Have you ever wondered why dogs and humans reproduce very differently? Why their litter is so big, often up to 7-8 pups while humans rarely give birth to more than 1 child at a time? Well, there is a reason for it, and it has to do with the rate of mortality or death the […]
Read More R-strategists, K-strategists and Survivorship curves: The reproductive adaptations of different organismsThe populations of different species in an ecosystem is an important parameter of that ecosystem. It determines how long the ecosystem can survive, how stable it can remain in times of environmental stresses and how many different species it can support within it. If the population becomes too much, then the ecosystem will collapse as […]
Read More The top-down vs bottom-up approach in an ecosystemFrom Eco-Intelligent, a very happy Earth Day to all of you!
Read More Earth Day 2018: Plant a sapling and be a part of this EarthEvolution, driven by “survival of the fittest”, allows the best, most suited organisms to survive in an environment. These organisms are “fit” and survive because of a behavioral or physical trait that makes them superior to other competing individuals or species. But what does being “fit” really mean? Is it just about being the best […]
Read More How evolution drives niche development in ecosystemsWhen faced with an environmental stress, every living being has the ability to alter its lifestyle, its habits, its physiological processes to a certain degree so that it can accommodate that stress and continue to survive. Humans do it too; when it’s cold, the hair on our body stands, trapping air in between them and […]
Read More Extreme adaptations: Organisms can do some crazy things in order to survive!Can alien species be helpful to some ecosystems? Apparently so! Horror stories of an alien species taking over and annihilating diversity in a native ecosystem have become pervasive in ecological news. This happens as our world continues to become more and more interconnected: species are moved around by humans- be it intentional or not. There […]
Read More Alien Australian possums could be helpful, not harmful to recovering ecosystems in New Zealand — Evolution Story TimeWhen you are staring at 60% of the coral reefs being bleached, and a 40% loss in coral reefs all over the world, as a scientist, you cannot just sit there and take it. Tens of scientists all around the world are working tirelessly to ensure that the reefs have a way to cope up […]
Read More Coral bleaching: Is there a way corals can recover?We’ve seen what happens when species is lost from an ecosystem. Actually, we are continuing to see this happening in pretty much every ecosystem on the planet. Loss of biodiversity is not an issue that is alien to us (certainly not alien to the readers of this blog). I’ve gone into this in greater detail […]
Read More Live and let live, or live and let die?Coral bleaching has been heavily discussed in every climate-change blog, environmental journals and among the academia for the last few months. In fact, reports that the Great Barrier Reef is dead went viral on social media and caused mass uproar. People began posting updates lamenting the terrible things we have done to nature (which is […]
Read More Explaining coral bleaching: Draining the colors of the oceansIan T.D. Thomson On October 3, the Great Lake Fishery Commission and Fisheries and Oceans Canada hosted a forum in Toronto on Asian carp, the invasive species that could threaten the ecosystem in the Great Lakes. While Asian carp may not sound like a pressing Canadian public policy issue, the presence of the invasive carp […] […]
Read More Ugly Fish, Uglier Problem: Asian Carp in the Great Lakes of Canada — Another example of Invasive species
