Adventure Ausrama Blog

Bees don't just take pollen: they physically make flowers release the pollen. The ,  Australian blue-banded bee, Amegilla murrayensis,  and the  North American eastern bumble bee,  Bombus, impatiens,  were compared. Slow motion filming enabled observation of bee behavior. North American bees grabbed the flower anther with their mandibles (hands) then tensed their wing muscles and began to "vibrate' the pollen free. This proces was carried out once per flower Blue-banded bees did not use their mandibles at all. They used their heads, literally. They headbutted the flowers with their heads repeatedly at a very high frequency. The frequency was higher than the North American bee so the blue bee visited more flowers. However, the Australian bee came back several times to the same flower to give it another go. Overall, the blue-banded bee is a more efficient pollinator. If used by growers it could potentially produce more fruit and vegetable. ◆ Biology by T...

Clams along the United States' eastern coastline are suffering from cancer. Like the "bug" in the Tasmanian devil it spreads from individual contact. Rogue cells jump between clams by floating in the water. The most common cancer of clams is leukemia - the sea creatures have a circulatory system. The find happened because Carol Reinisch of Massachusetts Marine Biology Laboratory (who works on soft-shell clams) asked Stephen Goof of Columbia University to look for clams getting cancer by a  virus. He was shocked to discover a toxic cell that spreads cancer all along the eastern seaboard. Only two other cases of the spread of cancer by cells are known. One is decimating the Tasmanian devil. The other is transmitted sexually in dogs. At present Geoff Goff's research is supposition. A lab experiment which shows cancer spreading by a cell in water has not yet been done. Scientists will soon carry out the relevant test. Then we will know whether someth...

The Maremma Sheepdog guards sheep in Italy. Dogs are intelligent and are trained for many things. They are now being trained to protect the endangered eastern barred bandicoot. Whoever came up with the idea should be given an award. In hindsight it would be seen as obvious, but it was smart thinking. Maremma dogs will be selected for the specific job. The bandicoot will be released into the wild with the dogs. Protected release locations will be closely monitored. Their welfare is important : there are no eastern barred bandicoots currently living free. Landowners will be asked to feed the dogs. This will reduce funding requirements. The bandcoots will be given freedom to live as naturally as they can - living alongside a dog. Ironically, the animals that kill bandicoots are imports from Europe like the wolf and feral cat. As well as training the dogs to look after the bandicoot, they have to be taught not to hunt natural wildlife themselves. It is easy for d...

It is amazing how little we know about supposedly common animals, ones that are easily seen and in contact with us. Rabbits were thought to be the main diet for the wedge-tailed eagle. However, the bird consumes other things as well. It should be noted that rabbits were introduced and the eagle must have have relied on other prey before the nuisance animal arrived. When viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD) wiped out the rabbit population the wedge-tailed eagle actually fared better. Castings, the vomit of eagles, showed that their diet consisted of 20 bird species, seven reptiles, 19 mammals and a crustacean. Some mammals they ate were large such as the eastern grey kangaroo. The common Galah was a native bird high on the diet. Rabbits are easy to catch when they are plentiful. A fall in rabbit numbers pushed them back to their traditional food sources. Despite the move, native animals have survived. Nature seems to be in balance. ✴ Conservation by Ty Buchanan ✴ h...

Generally, people do not keep up with the latest infectious diseases that could come their way. We all know about the Asian flu because it has been around for a while. However, there is little fear involved because many believe that they will not catch it. Last year a new disease appeared called Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). It killed more than half of the 79 people infected. In the serious 1957-1958 Asian Flu outbreak the death rate was 0.13 per cent. While MERS is still present, the number of new cases has held steady. There is a worry that the disease could suddenly become highly contagious. It is not yet known whether the virus is spread by human contact or it has an animal source. The number of cases did rise during the Muslim hajj to Mecca. The World Health Organization (WHO) is in an emergency sitting at present considering whether to declare the coronavirus a public health emergency. An emergency would allow travel restrictions to be put in place. Pilg...

Some countries are moving toward other fuels such as coal gas. However, public opinion about it polluting the environment could bring an end to the trend of companies running roughshod over properties belonging to others. The search is driven by potential profit not for any long-term goal. People are complacent. Australia is dependent on fuel from mainly Middle Eastern countries. If a major conflagration occurred there the Australian economy would come to a standstill in a matter of weeks. Rationing would have to be introduced immediately. Health and food would be the main priorities. Distribution would be hit hard as it uses most of the oil imported, apart from private use of motor vehicles. Australia does not keep an oil reserve. Even though some countries have reserves. It would put off the economic hit for a few months. What is shocking is that even dried food in this country would last only nine days. Using solar power for transport is not possible. If such a scenari...