Psychedelic Swamp

This image, taken by Michael Hussey. Apparently this happens every year as leaves begin to decompose in the water. The decomposing leaves release tannic acid and when the sun hits it this rainbow effect can be seen over the water.

Survival on the Coastal Cliffs

A cliff face provides a rare opportunity to see the rocks that lie beneath the springy seaside turf. As the sea eats relentlessly into the land of cross section of the landscape is laid bare for people to admire and for hardy creatures to colonize. Carved by the restless elements, the cliffs are the front line in the battle between sea and land. Although survival in the tough conditions is strictly for specialists, the cliffs have an advantage for wildlife they are left alone by man. These frontier habitats are as varied as Britain’s remarkably varied geology formations. Differing rates of erosion produce, for example, towering cliffs of great resistance crumbling sandy cliffs, gleaming walls of white chalk and slips and slumps of all descriptions. Cliff land habitats are infinitely variable, but all are vulnerable to the sea and share a particular sense of remoteness. 

Standing room only because the cliffs vary so much in material and in structure, no community exist which is typical of all cliffs. The image of cliff life is perhaps best evoked by the clamoring colonies of sea birds which come to our shores in spring to breed. They tend to favor the north and west coast. Moreover, birds which spend a great part of their lives in the remoteness of the oceans choose remote, inaccessible places to breed. Different species have different requirements for nest sites, and this produces a pattern in their distribution. The guillemot, for example, Britain’s most numerous seabirds, breeds in colonies on vertical or near vertical cliffs. Thus, narrow ledges along the cliff face provide suitable nest sites for these chocolate brown birds with white fronts; they stand shoulder to shoulder each one incubating a single egg. The guillemots, members of the auk family, make their living at sea as underwater fishermen, and when ashore they have no reason to move around. So the rather basic accommodation offered by these ledges is all they need. 

Therefore, no nest cradles the guillemot egg, which is pear-shaped and relatively safe from rolling over the edge; any accidental movement causes it to spin on the spot, rather than to roll over the edge. When the chicks are two or three weeks old they launch themselves straight into the deep sea. The razorbill, a relative of the guillemot, looks similar but is black instead of brown and has a thinner, deeper bill. It chooses cliff areas that have rock tumbles and caverns, often including an overhanging roof. The razorbill too lays a single egg, but without the anti-roll design.

Well, safety in numbers is really important, as colonial nesting offers the auks real advantages. It gives the individual a better chance of escaping from predators, especially the young, who frequently hatch on the same day and take to the sea together; few stragglers remain to be picked off by the crows. The fulmar, another seabird of the deep ocean which resorts to the land for breeding only, has less specific nest site requirements. The species has increased dramatically in numbers and distribution over the last two hundred years.  The single white egg of the fulmar may rest on a bare rock ledge or in softer cliff material; the female sometimes scrapes out a hollow or utilizes a pocket eroded by the wind. The incubating parents both sexes sit for long periods between changeover, and the fat fluffy white chick also sits around for a long time another six to eight weeks being fed by the parents from the bountiful sea nearby. 

By late summer these seabird visitors of the cliffs-capes have left, the fulmars and kittiwakes dispersing on the wing to their ocean feeding grounds, the auks swimming off to open waters using the powerful paddle feet which are of so little use on land. Their brief presence inevitable affects the character of the cliff faces for those creatures which remain. The plants which colonize this battleground between land and sea cannot move to warmer climes when breeding is done, but must complete their life cycles in the teeth of gale blown spray, the scorching heat of summer sun, come rain, snow frost or landslide.  The land plants that creep closest to the sea itself are lichens of the splash zone, some forming bright patches of brilliant color. The moisture they retain may pave the way for other plants, but most cliff species rely on a crack in the rock to provide a first foothold; larger crevices may shelter a richer plant growth. Rock samphire, for example is a typical plant of rocky cliffs at all heights, often springing from a tight crack with no apparent soil its long tough root tapping deep moisture and tolerating a high degree of salinity. The dainty thrift and sea campion too have long, probing roots. 

