Toad eggs adhere in and out of wate
71. Burrow shape creates ventilation: prairie dog
"Where a fluid flows across a surface, such as wind over the earth, the velocity gradient created provides a potential source of work. This gradient might be employed by one burrowing animal to induce air-flow in its long, narrow burrow. The burro...
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Email72. Leaf serves as container: red oak roller weevil
"A weevil, the red oak roller, uses a leaf as a container for its young. It cuts the leaf transversely across the middle to the central rib, working first from one side then the other. It folds together the two quarters nearer the tip over the mid...
73. Water aids pollination: eelgrass
"Water celery has long narrow flat leaves that remain below the surface and absorb the oxygen and carbon dioxide they need from that dissolved in water around them. It also exploits water in its pollination techniques. Its flowers are either male ...
74. Glue fibers form underwater: caddisfly
"Like silkworm moths, butterflies and spiders, caddisfly larvae spin silk, but they do so underwater instead [of] on dry land. Now, University of Utah researchers have discovered why the fly's silk is sticky when wet and how that may make it...
75. Plant growth responds to touch: wall cress
"A small weed that can turn on a specific set of genes when touched has given scientists clues to understanding how plants adapt to their environments. In particular, it may help to explain why plants that are exposed to wind tend to be shorter an...
77. Hardened bubbles provide protection: foam-nesting frog
"Several tropical frogs, known as foam-nesters, also build a nest of bubbles. The mother exudes a fluid and beats it into microscopic bubbles with her hind legs. She then lays her eggs inside, and her mate, who has clung to her back througho...
78. Setae enhance temporary adhesion: leaf beetles
"Second, devices for intermittent adhesion in animals make extraordinary use of multiple contacts. The billion contacts of the gecko's feet may not be exceptional. Each of Stork's (1980) 5-microgram chrysomelid beetles had over ten thousand setae....
79. Concentrated form reduces water requirements: frogs
"As far as I know, all extracellular mucuses and gels are secreted in concentrated form and then take up water--a conspicuous example is the jelly mass in which the eggs of a frog are suspended. When swollen, the mass is typically larger than the ...
80. Cone scales are humidity-sensitive: pine
"Dr Jeronimidis is now taking this concept further by using adaptive materials that flex in response to the level of moisture in the air—an idea borrowed from the way pine-cones open and close. Using a cellulose-like fibre composite, he has ...
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