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Heard Island Shag
The Heard Island shag (''Leucocarbo nivalis''), or Heard Island cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to the Australian territory comprising the Heard and McDonald Islands in the Southern Ocean, about 4100 km south-west of Perth, Western Australia. Taxonomy The Heard Island shag is one of the blue-eyed shags, sometimes placed in the genus ''Leucocarbo'', and a subspecies of the imperial shag. Others place it in the genus Phalacrocorax. It is now usually considered to be a full species. Distribution and habitat The Heard Island shag is restricted to the subantarctic Heard and McDonald Islands, and is only known to breed on Heard Island. Apart from breeding and roosting, its habitat is marine. Description The Heard Island shag has largely black upperparts and white underparts. The cheeks and ear-coverts are white; there are white bars on the wings, a black, recurved crest over the forehead, and pink feet.Marchant & Higgins (1991), p.854. A breeding adult has a pair of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Falla
Sir Robert Alexander Falla (21 July 1901 – 23 February 1979) was a New Zealand museum administrator and ornithologist. Early life Falla was born in Palmerston North in 1901 to George Falla and his wife, Elizabeth Kirk. As his father was working for the railways, the family shifted frequently, and he lived in Hawera, Masterton, and Invercargill. At his primary school in Invercargill, he developed an interest in natural history due to the influence of Alfred Philpott. Falla gained a junior national scholarship and studied at Auckland Grammar School, from where he graduated in 1918. He pursued his dream of going to sea for a few years in various jobs, but then started to follow his interest in ornithology, first through part-time study at Auckland University College, and then at Auckland Training College, a training institution for teachers. He transferred to the university in Auckland, from where he graduated in 1924 with a Bachelor of Arts, in after some teaching at primar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird. The term wingspan, more technically extent, is also used for other winged animals such as pterosaurs, bats, insects, etc., and other aircraft such as ornithopters. In humans, the term wingspan also refers to the arm span, which is distance between the length from one end of an individual's arms (measured at the fingertips) to the other when raised parallel to the ground at shoulder height at a 90º angle. Former professional basketball player Manute Bol stood at and owned one of the largest wingspans at . Wingspan of aircraft The wingspan of an aircraft is always measured in a straight line, from wingtip to wingtip, independently of wing shape or sweep. Implications for aircraft design and anima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Australian And New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition
The British Australian (and) New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) was a research expedition into Antarctica between 1929 and 1931, involving two voyages over consecutive Austral summers. It was a British Commonwealth initiative, driven more by geopolitics than science, and funded by the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The leader of the BANZARE was Sir Douglas Mawson and there were several subcommanders (Captain K.N. MacKenzie, who replaced Captain John King Davis for the second summer) on board the RRS Discovery, the ship previously used by Robert Falcon Scott. The BANZARE, which also made several short flights in a small plane, mapped the coastline of Antarctica and discovered Mac. Robertson Land and Princess Elizabeth Land (which later was claimed as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory). The voyages primarily comprised an "acquisitive exploratory expedition", with Mawson making proclamations of British sovereignty over Antarctic lands at each o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of The Environment, Water, Heritage And The Arts
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts was an Australian Government department that existed between December 2007 and September 2010. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the department's annual reports. According to the Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO) made at the department's establishment, the department dealt with: *Environment protection and conservation of biodiversity *Air quality *National fuel quality standards *Land contamination *Meteorology *Administration of the Australian Antarctic Territory, and the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands *Natural, built and movable cultural heritage *Environmental research *Water policy and resources *Cultural affairs, including support for the arts **There was a domestic Return of Indigenous Cultural Property (RICP) program run by DEWHA, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate Change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming. Due to climate change, deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Increased warming in the Arctic has contributed to melting permafrost, glacial retreat and sea ice loss. Higher temperatures are also causing m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environment Protection And Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places. Enacted on 17 July 2000, it established a range of processes to help protect and promote the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities, and preserve significant places from decline. The Act is administered by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Lists