Therefore, when the fresh water is available it is often in excess, washing downwards in rivulets which sweep seeds rock and soil, and whole plants to the inhospitable sea. Such instability favors plants which are especially quick to colonize newly broken ground i.e. sea beet. Well, a kittiwake plasters a nest to the sheer cliff face, sheltering its egg normally two, in a well formed cup where the chicks remain until they fly at about six weeks old. The kittiwake is most maritime gull and with its plastering technique it can colonize ledges that are too narrow even for guillemots. The two species are often neighbors on the same cliff face. The Headland on Great Saltee Island in western Ireland is visited by both guillemots and kittiwakes. You can also see the pink cushions of thrift near the top, and the white clumps of sea campion. Yellow Xanthoria lichens clothier the drier sections of rock higher up, while lower down a black coating of Verrucaria lichen is marked with white streaks of guano. 

A rock fall may create a new habitat over night. In the breeding season the birds; too make great changes to their environment which naturally affects the plants. Severe trampling and guano production around the breeding sites kills all plant life, but moderate manuring with bird droppings creates the right conditions for sea campion to thrive, and tree mallow which grows more luxuriantly amid the jumble of herring gull and cormorant nests. Puffins trample the ground and lay it bare at the entrances to their cliff top nest burrows; but when the breeding season ends and the puffins take to the sea, annual plants such as chickweed take root for their short life. 

On the cliff face, a major hardship for plants is lack of water, and many survive only by being equipped to conserve water by means of fleshy leaves or stems waxy cuticles and low, ground hugging forms. On the cliff tops other battles must be fought with plant competitors; the outcome is often determined by rabbits, whose choice of plants for grazing is all important. Thrift grows better when its competitors, the vigorous grass Festuca rubra, are kept down by rabbits. Not only do they eat the grass but they burrow underneath it removing the soil that acts as a moisture reserve. This harms the short rooted grass more than it harms thrift, which has roots that can reach as far as a meter down. Beet has a mass of spreading runners that make it a rapid colonizer of newly broken cliff surfaces. Its leathery look belies the tender tastiness of this wild relative of spinach. 

As the rabbits affect the plant community, so all plants and animals of the cliffs help to build their own landscape, feeding on each other manuring the land and spreading seed. Some creatures are resident, some just visit, but several roles are acted out here. The role of predator is played magnificently by the peregrine which nests in remote cliff holes or ledges. It may take rabbits, but it is the continuous supply of seabirds and pigeons which sustain this falcon, which as now recovered to over 800 nesting pairs after a period of decline. The remoteness of the cliffs favors ravens, and much persecuted in the past by game keepers inland, they lead less troubled lives on the wild cliffs of the west and north where they build their monumental nests on in accessible ledges. The chough another cliff land crow is far from common. A choosy eater of insects its numbers have declined and it is now confined to the cliffs and caves of the Inner Hebrides, Isle of Man, Ireland and Wales. For people cliff tops make superb vantage points from which to watch perhaps the soaring and wheeling of fulmars, or seals bobbing in the sea. On sheltered ledges, lizards bask on sandy slopes, and sand martins scoop flying insects from rising thermals. But cliffs are more often harsh and forbidding places where the colonists are hardy and well adapted.  

Maple (Acer), Nature’s Favorite Tree to Grow

Well, everyone knows what a maple leaf looks like, right? It is the leaf on the Canadian flags as well, the one that lends its shape to maple sugar candies. Well, yes and no? While most maple leaves do have a three-lobed outline, they are vary enormously in size and shape. Therefore, with some the lobes are barely indented with some they are so deeply cut they look like lace. Some even have three separate leaflets the way poison ivy does. Size of the tree also varies a great deal, and you can find a suitable maple whether you want a large shade tree or a small ornamental for a city yard. However, most maples have especially fine fall color and seeds with wings on either side that you can spread apart and stick on the bridge of your nose if you are so inclined. Source: Charismatic Planet

Hence, of the large especially favorite in public is sugar maple, also called rock maple “Acer Saccharum” a fine shade tree that can grow well over 100 feet tall, with a big, round, dense head and leaves that turn shades of red, yellow and orange in fall. Collecting and boiling down the sweet sap to make maple syrup is a lot of work it must be reduced to less than thirties of its original volume but it is a good way to get outdoors at the end of winter. October Glory is a variety of sugar maple with especially good fall color; Newton Sentry is a columnar form.

