Flamboyant Harlequin Shrimp

Harlequin Shrimp are tiny colorful crustaceans. 

There are two variations of harlequin shrimp. Hymenocera picta, which is naturally found in the Pacific ocean, has a white body with purplish spots (shown above). And its cousin Hymenocera elegans from the Indian ocean features more reddish body spots. Both harlequin shrimp varieties feature an unusual body shape that’s almost reminiscent of a praying mantis. Scientists once thought they were two independent species, but now know they are the same with the only their color differing.

Hawaiian harlequin shrimp

Harlequin shrimp can be identified by some distinctive features. Their claws are large and flat, different from all other types of shrimp. Their tails are trapezoidal and they use two fancy flat antennae on their heads with sophisticated scent receptors tuned to detect prey. Harlequin shrimp grow to a maximum size of around 2”. As tropical reef dwellers, they prefer to live in waters ranging from 71 to 77 F. 

Like many shrimp, their eyes are fixed on stalks. They use two enormous, flat claws a bit like scissors while hunting for and harvesting their prey. The most notable feature of harlequin shrimp, though, is obviously their magnificent coloring. They range from white to light pink with touches of red, orange, blue, or purple.

The body pattern does more for the shrimp than simple vanity, however — it’s an evolutionary adaptation that helps protect them from predators. Traditionally in the world of marine creatures, a bright color means ‘danger,’ and the harlequin shrimp is no exception. Their vibrant patches help warn predators to stay away and the shrimp can also camouflage very quickly to appear as corals or sea plants. 

Harlequin shrimp are notoriously picky eaters as they prefer starfish alone.

Harlequin shrimp in Indonesia feeding on starfish. Credit: diveivanov/Adobe Stock

Pair of harlequin shrimp feeding on a starfish. Photo by Franck Fogarolo

They pick up the scent of a starfish using their antennae. Once it has detected a delicious morsel, a mated pair proceeds to catch up with their prey. Using their pincers, one shrimp will snip off the soft, tube-like foot attachment of the starfish, and the other will pull the starfish until it’s turned on its back. Fortunately the starfish has the ability to grow new arms.

If a pair of harlequin shrimp mates find a comfortable place to live, they will stay for months or even their entire lives. As mentioned, a mating pair will stay together for life and share tasks equally to fiercely protect their family. The female is the larger of the two.

Pair of harlequin shrimp Photo by Jenna Szerlag

Mating occurs after the female molts. In one breeding season, a female can produce between 100 to 5,000 eggs. And although this number seems high, harlequin shrimp are still endangered as their tiny babies are very vulnerable and human interference further aggravates their reproductive success.

Here’s an interesting video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdpd82M22UY

Puffer Fish Love

A tiny male Japanese puffer fish creates a grand sand sculpture on the featureless seabeds to attract the attention of passing females.  The nest size measures about seven feet in diameter and may take about seven to nine days to construct.

Puffer fish couple courtship

The nest is created for courtship and rearing young. Attracted by the grooves and ridges, a female puffer fish would find their way along the dark seabed to the male puffer fish where they would mate and lay eggs in the center of the circle. In fact, the scientists observed that the more ridges the circle contained, the more likely it was that the female would mate with the male.

 Once the female splits, though, it’s the male who does the parental chores: He fertilizes the eggs and remains in the nest until the eggs hatch six days later. It turns out the tiny seashells he has added to the nest help nourish the next generation.

Strangely enough, the males never reuse the nest, always constructing a new circular structure at the huge cost of construction. This is because the valleys may not contain sufficient fine sand particles for multiple reproductive cycles.

Here’s a link to a BBC video showing the tiny male puffer fish in action:

The Resilience of Fig Trees

Figs are one of the most prominent fruits in the Bible, popping up repeatedly and inviting us to consider what they represent.

Farming figs requires care, patience and maintenance, fertilizing and pruning. The shoots that pop up like periscopes must be trimmed, and many varieties won’t bear fruit until the fourth year.  New shoots can be propagated to grow a new fig tree.

New fig tree growing from a shoot

Fig trees can live for centuries and grow to enormous heights.

Cathedral Pine in Danbulla National Park Credit:  Mike Prociv @ Queensland Government

With a crown as big as 2 Olympic swimming pools towering nearly 50m over you, this mighty 500-year-old fig tree will take your breath away.

As you stroll along the boardwalk, gaze into the roots and canopy of this rainforest giant. See if you can spot some of the plentiful wildlife.

Fig trees are often regarded as keystone resources in tropical landscapes. For they bear fruit year-round and are one of the few reliable sources available for resident as well as migrant birds and other animals.

Ripe figs smell lovely and attract a host of animals to feed on them.

The common fig contains only female flowers and propagates without pollination, but within the family, there are hundreds of varieties. The fruit may be oval or pear-shaped and may be white, green, red or purplish-black.

