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Shark Dr. | Hot Corn | Pollen Heist

Shark Dr. | Hot Corn | Pollen Heist

Issue #168

Steve Burgess
August 31, 2024

In partnership with

Want an amazing new wallpaper? Australian Geographic just dropped their photos of the year for us to experience the outback.

Short on time? Scroll to the “Our Impact” section to see birds playing on a jungle gym and my favorite, the colorful coral tire. 🪸

-Steve

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photo by naushad mohamed

Shark Dr.

Freediving scientists cleaned whale sharks’ parasites to earn their trust. Then used ultrasound to see inside our biggest fish.

Can grow up to 60 feet long
Heart: 12-16 beats per minute
Skin: ~8 inches thick (rhino skin is 2 inches)

Whale sharks in poor health had thinner skin, suggesting a direct correlation to check on future dives. The research is part of a 20+ year project to monitor shark health, following strict ethical guidelines. Whaley cool.

Watch the health-check here! 👀

Quick! (vote)

Which would you rather be?

Check out last week’s results in “Unnatural Selection” below

Hot Corn

Corn sweat is making the already humid summer air even stickier. A product of warmer temperatures + evapotranspiration…

Step 1: plants absorb water from soil
Step 2: water vapor is released through leaves
Corn plants are especially prone to evapotranspiration

Climate change and ever-growing corn agriculture may create a self-powered loop as denser air leads to warmer temps. Research into other factors such as crop variety will help define corn sweat’s impact. Gotta get some quick-dry husks!

A-maize-ing

Pollen Heist

Some bees chomp down to get more pollen. Researchers observed bumble bees violently shaking after selectively biting buzz-pollinated flowers.

~9% of plants are buzz-pollinated
Buzz-pollinated = pollen is concealed unless shaken loose
Biting + shaking releases more pollen than just shaking

Not all buzz-eligible landings were shaken, though researchers aren’t sure how bees decide. Future studies will help us better understand this behavior to track environmental impacts on pollination. Fine, I’ll stop biting the flowers.

To buzz, or not to buzz?

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