Showing posts with label rivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rivers. Show all posts

Spiders Eat Fish

It is commonly believed that spiders are land dwelling creatures that eat air breathing prey. However, this is a misconception. New research shows certain spiders eat fish.

These spiders exist on all continents except Antarctica. No less than eight kinds of spider consume fish up to twice their size. they also eat amphibians, mice, bats and birds.

The diving bell spiders lives underwater. Many spiders live on the edge of water bodies and will eat just about anything that can be caught. Some fish they catch are very large indeed. Spiders take the chance of a rough fight because nearly all of a fish is edible.

They hunt by holding on to something solid on the land with two of their rear legs. When a fish actually touches one of the six legs in the water the spider pounces completely leaving the land and bites the fish on the neck.

We do not know everything about nature. Much of the living habits of animals is still unknown. As time goes on and data are accumulated we will know more but never all of it.
Ethology by Ty Buchanan
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Massive Flood Due in Tokyo

Japan knows a massive flood is imminent. It is building defenses against it. However, Major floods in Australia have shown that even the most strategically placed levies can be "ignored" by rushing water.

Tokyo is encircled by rivers, with one running right through the middle of the city. The cost of such a disaster will be in the trillions. Despite calls for more spending by Toru Sueoka president of the Japanese Geotechnical Society there is a limit to how much can be spent to prevent destruction.

With enough water the rivers will rise to flood just about everything. Building the banks higher will do no good. Though other types of disasters are frequent, flooding causes more damage in the world than any other calamity, noting that flooding is a side effect of typhoons.
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Society
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The Polluted Environment

As human beings take more medications, so the environment becomes saturated with drugs. Sewerage treatment works are having a difficult problem removing them and providing usable water.

Even low levels of these dangerous chemicals can damage fish, for example. When exposed to anti-stress drugs they get hungry like drug addicts and eat until they are blotted.

Very small microbes that keep the environment running effectively no longer do their work on slime to create food for fish. Chemicals such as shampoo, washing powder, disinfectants, caffeine, antihistamines and antibiotics upset the ecosystem. They slow production of algae a base food source.

Basically, waterways are being sterilized. It is difficult to ascertain the impact of each drug because there are a number of pollutants present at any one time. Pesticides and fertilizers are mixed in with drugs.
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Society
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Nullarbor Created by Many Small Rivers

The Nullarbor plain in the central-southern part of Australia is one of the driest regions on Earth. It is called the Ceduna Delta. The Murray-Darling further to the east is the largest river system extant today. It is difficult to accept that the Nullarbor was created by many small rivers flowing southward into the ocean. These rivers flowed very fast cutting through hills which were formed by the land rising between Australia and Antarctica. Ultimately, sediment was deposited in the drying riverbeds.

Analysis of sediment from drillings in the delta showed rivers flowed there 80 million years ago. Sources of gas and oil have been identified which could be tapped in the future. The Ceduna Delta is as large as the Niger Delta in Africa. It contains half a million cubic kilometers of sedimentary sandstome and shales. Hydrocarbon reserves are already being exploited in the Niger Delta.

Because the "destination" of the rivers was close to the Great Australian Bight large amounts of other minerals such as zircon are also located there. It seems predictions about carbon fuels running out are not well founded. Pollution of the planet will continue into the near future irrespective of the damage it causes.
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Geology
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