Parrots eating figs in a fig tree

Squirrel eating figs Credit: Dreamtime

Fig trees may be even more essential in urban landscapes with rapidly diminishing green cover and related reduction of fruiting trees.

Fig tree in Nairobi Credit: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

Four stores-high fig tree centuries old was saved by environmental activists after being threatened by Kenya’s roads agency to make way for an expressway.  The environmentalists explained that this tree was a beacon of Kenya’s cultural and ecological heritage. 

A lesson for us all.

Winged Microchip

Scientists at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed the smallest human made flying structure. It’s about the size of a grain of sand.

Microflier next to a lady bug Credit: Northwestern Universiy

The microflier consists of two components. At the center is a miniaturized electronic system with a coil antenna and UV sensors. The exterior wings mimic seeds from nature so they fly and rotate in the wind.

Simulated 3D model of microflier Credit: Northwestern University

The research team at Northwestern University envisions dropped these microfliers by plane or drone by the tens of thousands. The hope is that they will be used to monitor air pollution or airborne diseases. Dropping them in water, for example, could test for heavy metal contamination.

Group of microfliers on a maple tree seed Credit: Northwestern University

The best part is the microfliers are bioresorbable – they dissolve in water and are expected to cost about a penny a piece.

The Invincible Tardigrade

What is a tardigrade? 

The tardigrade is water dwelling mico animal. They were first described in 1773 by German pastor J.A.E. Goeze, who called them “little water bear” in German. The Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani named them tardigrada, which means “slow steppers.

Tardigrades have been on earth about 600 million years, preceding the dinosaurs by about 400 million years.   They have survived all five mass extinctions. 

Measuring less than a millimeter long they are short and plump with eight little legs ending in claws.   Under the microscope you can view their digestive system. 

Fluorence image showing the inside of a  tardigrade   Photo by Dr. Tagide deCarvalho/University of Maryland at Baltimore County

Tardigrades are considered the hardiest animals on Earth. They have been found at the top of the tallest mountains in the Himalayas, inside hot springs in Japan, at the very bottom of the ocean and deep within the Antarctic wilderness.

The tardigrade’s secret is the ability to shrivel into a seed-like pod, expelling nearly all of its water and slashing its metabolism. In this state, the animals can hunker down and survive conditions that would normally be swiftly fatal. Dehydrated tardigrades have been revived after years in an inactive state by plunging them into water. Once rehydrated, the animals become active again and feed and reproduce as normal.

Science Picture Company/Science Faction/Corbis

Tardigrades represent a useful animal for space research. They were subjected to microgravity and cosmic radiation in the International Space Station and these conditions did not significantly affect the survival of tardigrades in flight.

Scientists are now studying the microscopic tardigrades to try and unlock the secrets of its immortality Maybe we can steal a secret or two for ourselves. 

Feminist History of Illustrating Plants

Most people are unaware of several talented women who worked in the field of botany as early as the 18^thcentury. 

Consider Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) Maria was an extremely enterprising and independent German woman.  In 1699, along with her daughter, she travelled to Surinam to carry out research into the reproduction and development of insects. She is now regarded as both a highly gifted artist and an exceptional empirical scientist, one of the first to demolish the prevailing notion of the spontaneous generation of insects from mud.

Portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian

Since women were not allowed to sell paintings in oils in many German cities, Maria became skilled at watercolor and gouache. She was the first to portray caterpillars and butterflies with the plants that nourished them.  Maria’a book, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium,was published in 1705 in both Latin and Dutch with colored engravings.  Marian paid the production costs her self and acted as the publisher.  

Maria’a book, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium,was published in 1705 in both Latin and Dutch with colored engravings.  Marian paid the production costs her self and acted as the publisher.  Two folio editions of 254 aquarelles by Marian were taken to Saint Petersburg for Peter the Great’s personal physician.

Ananas mit Kakerlake (Pineapple with cockroach) by Merian (c. between 1701 and 1705) Hand coloured copper engraving

Anne Kingsbury Wollstonecraft (October 29, 1791 – May 16, 1828) was an American botanist who devoted herself to creating richly detailed illustrations and descriptions of the botanical specimens she found on Cuba. Her work culminating in a remarkable three-volume manuscript entitled, Specimens of the Plants & Fruit of the Island of Cuba. This book was never published and went missing for 190 years. It was recently discovered at Cornell Library’s division of rare manuscripts.  The book includes 121 watercolor plants with detailed notes.

Page from Specimens of the Plants & Fruits of the Island of Cuba by Anne Kingsbury Wollstonecraft.  Credit:  Cornell University.

