id you know that the more spots a male peacock has on his tail, the more likely he is to father babies, survive harsh winters and escape predators? Scientists think that only the healthiest males have lots of spots and that is why they are more successful than other males.
Washed up
Washed up There is a conflict between cleanliness and
ecology. Paul Llewellyn, a biologist from the University of Wales,
UK, suggests that we may have gone too far in cleaning up our
shorelines. Beaches are usually the home of seaweed, woodlice,
worms, flies and nematodes, and these creatures provide a food
source to shoreline birds. Cleaning up beaches to provide pristine
bathing areas for the public to use is starving many of these
creatures out of their natural habitat. And when these small prey
items leave, so do the birds which feed on them. Cleaning up
beaches is not only interfering with the ecology of the area but is
contributing to erosion damage, which may prove to be permanent.
Without rocks, timber and other debris, waves are free to eat away
at the beaches and coast, causing them to be worn away. 25 JULY 1998, P. 32-35
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