Are pests destroying your garden? Maybe you should just. . . move! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Biologists know there are more species of everything near the lush equator. Which means lots of plants — and animals to eat them, like hungry caterpillars! So
Continue readingTag: ecology
Batty Idea
Holy biodiversity, Batman! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ninety percent of plants and animals in Madagascar are found nowhere else! Sadly, insect outbreaks threaten this amazing biodiversity. When they chomp down local crops, farmers are forced to compensate for the loss with field expansion!
Continue readingOrganic Pollution
Forest meadows, fresh flowers… tail pipe exhaust? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Secondary organic aerosols–gah! These tiny particles are a class of chemicals that form the air around us. As natural and industrial gas emissions interact with sunlight, the resulting particles reflect or absorb
Continue readingDeep Dive
What menacing secrets lurk in the depths of the ocean? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science,saying…one word: “Plastics!” Plastics have been invading our oceans for years. Unfortunately, many animals, such as sea turtles, mistake them for food. But does plastic reach the creatures dwelling in
Continue readingBite Me
To live or to die…? Depends on your. . . teeth? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. One hundred and eighty million years ago, gigantic marine reptiles ruled the seas. Then, water levels began rising… dramatically! Not all seafaring reptiles could adapt. So, who survived
Continue readingThinking Plants
Can plants think? Would you believe… yes? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Consider barberry, a European shrub. It produces bean-sized fruits, each with one or two seeds. Its biggest threat is a tiny fruit fly. The fly injects its eggs into one of the
Continue readingVery Special Specialists
You are special – yes you are! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Animals evolved to specialize for life in their environment. For example, polar bear fur is designed for life in the Arctic. Those warm coats would be sweltering in the desert! But we
Continue readingSuper-Predator
Oooh — where’s that wascally wabbit?? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Hey early risers – have you noticed more animals on your morning run versus your afternoon walk? Do all the bunnies leave for afternoon tea time? Unlikely! Kaitlyn Gaynor at U-C Berkeley wanted
Continue readingVeggie Shark
Have you ever met a shark who’s a….vegetarian? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Okay, so maybe not a STRICT vegetarian. But there IS a shark who eats more seagrass than fish! It’s the bonnethead shark—a small relative of hammerheads. Samantha Leigh and her colleagues
Continue readingPoopopotamus
Hippo poop stinks — in more ways than one! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. In Tanzania, Africa, hippos are big. And they leave a big mark. How big? These large mammals generate over fifty-two-thousand metric tons of dung each year! People originally thought that
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