Major Migration

Major Migration

Q: Which animal has the longest migration route?  Bonus question: Since the [above animal] travels so much, their year is rather unique. What two things does it get in a year, that the rest of us miss out on? 

A: The Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)

(x)

The Arctic Tern’s convoluted migration route lands them the title of Longest Migration in the animal kingdom! Recent studies have placed the average length around 70,900 km (44,300 miles) for birds nesting in Iceland and Greenland and approximately 90,000 km (55,900 miles) for those nesting in the Netherlands! (x, x)

Every year they travel from the Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic, and back again.This means that they get two summers a year! The Northern hemisphere summer is spent at the Arctic breeding grounds, and they winter during the Southern hemisphere summer at sea, just North of the Antarctic ice! 

Because they get two summers per year, Arctic Terns also receive more daylight than any other animal on Earth! 

Breeding grounds (red) during the Northern Summer, wintering grounds (blue) in the Southern Summer, and migration routes (green). (Wiki Creative Commons)

If all that wasn’t impressive enough, just remember that Arctic Terns can live approximately 34 years. So if they average 70,900 km each year, that adds up to a whopping 2.4 million km in their lifetime. That’s equivalent to 60 trips around the world or 3 trips to the moon and back! (x)

Additional Reading:

Arctic terns’ flying feat: Same as three trips to Moon. (Reuters)

Egevang, Carsten, et al. “Tracking of Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea reveals longest animal migration.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences107.5 (2010): 2078-2081. (x)

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act: ‘Null and Void’

In a victory activists were unsure they’d get, Uganda’s Constitutional Court overturned the country’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act today, declaring the anti-LGBT law “null and void” because of a parliamentary technicality in how it was passed.  

The court determined that when members of Parliament passed the law in December 2013, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga had not established quorum — a required minimum number of members present to vote — effectively invalidating the law. 

Hello man from nantucket! I was wondering where you got your awesome klein bottle 3d print pattern and if you would mind linking me to it. I have access to a makerbot and I would like to print a funcitoning klein bottle. The first one I printed has been cool but the top doesn't connect into the rest of the bottle, if if that makes sense. Thanks!

I am happy to share the link!http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:145694I'm sorry your first one didn't come out to your liking, but I hope this one turns out better! If this one comes out better and you post a picture, would you mind tagging me? I'd love to see it!

this is funny

like really, really funny

a limerick about an arctic wolf?

The wolf slowly trots in the snowAs silent as the earth belowBut then the beat droppedAnd then the wolf stoppedAnd damn did that shawty get low.

Sharks are covered, not in scales, but in dermal denticles. These structures have a very similar makeup to the shark's teeth and greatly decrease water resistance. (I'm sorry this isn't the most exciting of facts, but I'm having trouble thinking of anything else at the moment.)

In honor of Shark Week, I’ve decided to do another giveaway! Instead of my art, I’ve decided to send out actual pieces of sharks to the winners. And by pieces of sharks, I mean shark teeth. Shark (and stingray) teeth are on a conveyor belt of sorts, where their teeth are constantly moving from the back of their mouth to the front, where the worn front teeth fall out. I have a decent amount of teeth, and I wanted to share the wealth to those who may not be as fortunate as I am to collect cast-off animal parts! The goal of this giveaway is slightly larger than that, though. As many of us on the science side of tumblr know, Discovery’s Shark Week isn’t really helping people love and appreciate sharks. So let’s take advantage of the public enthusiasm to drop some knowledge! To Enter: Entering the giveaway is simple. All you have to do is reblog this post! You don’t have to follow, simply share the post. BUT WAIT: When you reblog, you must add a true shark fact! You get one “free” reblog, but you can enter your name as many times as you want by adding facts! The giveaway ends on Saturday, August 16, at 11pm EST! (That should hopefully be as the last show ends!! Despite the fact that I’ll be asleep.) The Prizes: Yes! Prizes! I’ll have a few prizes available to the winners. I’ll definitely be giving out 2 small collections of shark teeth. These collections will look very similar to the assortment posted above. Mostly larger sand tiger teeth (the three-pronged teeth that look long and wicked), a few brown/sandbar teeth (the more triangle ones), perhaps some smaller assorted teeth (I really don’t know what all I have, but I’ll try to throw in some cool ones!), and probably a stingray tooth or two (there is a stingray tooth on the left side, it looks like a little rectangle with teeth). I will also have 1 prize which consists of a piece of jewelry made by me! I made both pairs of earrings and the ring posted above. Rings come in any size, in gold, silver, or bronze, and earrings come in gold or silver. I have an assortment of beads, and you can pick either something posted above or to request certain colors/features and I’ll make something specifically for you! Details: You must have an open ask box for me to contact you with! Otherwise I won’t be able to get your address.I will ask for a few ($2-5) dollars for shipping, especially depending on where you live. But I know what life is like, so if you’ve got extenuating circumstances, just let me know, and we’ll work it out! :) I also reserve the right to add extra prizes if I’m feeling frisky. So get a’posting! Find those shark facts! SHARE THE SHARK LOVE!!