At first the purpose of the passage “Owls” by Mary Oliver is difficult to pinpoint. This is because Oliver begins with describing the penetrating fear of a “terrible” (33) great horned owl, and suddenly develops into a section discussing a desultory and trivial field of flowers. The mystifying comparison between the daunting fear of nature and its impeccable beauty is in fact Oliver’s purpose.…
The adaptations of both predators and prey tend to be refined through natural selection; Some prey gain protection through camouflage and mimicry…
After the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to list the Northern Spotted Owl as an endangered species, several environmental groups petitioned for the Department of the Interior to reconsider this decision. The reasoning behind the Department of the Interior’s failure to list the NSO was that it’s listing would interfere with a lucrative logging industry that already had several future projects approved by the DOI. Environmental groups felt that he logging projects in Washington State were being prioritized over the responsibility that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has to protect endangered species under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. After a delay to respond to this matter, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service…
Imagine you’re a spotted owl mother who just hatched her 4 newborn owlet children. Obviously you’re thrilled to be starting this new chapter of your little owl life with a brand new family but you’re also shadowed with the fear of the young ones safety. The Great Horned and Barred Owl are stalking your new members for a late night snack and the opportunity to run you out of your home like the true savages they are. As their numbers in population increase, your own kind becomes more threatened. Once efforts to expand the Northern Spotted Owls habitat are increased, shared space with the Barred Owl is further limited and protection of their young is improved, then their population will soon increase. That…
The Great Horned Owl comes from the Strigidae family. Its scientific name is Bubo Virginianus. Bubo comes from the Latin word meaning "owl" or from the Greek word for "eagle owl" used by the 1st Century Roman naturalist Pliny (Gaius Plinius Secundus). Virginianus, meaning "of Virginia" is where the first specimen of Great Horned Owls was collected. Some other names for the Great Horned Owl are; Grand-duc d'Amerique, in French, and in Spanish is Busho cornudo. The common name "horned owl" comes from the large ear tufts. It is a solitary creature that likes to inhabit unsettled places. It is the fiercest and most powerful of the owls.…
owls digest the food by separating the meat from the bones. After this, the owl regurgitates the…
Adaptations (What are they? How are they involved in evolution? How do they come about in a species?)…
The Long-eared Owl are medium sized with long ear tufts, the facial disks are long and narrow. Long-eared Owl are fairly dark birds with buff or orange faces and intricate black, brown, and buff patterning on its on its feathers. There ear tufts are black with buff or orange fringles, the face has two vertical white lines between the eyes, and the eyes are yellow.…
A snowy owl feeds on small mammals, such as, rabbits, squirrels and lemmings; however, they will eat seabirds and fish when the opportunity presents itself. The snowy owl will perch itself up on a fence post, building, telephone poll and patiently wait for prey (National Georaphic). Snowy owls spend a large amount of time sitting and waiting, often sitting right on the ground. The snowy owl has superior eyesight and hearing, allowing it to find prey hidden in brush or snow (National Georaphic). The snowy owl can turn their head two hundred and seventy degrees around, which aids them and finding a small animal on the ground to devour. The snowy owl has many hunting techniques; they swoop down, hover, jump, and even run after their prey. The snowy owl will swoop down on their prey and snatch them up with their sharp talons while hovering in the air. They will catch and pull a fish or duck right out of the water (Miller, 1999). The snow owl will also use an aerial dive while attacking prey. Once the snowy owl spots their prey they will run after it and pounce upon its prey, swallowing the whole critter down in one swallow, head first. The snowy owl will then regurgitate a pellet. These pellets consist of the parts of the food source that cannot be digested, such as the animal’s bones and hair (The Alaska Zoo). Feeding primarily on lemmings, the snowy owl will eat three to five lemmings a day. With the average weight of a lemming being four pounds, the snowy owl will feed on up to sixteen pounds of lemmings a day. Meaning the snowy owl eats up to two and a half times its body weight in an average…
“The problem with Philadelphia fans is that they want you to play every game like it’s your last” (Swartz, Bryn). The Philadelphia Eagles franchise has many interesting facts about its past. At one time Philadelphia even represented the whole state of Pennsylvania for football. During many of the changes the team has experienced, the franchise has improved tremendously in its cultural aspect and the environmental relevance. Not only does this franchise have one of the most unique backgrounds but it also has a huge and dedicated fan base. The city of Philadelphia hasn't always been the home of the Eagles but it has definitely made the biggest contribution to the franchise.…
This Killer Whale, Keiko, was born in the wild and captured around the age of two. He was then sold and transferred from Iceland to an amusement park in Mexico, where he lived in a single pool without contact with any other Orcas from 1985 to 1996. The amusement park had a few bottle nosed dolphins in the same program, but for the most part Keiko was alone. Later, Keiko was conditioned to follow a boat and was taken out regularly to do open ocean swims as a part of a research study. During these swims, Keiko was in proximity of other local Killer Whales and eventually his human interaction was limited over the course of a few months. Initially, Keiko’s interaction with the wild Orcas was partial. He and the pod generally moved away from one another. After a few open ocean swims and being taken directly toward the pod, Keiko began to follow the pod within a local vicinity. The pod seemed to tolerate his presence and thus Keiko began to travel with the group. However, after Keiko’s release back into the wild, researchers studied how often Keiko approached the boat. The group reported that he approached the boat roughly sixteen times, this was with minimal interaction on the researchers’ part. (Simon) Moreover, after captivity and immense amounts of human captivity and no social interaction with other Killer Whales for a period of eleven years, releasing Keiko into the wild showed extreme behavioral differences from other wild Orcas in the area. Since the social construct of a pod of Kill Whales is extremely strong, often times outsider whales are left to swim at a certain distance from the pod. Observations were made of Keiko swimming in the vicinity of the group, but there were no observations or research made that showed Keiko apart of the social…
Bottlenose dolphins are also known as Tursiops truncates, which is their scientific name. This name originated from the Latin word “tursio” which means “dolphin”, and the Greek suffix “ops” which means “appearance”. In effect, tursiops means “dolphin-like” and their scientific name was derived from these other languages. Bottlenose dolphins are generally 6.6 to 12.8 feet long and weighing around 332 to 442 pounds. The variations in size are because of geographical location and gender.…
3. Which of the following resulted from a genetic variation that was favored by natural selection?…
Throughout the exhibit I saw many examples of adaptation. Under each unique display, there would be a description on how the organism would live in there habitat. One example talked about their tails, and that some were more flexible and broad, for sudden bursts of speed to attack prey or escape danger. Others would have stiff, sickle shaped tails for endurance on long journeys. Another example of adaptation is the blubber of whales and manatees. In colder these animals climates contain more blubber to keep them insulated from the cold. This exhibit made me realize the significance in adaptations and how important they are in life, without the necessary adaptations, many species could die…
I declare that the work submitted is my own with no part written/produced for me by any other person. I have acknowledged the people who have provided assistance and the materials referred to in developing my ideas have been acknowledged according to the school referencing system.…