Did 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.
Too much nitrogen?
Too much nitrogen? If farmers continue to depend on nitrogen
fertilizer, the landscape could turn ugly. David Tilman, an
ecologist at the University of Minnesota warns that as more
nitrogen is applied to soil, fewer types of plants survive. The
ones that do survive are usually less- desirable, non-native
species like quack grass, which needs high quantities of nitrogen
to survive. Nitrogen use also affects the diversity of different
types of species in an area. When the amount of nitrogen doubles,
species diversity drops by 25 per cent. If the levels continue to
increase, species loss eventually reaches 40 to 70 per cent. To
double world food production levels over the past 35 years, farmers
have been using more and more nitrogen-based fertilizers. With a
growing population, ecologists estimate that by 2050 the use of
nitrogen will quadruple. 20 MARCH 2000
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