Anne Kingsbury Wollstonecraft   Credit: Cornell Division of Rare Manuscripts

Just as remarkable was Mary Delany (May 14, 1700- April 15, 1788), an English woman whose collection of intricate paper collages of plant life are now in the British Museum.  Mary Delany created dramatic and precise collages, made from colored paper, much of which she had dyed herself. The works were then mounted on black backgrounds. Describing her method in a letter to her niece dated October 4th, 1772, she wrote: “I have invented a new way of imitating flowers”. She was then 72. In ten years times Mary Delaney completed nearly 1,000 cut-paper botanicals so accurate that botanists still refer to them – each one so energetically dramatic that it seems to leap out from the dark as on to a lit stage.

Portrait of Mary Delany by John Opie, 1782 

Asphodi Lilly paper collage by Mary Delany     Photo: © Trustees of the British Museum

Beatrix Potter (July 28, 1866 –December 22, 1943), famous for The Tale of Peter Rabbitand other children’s books, has been underappreciated for her contribution to science and natural history.  In her early twenties, Beatrix developed a keen interest in mycology and began producing incredibly beautiful drawings of fungi.  She taught herself the proper technique for accurate botanical illustration.  

When she wanted to present her scientific work to London’s Linnean Society she needed to have her uncle do the presentation because women were barred from membership.  The paper never got peer-review and was dismissed as not worthy of consideration. A century later the Linnean Society apologized for its historic sexism. 

Beatrix Potter’s drawing of Hygrophorus puniceus Credit:   Armitt Museum and Library

Beatrix Potter’s drawing of Lepiota friesii   Credit:  Armitt Museum and Library

The female amateur botanists and naturalists of earlier eras didn’t just reproduce knowledge. They took what they learned and used the traditionally feminine skills they already had—along with their keen powers of observation—to create something better, and new.

Hail to the New King

Long before there were people roaming around the True North,there were dinosaurs. In fact, paleontologists in Canada have been unearthing fossils and dinosaur bones for over 100 years, but their latest discovery is a big one, literally. The world’s biggest T. Rex was unearthed in Saskatchewan, Canada and revealed in 2019 with the name of Scotty.

Parts of the skeleton were originally discovered in 1991.  As the bones were removed from the rock, Scotty provided new information both about T. rex and about Cretaceous Saskatchewan.

Skeleton of Scotty. Credit: Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canda

For 28 years, a team based at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta has been painstakingly removing the hard sandstone in which the skeleton was embedded.  It was essentially like trying to free the skeleton from cement.

In addition to be the biggest T. rex, Scotty is also the oldest T. rex discovered in the world.  It’s believed that he roamed Canada over 66 million years ago and was almost 30 when he died.

Illustration of Scotty by Beth Zaiken/The Royal Saskatchewan Museum

The Canadian landscape Scotty knew was a subtropical coastal paradise—but life was no vacation. The dinosaur’s remains include a broken and healed rib, a massive growth of bone in between two teeth—a sign of infection—and broken tailbones possibly maimed by another tyrannosaur’s bite.

By studying many living animals, scientists have found that the wider an animal’s femur, the more weight that the bone tends to hold up. Scotty’s femur was a whopping eight inches across—which means that Scotty’s two legs could hold up more than 19,500 pounds, give or take a couple tons. When the same methods are applied to Sue, the famously complete T. rex at the Field Museum, that fossil comes out about 900 pounds lighter.

Panaroma of Sue from the Field Museum in Chicago Credit: SmugMug

Scotty truly is a spectacular dinosaur.   And, by tyrannosaur standards, making it to 30 was no small feat. Biggest or not, Scotty sets an impressive record among T. rex.

Hail to the new king.

 

 

 

Father of Crop Art

Stan Herd Photo courtesy of Jon Blumb

A native of Protection, Kansas, Stan Herd nourished a love of art as a young man and was awarded an art scholarship to Wichita State University in 1969.

After working in New York for a number of years he returned to his heritage in rural Kansas and began developing a large quantity of artwork including paintings and large murals with mostly western imagery. A few years into his career as an established western artist, Herd had a thought.

“I was on a flight back from Dodge City in 1976 after painting a mural on a bank when I was looking down at a field and saw a tractor traversing a field corner to corner when the idea came to me to create a design on the ground,” he explained. “

Herd’s first Earthwork was of Chief Satanta, a Kiowa leader.  It was several years in the making before it was unveiled in 1981. The 160-acre portrait would become the first of many Earthworks.

Chief Satanta Earthwork and photo by Stan Herd

To date Herd has created about 40 commissioned commercial pieces and 40 art pieces of his own.  The commercial works afford him the freedom to do the work that means the most to him.

He has used combines, tractors, Roto tillers, drills, and many hand-held tools combining new and existing vegetation to carve out an image.  His work sometimes includes mulch, rocks and stones as well. Herd said he usually has a dozen people assist on an average Earthwork project, sometimes family, friends, locals, students and agriculturists who know the area and its crops.