Red maple are also called “Swamp Maple” is nearly as popular as sugar maple, because its showy red flowers are such a welcome sight amid bare branches in early spring. Like sugar maple, it turns color early in fall, but in this case the leaves are blazing red. It is a bit less sturdy then sugar maple but will tolerate wet sites. Norway maple “A. platanoides” a big round tree, casts a very dense shade and is rather shallow rooted but it grows quickly as maple go, “Erectum” is a columnar variety and “Crimson King” has red leaves all summer. All these are hardy, though Silver maple “A. saccharinum” is often planted because of its grow very fast, its graceful, pendulous branches and its finely cut leaves with silvery undersides, which cast a dappled shade. It is also hardy while Silver maples bas weak, breakable wood, however, and its roots can clog drains and septic systems if the tree is planted near them.

Of the smaller ornamental maples the choicest is Japanese maple “A. planmatum” and its hybrids. The original species, which can grow to 20 feet, has fine, deeply indented green leaves in summer the reddish when they first emerge and turn red in fall. It is hardy to and self-sows freely. Varieties such as “Atropurpureum” and “Sanguineum” are dark red all season. The very slow growing cutleaf, or laceleaf Japanese maple “A. p. dissectum” can grow to 12 feet but is usually much smaller; an exquisite mound of cascading branches is supported by a twisted picturesque trunk, with its lacy leaves often sweeping the ground. Varieties such as “Atropurpureum” and “Burgundy Lace” are red all season. In addition there are variegated varieties and some with leaves so note are fine they look like threads such as “Red Filigree”.

Moreover among smaller maples those also worthy of note are Amur maple “A. ginnala” a tough little tree that grows up to 20 feet and has small, three pointed leaves, fragrant white flowers in early spring, bright red fall foliage and showy red winged fruits. It is even hardy and often it has several trunks but can b etrained to one if desired. Paperback maple “A. griseum” grows about 25 feet tall, has leaves with three distinct leaflets and is valued most for its bark, which peels off in papery strips to expose a rust colored layer beneath. It is hardy as well.

Well, if you want to grow maples, then in general are easy to grow and have few pests or disease. Most of them especially red maples need soil with adequate moisture. Most need plenty of sun, and if they are to develop a good fall color, they need a climate that is cool in winter. Cutleaf Japanese maple should be given a rich moist, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter and some light shade in hot climates. It should be staked until the trunk is well developed, and twiggy growth may be removed from enter as needed though it is usually allowed assume its own eccentric forms. Therefore, Maples in general are pruned in late summer or fall when the sap is no longer running. Most need only occasional attention to remove dead, awkward or crossing limbs, but silver maples should be pruned to eliminate narrow, weak crotches and water sprouts. Paper-bark maples should have lower branches removed to display the trunk.

“Brine Pools” An Under Water Lake in Ocean Basin

A brine pool is a big area of brine on the ocean basin, and their pools are bodies of water that have salinity 3 to 5 times greater than the surrounding ocean. For deep-sea brine pools, the source of the salt is the dissolution of large salt deposits through salt tectonics. The brine pool is quite often contains high concentrations of methane, furnishing energy to chemosynthetic animals that’re mostly live near the pool, and these creatures are habitually extremophiles. Brine pools can be found around the world, and are well-documented in the Gulf of Mexico.

Moreover, Brine pools are also recognized to exist on the Antarctic Shelf where the source of brine is salt excluded during formation of sea ice. Therefore, deep-sea and Antarctic brine pools can be very toxic to marine animals. Brine pools are sometimes called seafloor "lakes" because the thick brine does not easily mix with overlying seawater. However, the brine density is increase due to high salinity, which produced a distinctive surface and shoreline for the pool. Hence, when submarines dive into brine pools, they float on the brine surface due to the high salinity density.

Though, the motion of a submarine can form waves across the brine-seawater interface that wash over the surrounding "shoreline". Moreover, deep sea brine pools every so often coincide with cold seep activity and methane released by the seep is processed by bacteria, which have a symbiotic connection with seep mussels living at the edge of the pool. This ecosystem is mainly dependent on chemical energy, and unlike almost all other life on Earth, has slight dependence on energy from the Sun. So, finally It requires a submersible to down thrust to actually penetrate one of these pools, thus equipment, such as a submersible, can actually float on its surface.