of threatened species are drawn up under the Act, and these lists, the primary reference to threatened species in Australia, are available online through the Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT). As an Act of the Australian Parliament, it relies for its constitutional validity upon the legislative powers of the Parliament granted by the Australian Constitution, and key provisions of the Act are largely based on a number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulnerable Species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or destruction of the species' home. Vulnerable habitat or species are monitored and can become increasingly threatened. Some species listed as "vulnerable" may be common in captivity (animal), captivity, an example being the military macaw. There are currently 5196 animals and 6789 plants classified as Vulnerable, compared with 1998 levels of 2815 and 3222, respectively. Practices such as cryoconservation of animal genetic resources have been enforced in efforts to conserve vulnerable breeds of livestock specifically. Criteria The International Union for Conservation of Nature uses several criteria to enter species in this category. A tax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of living fish species are ray-finned fish, belonging to the class Actinopterygii, with around 99% of those being teleosts. The earliest organisms that can be classified as fish were soft-bodied chordates that first appeared during the Cambrian period. Although they lacked a true spine, they possessed notochords which allowed them to be more agile than their invertebrate counterparts. Fish would continue to evolve through the Paleozoic era, diversifying into a wide variety of forms. Many fish of the Paleozoic developed external armor that protected them from predators. The first fish with jaws appeared in the Silurian period, after which many (such as sharks) became formidable marine predators rather than just the prey of arthropods. Mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polychaetes
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. More than 10,000 species are described in this class. Common representatives include the lugworm (''Arenicola marina'') and the sandworm or clam worm ''Alitta''. Polychaetes as a class are robust and widespread, with species that live in the coldest ocean temperatures of the abyssal plain, to forms which tolerate the extremely high temperatures near hydrothermal vents. Polychaetes occur throughout the Earth's oceans at all depths, from forms that live as plankton near the surface, to a 2- to 3-cm specimen (still unclassified) observed by the robot ocean probe ''Nereus'' at the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepest known spot in the Earth's oceans. Only 168 species (less than 2% of all polychaetes) are known from fresh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fledge
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable condition in the nest, the nestling and fledging stage can be the same. For precocial birds, those that develop and leave the nest quickly, a short nestling stage precedes a longer fledging stage. All birds are considered to have fledged when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. A young bird that has recently fledged but is still dependent upon parental care and feeding is called a fledgling. People often want to help fledglings, as they appear vulnerable, but it is best to leave them alone. The USA National Phenology Network defines the phenophase (or life cycle stage) of fledged young for birds as "One or more young are seen recently departed from the nest. This includes young incapable of sustained fli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poa Cookii
''Poa cookii'', sometimes called Cook's tussock-grass or bluegrass, is a species of tussock grass native to various subantarctic islands. The specific epithet honours British explorer James Cook who visited the Kerguelen Islands in 1776. Description ''Poa cookii '' is a deep green, perennial, gynomonoecious grass growing as densely clumped tussocks up to 800 mm in height, with the fibres from older leaf-sheaths forming a tangled mass at the base of the plant. It is a smaller plant than '' Poa foliosa'' with which it may grow. The grass flowers from November to February. Distribution and habitat The grass is found on the Prince Edward, Crozet, Heard and Kerguelen Islands of the southern Indian Ocean, as well as on Australia's Macquarie Island. On Heard it occupies moist and sandy areas along the shore and on peat flats with the cushion plant ''Azorella selago''. On Macquarie it grows on rocky areas along the coast up to 200 m above sea level, on flats and slop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tussock Grass
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial plants, most species live more than one season. Tussock grasses are often found as forage in pastures and ornamental grasses in gardens. Many species have long roots that may reach or more into the soil, which can aid slope stabilization, erosion control, and soil porosity for precipitation absorption. Also, their roots can reach moisture more deeply than other grasses and annual plants during seasonal or climatic droughts. The plants provide habitat and food for insects (including Lepidoptera), birds, small animals and larger herbivores, and support beneficial soil mycorrhiza. The leaves supply material, such as for basket weaving, for indigenous peoples and contemporary artists. Tussock and bunch grasses occur in almost any habitat w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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