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Mass Mortalities
A mass mortality event (MME) is an incident that kills a vast number of individuals of a single species in a short period of time. The event may put a species at risk of extinction or upset an ecosystem. This is distinct from the mass die-off associated with short lived and synchronous emergent insect taxa which is a regular and non-catastrophic occurrence. Causes of MME's include disease and human-related activities such as pollution. Climatic extremes and other environmental influences such as oxygen stress in aquatic environments play a role, as does starvation. In many MME's there are multiple stressors. An analysis of such events from 1940 to 2012 found that these events have become more common for birds, fish and marine invertebrates, but have declined for amphibians and reptiles and not changed for mammals. Known mass mortality events Migratory birds (1904), Minnesota and Iowa In March 1904, 1.5 million migrating birds died in Minnesota and Iowa during a strong snowstorm. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinction
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and recover. As a species' potential Range (biology), range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxon, Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the Fossil, fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. Over five billion species are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryotes globally, possibly many times more if microorganisms are included. Notable extinct animal species include Dinosaur, non-avian dinosaurs, Machairodontinae, saber-toothed cats, and mammoths. Through evolution, species arise through the process of specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muskoxen
The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'') is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, it is noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males during the seasonal rut, from which its name derives. This musky odor has the effect of attracting females during mating season. Its Inuktitut name "umingmak" translates to "the bearded one". Its Woods Cree names "mâthi-môs" and "mâthi-mostos" translate to "ugly moose" and "ugly bison", respectively. In historic times, muskoxen primarily lived in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. They were formerly present in Eurasia, with their youngest natural records in the region dating to around 2,700 years ago, with reintroduced populations in the American state of Alaska, the Canadian territory of Yukon, and Siberia, and an introduced population in Norway, part of which emigrated to Sweden, where a small population now lives. Evolution Extant relatives The muskox is i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old World Sparrow
Old World sparrows are a group of small passerine birds forming the family (biology), family Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, a name also used for a particular genus of the family, ''Passer''. They are distinct from both the New World sparrows, in the family Passerellidae, and from a few other birds sharing their name, such as the Java sparrow of the family Estrildidae. Many species nest on buildings and the House sparrow, house and Eurasian tree sparrows, in particular, inhabit cities in large numbers. They are primarily seed predation, seed-eaters, though they also consume small insects. Some species scavenge for food around cities and, like rock dove, pigeons or gulls, will eat small quantities of a diversity of items. Description Generally, Old World sparrows are small, plump, brown and grey birds with short tails and stubby, powerful beaks. The differences between sparrow species can be subtle. Members of this family range in size from the chestnut sparro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins), and possibly extinct Lipotidae (baiji or Chinese river dolphin). There are 40 extant species named as dolphins. Dolphins range in size from the and Maui's dolphin to the and orca. Various species of dolphins exhibit sexual dimorphism where the males are larger than females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not quite as flexible as Pinniped, seals, they are faster; some dolphins can briefly travel at speeds of or leap about . Dolphins use their conical teeth to capture fast-moving Predation, prey. They have well-developed hearing which is adapted for both air and water; it is so well developed that some can survive even if they are blind. Some species are w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf Of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo; and on the southeast by Cuba. The coastal areas along the Southern U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, which border the Gulf on the north, are occasionally referred to as the "Third Coast" of the United States (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts), but more often as "the Gulf Coast". The Gulf of Mexico took shape about 300 million years ago (mya) as a result of plate tectonics. The Gulf of Mexico basin is roughly oval and is about wide. Its floor consists of sedimentary rocks and recent sediments. It is connected to part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Florida between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at . After Efforts to stem the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still leaking. The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history. A massive response ensued to protect beaches, salt marsh, wetlands and Estuary, estuaries from the spreading oil util ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KATV
KATV (channel 7) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on Riverfront Drive in the Riverdale section northwest of downtown Little Rock, and its transmitter is located at the Shinall Mountain antenna farm in the Chenal Valley area (itself a developer-created corruption of "Shinall"). History Griffin-Leake ownership On December 9, 1952, the Central South Sales Co. (owned by John T. Griffin and James C. Leake) applied for a construction permit to build a new channel 7 TV station in Pine Bluff; it was later joined by competing applications from the Pine Bluff Television Co. (owned by Dallas construction executive Burnett Estes) on December 27, 1952, and the Arkansas Television Company (owned by construction and real estate executive Gaylord Shaw, and unrelated to the company of the same name that founded KTHV hannel 11 on January 28, 1953. Shaw's application� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blunt Trauma
A blunt trauma, also known as a blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is a physical trauma due to a forceful impact without penetration of the body's surface. Blunt trauma stands in contrast with penetrating trauma, which occurs when an object pierces the skin, enters body tissue, and creates an open wound. Blunt trauma occurs due to direct physical trauma or impactful force to a body part. Such incidents often occur with road traffic collisions, assaults, and sports-related injuries, and are notably common among the elderly who experience falls. Blunt trauma can lead to a wide range of injuries including contusions, concussions, abrasions, lacerations, internal or external hemorrhages, and bone fractures. The severity of these injuries depends on factors such as the force of the impact, the area of the body affected, and the underlying comorbidities of the affected individual. In some cases, blunt force trauma can be life-threatening and may require immedia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, known as murmuration. All members of the family ''Sturnidae'', commonly called sturnids, are known collectively as starlings. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. The family contains 128 species which are divided into 36 genera. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Starlings are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas, as well as North America, Hawaii, and New Zealand, where they generally compete for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grackle
Grackles is the common name of any of 11 species of passerine birds (10 extant and one extinct) native to North and South America. They belong to various genera in the icterid family. In all the species with this name, adult males have black or mostly black plumage. Baby birds use a screech-like call to indicate they wish to feed. * Genus '' Quiscalus'' ** Boat-tailed grackle, ''Quiscalus major'' ** Common grackle, ''Quiscalus quiscula'' ** Great-tailed grackle, ''Quiscalus mexicanus'' ** Nicaraguan grackle, ''Quiscalus nicaraguensis'' ** Greater Antillean grackle, ''Quiscalus niger'' ** Carib grackle, ''Quiscalus lugubris'' ** Slender-billed grackle, ''Quiscalus palustris'': extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ... (1910) * Genus '' Hypopyrrhus'' ** R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in the United States. It is the flagship university, flagship school of the University System of Georgia. In addition to the main campuses in Athens with their approximately 470 buildings, the university has two smaller campuses located in Tifton, Georgia, Tifton and Griffin, Georgia, Griffin. The university has two satellite campuses located in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta and Lawrenceville, Georgia, Lawrenceville, and residential and educational centers in Washington, D.C., at Trinity College, Oxford, Trinity College of University of Oxford, Oxford University, and in Cortona, Italy. The total acreage of the university in 30 List of counties in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia counties is . The university is Carnegie Classification of Institutions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March 3, 1879, to study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The agency also makes maps of planets and moons, based on data from List of NASA missions, U.S. space probes. The sole scientific agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility. It is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with major offices near Lakewood, Colorado; at the Denver Federal Center; and in NASA Research Park in California. In 2009, it employed about 8,670 people. The current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is "science for a changing world". The agency's previous s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