Stan Herd Amelia Earhart as seen from the air. Photographer: TALIS BERGMANIS Credit: THE STAR Keyword: ART

An example of Stan Herd’s commercial work for Shock Top Belgian Ale. This one is in Austin Texas. It is made with two ingredients in the ale: wheat and oranges.

In 2018 Herd received an email from a tobacco executive in China inviting him to visit Yunnan province and see if he wanted to participate in the construction of a public park. After a bit of consideration and recovering from the surprise of the invitation, Herd jumped at the chance. This would be a four-acre earthwork on a hillside in the center of the 800-acre Taiping Lake Park.

Thus began an epic undertaking that found Herd traveling to China 15 times in 15 months. He insisted on creating the design outline without a GPS – laying every single line by himself.”  The work was interrupted by several rainy seasons.

Herd used more than 15,000 bricks chipped out of locally quarried rock. These were placed to create beds for flowering plants and medicinals native to the region. Together the stone and vegetation formed the patterns of the subject’s face and clothing.

Construction Young Woman of China in Yunnan Stan Herd

Herd’s comment about the finished art: “It beautifully represents the elegance of the (women) of China. … And this artwork also (embodies) communication in culture and art areas between China and America.”

Show above is Stan Herd’s Young Woman of China.

Stan Herd’s most recent project is a 1.2-acre recreation of Van Gogh’s famous artwork, Olive Trees, which he “planted” in Minneapolis. The piece was commissioned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art and involved weeks of mowing, digging, planting, and earthscaping to create the piece viewable from the air near the Minneapolis airport. The field location was specifically chosen so that flight passengers can easily see the land art.

Olive Trees by Stan Herd. Van Gogh’s signature dazzling painted sky was recreated using a field of oats mowed in concentric circles.

Olive Trees by Stan Herd as seen from a plane.

Like many of his artworks, Herd’s rendition of Van Gogh’s painting will disappear over time as the crops grow out and the elements wear down the design.

Young Woman of China might not be big enough to be seen from space, however, it does have one advantage over the Great Wall of China.  As Herd explains: “It’s so deep and embedded in the ground, and so massively created on that hillside, it will be here hundreds of years from now.”

Stan Herd has certainly created a niche in the art world.  Dan Rather reporting on CBS News called him the Father of Crop Art.

Pollen Grains by Micronaut

Best known as a scientific photographer, Martin Oeggerli takes close-up images of microscopic creatures and structures that have been featured in scientific publications and art galleries worldwide.

Most of Oeggerli’s best images are taken with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM is always black and white because it uses electrons instead of photons to view the specimen, and only light carries color information.  As an artist, Oeggeril wants the images to be attractive. He tries to highlight morphologically different structures to make them more visible so that the viewer can recognize complexity. And he goes to great lengths to reproduce the original color.

Oeggerli, otherwise known as Micronaut, has collected and explored pollen grains.  Here are a few examples from his gallery:

Water cabbage (Pistia sp.) is an invasive plant. Despite a tiny flower, the pollen is a medium sized elliptic monad covered with equatorial crests, which are rarely found features in the pollen universe. (c) Micronaut

Forget Me Not pollen (c) Micronaut

Pollinium of an orchid, consting of many hundred single pollen grains Credit: (c) Micronaut

Purple willow pollen (c) Micronaut

Pink thrift pollen (c) Micronaut

Pollen on pistil of a geranium (c) Micronaut

One image might take 20-60 hours to create depending on how much detail and how many structures are in the picture.  Because Micronaut goes to great lengths to reproduce the original color each one is a work of art.

High Tech Backpack for Bumblebees

There is a lot of research going into tiny drones, but the latest research involves Living Iot.

Bumblebee with backpack.  Photo credit:  Mark Stone/University of Washingotn

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Computer Science & Engineering have found a new way to collect data using bumblebees.  The team has designed a backpack, complete with wireless communication and location tracking, to collect data on temperature, humidity and crop health.

A drone can only operate for about 20 minutes before needing to charge again. The integrated battery in the bee’s backpack lets it run for seven hours straight, yet weighs just 102 milligrams.  A full-grown bumblebee, for comparison, could weight anywhere from two to six times that. They are strong fliers that can carry three-quarters of their body weight in pollen and nectar. And because they return to a hive each night, data from their sensors can be uploaded and their tiny batteries can be recharged.

Backpack for a bumblebee Credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington

To track the bees, the researchers set up multiple antennas that broadcast signals from a base station.  A receiver in the bee’s backpack uses the strength of the signal and the angle difference between the bee and the base station to triangulate the insect’s position.

With a drone, you’re just flying around randomly, while a bee is going to be drawn to specific things, like the plants it prefers to pollinate.

Bees are essential pollinators for the crops we depend on.  Without them one-third of our foods would disappear. So on top of learning about the environment, the research team is hoping the sensor they have developed can give us a better understanding of bee behavior and help keep them from becoming extinct.