A new reef

A massive ship last used by the U.S. Air Force to track missiles and spacecraft was sunk off Key West Wednesday, becoming a new artificial reef.

- AP/Miami Herald (link here)

Excellent. We need more reefs.

Wildlife sightings

On the road to Michigan for the Memorial Day weekend, we saw several deer, several wild turkeys, and a coyote.

While in Michigan, we saw a bald eagle.

On the road home, we saw a pair of cranes and three deer.

Unboilable bug

According to Abramov's work, all life on Earth probably evolved from a kind of microscopic "unboilable bug" — single-cell bacteria — that survived the heavy bombardment of asteroids in underground sanctuaries.

- Denver Post (link here)

Komodo dragons

Add shock-inducing venom to the list of reasons to avoid Komodo dragons. The fierce lizard may kill its prey in a way similar to some snakes, researchers report online May 18 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The finding contradicts the widely held notion that Komodo lizards rely on nasty bacteria and resulting infection to kill prey.

- Science News (link here)

Very interesting.

Eagles vs. comorants

Bald eagles, bouncing back after years of decline, are swaggering forth with an appetite for great cormorant chicks that threatens to wipe out the birds in the United States.

- AP/Denver Post (link here)

Everything humans do, or do not do, affects relationships between other species.

And that is Life in the Food Chain.

Veggie Day

(Thanks to Elizabeth for calling my attention to this story.)

The Belgian city of Ghent is about to become the first in the world to go vegetarian at least once a week.

- BBC (link here)

How do the vegetables feel about this?

Firefly Watch

(Thanks to Elizabeth for calling my attention to this program.)

https://www.mos.org/fireflywatch/

Are fireflies disappearing?

Frogwatch

(Thanks to Elizabeth for calling my attention to this program.)

FrogWatch USA is a Citizen Science Monitoring Program that gives YOU the opportunity to help scientists conserve amphibians! Being a FrogWatch volunteer gives you the opportunity to gather information that will help increase awareness of nationwide amphibian declines that can ultimately lead to practical and workable ways to help conserve these important species – all while helping you learn more about the wetlands in your community and the calls of frogs and toads in your community!

- National Wildlife Federation (link here)

Origins of life

Scientists may have figured out the chemistry that sparked the beginning of life on Earth.

- Science News (link here)

Kill the killers

John Hart squatted in a muddy pasture and examined the carcass in front of him. The wounds on the eviscerated calf, and the tracks all around it, left no mystery about what had happened.

Soon Hart would set up traps to capture and shoot the killer: one or more gray wolves roaming the area.

- Star Tribune (link here)

If we carry this chain of revenge to its conclusion....

Disturbing.

Flies vs. ants

Researchers in Texas are trying an unusual approach to combat fire ants - deploying parasitic flies that turn the pesky and economically costly insects into zombies whose heads fall off.

- AP/azcentral (link here)

Fascinating.

Frog diseases

(Thanks to Elizabeth for calling my attention to this story.)

Bd causes devastating chytrid disease, first identified about a decade ago. In the past few years, a number of studies have shown that it is an important factor in the recent drop-off in amphibian numbers. Worldwide, chytrid disease has caused extinctions and declines in 200 species of frogs. Ranaviruses also cause large die-offs, but scientists do not yet know whether they can contribute to extinctions.

- New Scientist (link here)

Deer sightings

Yesterday, Gil & I biked 23 miles.

We saw 4 whitetail deer and 1 rabbit.

Antero

Thanks to Dad for sending me this picture.

Fred & fish

Coyotes

Thanks to my brother for sending me this picture.