brown wastes water; people use too much pesticide and herbicide, toxic chemicals that can contaminate the fish we eat and water we drink. And keeping lawns at a reasonable height burns fossil fuels, releasing greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Now a new study in Geophysical Research Letters shows that turf causes yet another problem, this time from the fertilizer spread to keep grass growing.

Isn't this Arizona xeriscape better than a manicured lawn? (courtesy of Flickr user midwinter)

Two Earth scientists from the University of California, Irvine, sampled two types of turf—ornamental lawn and athletic fields—at four California parks and calculated how much carbon dioxide the grass sequestered and how much nitrous oxide was released through fertilization. (Nitrous oxide is greenhouse gas that is about 300 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere.) They also calculated how much carbon dioxide was released through maintenance.

For ornamental lawns that aren’t maintained frequently, such as picnic areas, the turf emits a significant quantity of nitrous oxide, but this was largely offset by the amount of carbon dioxide taken up by the plants. But athletic fields are maintained more closely, and they don’t sequester any carbon. These fields are thus adding to the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere (and I would suggest that anyone obsessed with perfect lawn maintenance could also fit into this category of climate change contributor).

However, that patch of green isn’t necessary; we’ve been growing grass in our yards for less than a century. And there are plenty of alternatives. Xeriscaping (also called xerogardening), for example, uses native plants and mulch to limit the amount of water and maintenance needed in a garden. You could replace the grass with clover, which requires little water and no herbicides and could give you a constant supply of luck. Habitat gardening has the added benefit of attracting wildlife to your space. Or you can plant wildflowers—even replace your concrete driveway. My favorite solution is to replace your lawn with a meadow. Good luck, though, convincing your homeowner’s association on any of these.

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(Hat tip: Blue Marble)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to soar like an eagle? A BBC television show trained a golden eagle to carry two tiny cameras and then sent the bird flying over Scotland. If you could see the world from an animal’s point of view, which one would you pick to put cameras on?

(Hat tip: Bad Astronomy)

Every two years, the National Science Foundation publishes a huge collection of science statistics, their Science and Engineering Indicators. One of the more depressing sections is the results of their latest survey of science literacy. This is where you learn things like one out of five people don’t realize that the Earth’s continents have been moving for millions of years and continue to move.

There is now a second science test of 16 questions (starting on page 20 in chapter 7) intended to show how familiar adults are with concepts currently taught in schools. I am dismayed, though not surprised, by the results. Adults do about the same as U.S. students, but even the top 25 percent of adults average less than half of the questions correct.

Wondering how well you’d do? Here are eight of the questions from the test. Give it a try.

1. What property of water is most important for living organisms?
A) It is odorless.
B) It does not conduct electricity.
C) It is tasteless.
D) It is liquid at most temperatures on Earth.

2. Which of the following is a key factor that enables an airplane to lift?
A) Air pressure beneath the wing is greater than that above the wing.
B) Pressure within the airplane is greater than that of the outside.
C) Engine power is greater than that of friction.
D) The plane’s wing is lighter than air.

3. A farmer thinks that the vegetables on her farm are not getting enough water. Her son suggests that they use water from the nearby ocean to water the vegetables. Is this a good idea?
A) Yes, because there is plenty of ocean water.
B) Yes, because ocean water has many natural fertilizers.
C) No, because ocean water is too salty for plants grown on land.
D) No, because ocean water is much more polluted than rainwater.

4. Which one of the following is NOT an example of erosion?
A) The wind in the desert blows sand against a rock.
B) A glacier picks up boulders as it moves.
C) A flood washes over a riverbank, and the water carries small soil particles downstream.
D) An icy winter causes the pavement in a road to crack.

5. Traits are transferred from generation to generation through the…
A) sperm only.
B) egg only.
C) sperm and egg.
D) testes.

6. How do most fish get the oxygen they need to survive?
A) The take in water and break it down into hydrogen and oxygen.
B) Using their gills, they take in oxygen that is dissolved in water.
C) They get their oxygen from the food they eat.
D) They come to the surface every few minutes to breathe air into their lungs.

7. For which reason may people experience shortness of breath more quickly at the top of a mountain than along a seashore?
A) A slower pulse rate.
B) A greater gravitational force on the body.
C) A lower percent of oxygen in the blood.
D) A faster heartbeat.
E) A slower circulation of blood.

8. As part of a laboratory experiment, five students measured the weight of the same leaf four times. They recorded 20 slightly different weights. All of the work was done carefully and correctly. Their goal was to be as accurate as possible and reduce error in the experiment to a minimum. Which of the following is the BEST method to report the weight of the leaf?
A) Ask the teacher to weigh the leaf.
B) Report the first measurement.
C) Average all of the weights that were recorded.
D) Average the highest and lowest weights recorded.
E) Discard the lowest five weights.

Answers appear after the jump. How well did you do? Brag in the comments.

(More…)

One of the oldest books about animals is the Historia animalium, by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner (1516-1565). It’s really a collection of five books, published from 1551 to 1558, that include animals both real and imaginary (e.g., unicorns and sea monsters). The image above is a page from volume 3, birds, and one of several scanned by the National Library of Medicine and now made available online along with other rare, historical texts from the collection.

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(Hat tip: Pharyngula)