Pastoral plumbing
Article Abstract:
Patch urination by grazing herbivores on grassland stimulates the grass to grow which in turn encourages the grazers to continue feeding and urinating on the patches, thus leading to structural heterogeneity on the grassland. V.J. Jaramillo and J.K. Detling carried out experiments on grassland near Cheyenne, WY, in which patchy environments were treated with simulated urine, with untreated plots serving as controls. The results indicated that the urination creates an ecological system involving nutrient uptake, the grasses' rate of growth and the herbivores' behavior.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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Location is a sticky business
Article Abstract:
The relationship between the habitat and prey trapping success of the insectivorous plant Pinguicula vallisneriifolia is an interesting study of its need for solar energy and for insect nutrients. The plant's insect trapping success depends on its location. Plants that grow in the shade catch more insects than those that grow directly under the sun. However, the latter retain more of the captured prey than the former. The plants that grow in an intermediate shade are the most successful in trapping and retaining their prey.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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Crowd trouble for predators
Article Abstract:
Issues are presented concerning the benefits of flocking or herding behavior among prey species as a means of evading predation. The use of swarming by the zooplankton Polyphemus to reduce predation by the carnivorous bladderwort plant is discussed.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2001
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