Mother Nature’s Emotions

This lovable heart-shaped island can be found in the Republic of the Maldives, a country that is spread out over 35,000 square miles in the Indian Ocean,250 miles southwest of India. The nation is comprised of 1,190 coral islands formed around 26 natural atolls, each of which is made of a coral reef circling a lagoon. While the Maldives is one the world’s most geographically dispersed countries, it is the smallest Asian country in both land area and population; only 200 of those
islands are populated. Hello, deserted island paradise.

Iguazu Falls

Indeed, it's not easy to find the right superlatives to describe the breath-taking views of the mighty Iguazu Falls. Where ever you view it either on the Argentinean side or Brazilian side, you'd be treated with the most spectacular sight. With more than 200 waterfalls and reaching as high as 82 meters, the  Iguazu Falls are truly a marvelous scene to behold. One of best natural phenomenon on planet earth.

 

Breathtaking Beauty of Planet Earth

Absolutely amazing video on Nature, it is believed, this videos has one of best video ever filmed on Nature, contains breathtaking beauty. Without any doubt our earth is extremely beautiful and modern activities are destroying the real beauty of planet earth. Everyone has to play their part to keep the earth clean and save them with utmost efforts. Moreover in the end cameraman has done an excellent job. Check out this great video.

Harmless Mimics

The benefit of looking utterly repellent

Camouflage allows an animal to blend in with or resemble the prevailing background but this is not enough for some creatures who wish to disguise the fact that they are edible. So they adopt the look of something clearly inedible, such stones, twigs thorns and even fresh bird droppings. There is little more unappealing than a fresh bird dropping and any creature that mimics one will avoid being eaten by all but the most desperate of predators.

The Chinese character moth, for example, which lives in hawthorn hedges, looks very like a shiny, rather watery, bird-dropping. Making no attempt to conceal itself, the moth sits among the foliage with wings closed, ignored by even the hungriest predator. The nymph of a species of bush cricket, or katydid, a native of Trinidad, takes the impersonation of bird-droppings even further. It splays its hind legs to that, from above, it looks as if it has dropped from a height and splashed all over the leaf. It polishes the disguise with a realistic uric acid glint and “dribble” effect that give the bush cricket a high degree of security.

Animals that act their way out of danger

As well as adopting a disguise as a means of eluding predators, some creatures have enhanced their deception by the way in which they behave. Among such actors is a stick insect that lives in New Guinea. Its flattened, frayed body looks like a leaf in the last stages of insect-chewed dilapidation. It adds to this impression by suspending itself from a bush by one of its legs, and spinning in the breeze like a leaf that is about to fall off.

Another actor is a Kenyan beetle. Active at night, it spends, its days among drifts of last year’s seeds and is no more likely to move unaided than they are. If it does stir at all, it is only by being moved by the same breeze that is blowing the seeds about. Some insects have assumed double disguises. There’re some species of praying mantis that live in thorn bushes and look like twigs, while their offspring resemble thorns. Similarly, the tortoise beetle of Trinidad has the appearance of a seed while sitting on the ground but on a twig it presents another aspect of itself and looks like a thorn.

Animals that blend with their backgrounds are to some extent imprisoned by them since they’d be dangerously conspicuous elsewhere. A creature resembling a blade of grass for example, would be an easy prey if it spent much of its time sitting on a slab of concrete. Another example is the leafy sea dragon, a form of sea horse. This astonishing fish lives among kelp beds off the coast of eastern Australia and its trailing weed like appendages so resemble the surrounding plants fronds as to be practically indistinguishable from them. Outside the kelp however its disguise would be both conspicuous and a hazard.

Many amphibians also have to live amid the background they mimic. The casque-headed frog of Ecuador is exclusively a ground dweller that blends so closely with the forest floor vegetation that it is virtually invisible. Horned toads are equally convincing as leaf litter until the males piercing calls uttered in the breeding season betray their presence.

The 27 Magical Paths in the world begging To Be Walked

In the human life, sometimes you feel very alone and wanted to walk on lonely path or road. However; roads and paths permeate our literature, poetry, artwork, linguistic expressions and music. Therefore; photographers can’t keep their lenses off of a lovely road or path. Paths like these have a dominant grip on the human imagination and even they can bring adventure, promise and change or solitude, peace and calm. There’s nothing like a walk down a striking path to clear your head or to fill it with ideas! The excellent quote from J. R. R. Tolkien’s works while you’ll enjoy these images; “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to“. Here’s the 27 amazing path photos, really begging for walk. 

 Source: Borepanda