PJH Studios

Tag: nature

  • Climate change, creating hybrid species

    One of the consequences of climate change is the creation of hybrid species.

    Hybrid species are surprisingly common in the plant kingdom, but less so among animals, with around 10 to 15 percent of bird species known to hybridize. But as the ranges of animals shift due to changes in global climate, the likelihood of encounters between species that have never interacted before increases, which may lead to new ecological communities. “It’s an interesting sign of what is potentially to come in climate change and biodiversity shifts,” Stokes says.

  • Will o the wisps explained

    We may finally have a full explanation into how will ‘o wisps work. We knew methane and other swamp gasses were involved, but how did they ignite?

    As with the static electricity produced by stroking hair, fur, or carpet in the right conditions, the microlightning results from a buildup of opposing charges until the field created is strong enough to make them leap a gap.

    High-speed imaging reveals the source of the charge as the surface of tiny bubbles of methane, which become either positively or negatively charged as they move through water, split, and combine. The charge concentration appears to survive the bubbles’ escape to the air. When the spark jumps the gap between a neighboring positive and negatively charged bubble, it leads to non-thermal oxidation, releasing energy from the chemical reaction between methane and oxygen, but mostly as blue-violet light rather than heat.

  • Bee nutrition supplement

    There might be a way to save the bees–a nutritional supplement.

    Scientists have developed a breakthrough food supplement that could help save honeybees from devastating declines. By engineering yeast to produce six essential sterols found in pollen, researchers provided bees with a nutritionally complete diet that boosted reproduction up to 15-fold. Unlike commercial substitutes that lack key nutrients, this supplement mimics natural pollen’s sterol profile, giving bees the equivalent of a balanced diet.

  • An elephant forgets to pay for its snacks

    An elephant entered a grocery store in Thailand for snacks.

    Danai Sookkanthachat, a volunteer park worker familiar with the elephant, said Plai Biang Lek, who is about 30 years old, is a familiar sight in the area and has been known to enter people’s houses in search of food. This was the first time he had seen him going into a grocery store.

  • Cats bringing dead gifts

    My mother feeds a local feral cat named, Rigby. While the cat has never left dead gifts, he has been seen carrying dead animals. Most recently, a squirrel.

    There are a couple of hypotheses for why cats bring their catch home, Emmanuelle Baudry, an urban ecologist at Paris-Saclay University, told Live Science. The main hypothesis is that this behavior is maternal. In the wild, mother cats go out and hunt and then bring the food back for their kittens. This not only feeds the young cats but also provides something for them to play, practice how to hunt and recognize prey. So, in the context of human pet owners, our cats may see us as “not so efficient kittens,” Baudry said.

    But that doesn’t mean your pet is insulting you. To the contrary: “It’s somewhat of a compliment,” Liff told Live Science. “They feel comfortable in their home. They consider you part of their family.

  • Ravens mate for life and bond in flight

    A video of a bonded ravens flying.

  • Growing is Forever

    A gorgeously shot, deftly narrated and appropriately soundtracked video, Growing is Forever.

    Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.