Hello, Sparky here.
Ø A couple of hours that I spent in the company of Ms.
Keetaki, the otter entomologist, has opened up an entirely different world for
me. Since that meeting with her a couple of weeks back, one thing has led to
another. If you remember, it was first the beetles, then the Monarch Butterfly
had me mesmerised, then I moved underwater and took a fancy at the mollusks’
world. Even while I was looking up the mollusks, something I came across had me
so amazed that I checked if I was reading a piece of fiction. The word that
left me amazed was, ‘negligible senescence’. If
you don’t take off to look up that word this very instant, there’s more about
this a little later. There is something even more mystifying than ‘negligible senescence’,
read on.
Ø This week there was another reason why ‘negligible senescence’
forced me to dwell upon it. One fine morning this week, Mrs. Ulukah, the leader
of the birds came over to see me and told me there was something to my interest
at the spot where Wickham otter’s pug marks had been found. As I made my way to
the spot, I saw a huge turtle. An Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle, to be
precise that was probably resting or sunning on the bank of the river. Although
wary of coming face to face with such a huge creature, I didn’t want to let go
of a chance to have a chat with the turtle who nobody on our island had ever
seen before.
Ø So, I mustered my courage and gingerly approached her. I said hello to her, standing at what
I thought was a safe distance. She
turned to look at me meditatively and said, ‘Ah, I remember you. You are still
around.’ I was a bit taken aback. I had never seen her or anything like her
before and here she was telling me that she remembered me.
Ø Sensing my astonishment she
explained that when she come to the shores of Banyan Island about 30 years back
she had been similarly approached by a squirrel. Then she regaled me with bits
of the conversation that had taken place between her and that ‘cheeky fellow’,
as she called that squirrel. So, in essence I was listening to her tell me
about my ancestor from 30 years back. That’s a very long time for a squirrel.
That’s when I wondered how old she was. When I asked her the question and she
answered, I tell you, it was a good thing I wasn’t on a tree but on level
ground because I swooned and almost fell. 120 years old, not a year younger.
Ø The turtle went her way after a
brief rest – underwater to the sandy bottom to hide under the sand on the river
floor to ambush some fish. I went my way wondering if any other animals lived
as long as this turtle did.
o Many microorganisms and trees
live for centuries and even millenniums together.
o A few species of sponges
(simple multi-celled sea creatures) and corals (complex multi-celled sea
creatures) can also live for over many millennia.
o Mollusks like some species of clams
and mussels can live for centuries.
o Many fishes also live for
centuries.
o Among mammals, Bowhead whales
live for over 200 years.
o Turtles and tortoises live long,
over 100 years at least.
Ø So, as far as I can understand,
some of the ways in which they have achieved longevity are:
o Multiplication by symmetric
division - when
a cell splits to produce two identical cells, the process can restore both the
cells to an earlier youthful state – as in some bacteria and other organisms
like ‘Hydra’.
o Ability to regenerate and
recover from damages – as in corals and ‘Hydra’.
o Creatures in stable
environments (mostly underwater) live the longest.
o Those that have
evolved effective defenses against predation – usually big animals like the
whales.
o Species which can
continue to grow as long as they live, like some clams and some coral species.
o Colonies live forever though
individuals live only for a short while – as in some vegetation, corals.
o Slow growth rate – as in
turtles and tortoises.
o Slow metabolism – in some microorganisms,
turtles, tortoises and naked mole rats. Slow metabolism helps them
survive long periods without food or water, which gives them a greater
chance of survival in harsh conditions. (Metabolism is the chemical reaction
that takes place in the body which converts food into energy. Energy is needed
for the functioning of the body from moving to thinking to growing.)
o Suspension of metabolism, which
reverses when conditions become suitable – as in ‘water bears’ or ‘moss piglets’, a 0.5mm long micro-animal (microorganisms are
single-celled but micro-animals are multi-celled but so small that they can be
seen only under a microscope).
Ø Being able to live long still seems to be natural to me, what is
supernatural though is negligible senescence, which is when there is an absence
of biological
aging (‘senescence’). Aging is reflected by functional
decline, reduction in reproductive capability, rising death rates (on aging) and
so on. When evidence of aging is absent, the creature is said to be negligibly
senescent. There are some creatures that have gone a step further and achieved
‘biological immortality’. Some life forms which are negligibly senescent are:
o Some jellyfish species
can revert to the polyp stage (which is like the caterpillar stage in a
butterfly) thus able to ward off death due to aging.
o There may be no natural limit
to the hydra's life span. Hydras are simple, freshwater animals,
about 10mm long. An individual reaches maturity in 5 to 10 days but they do not
age and its cells have an ability to indefinitely self-renew. When
a hydra is cut in half, each half will regenerate and form into a
small hydra. The head will regenerate a foot and the foot will regenerate
a head. If the hydra is sliced into many segments then the middle
slices will form both a head and a foot.
o Some flatworms get into this
niche list by having great regeneration capacity as well.
o Lobsters are said to be ‘biologically
immortal’ because they don't seem to slow down, weaken, or lose fertility
with age. However, due to the energy needed for moulting (discarding the old outer
shell (hard protective exoskeleton) and growing a new outer shell – this is how
they grow and make room for further growth) they don’t live indefinitely.
o Tardigrades, the ‘water
bears’ or ‘moss piglets’ mentioned earlier can live indefinitely
in a state of suspended animation. They enter this state when they are not
hydrated and can remain in this state even when exposed to great environmental
pressures. They have even been sent to outer space, exposed to vacuum and UV
radiation, and many of them revived when they came back to earth.
o
When life itself is
a mystery, there are some creatures who have taken this mystery to another
level by extending their biological life span but the most mysterious are those
creatures who become their young-self again, who through millions of years of
evolution have found a way of staying alive, no matter what.
Here are a few activities for this week. If
reading about these extraordinary creatures has mystified your mind, solving a
few puzzles will surely demystify it.
·
Solve the riddles one by one and you get
the name of the book that we are reading in our ‘book club’.
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You
know it if you know the atomic no. of Calcium or, it’s
how many units which make up a score. If
not that, then this is the number of sectors on dartboard. This
is also the number which indicates perfect vision. |
|
|
A
millennium is made up of these many years, Also
referred to as ‘k’ from kilograms or
‘grand’ from what this amount of money was in 1900s. |
|
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A
group for a purpose that forms. or
members share similar likes and dislikes. As
far as distance goes, it means 3 miles. |
|
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Not
above, below. This
word’s not below, but another. |
|
|
Denotes
a specific noun, A
person whose name succeeds this word, Would
be the talk of town. |
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‘C’,
‘see’ and this are homophones. If
you want adventure, dive into one. |
· Looks can be deceptive. Can you identify if these are plants or animals or something else. The beauty of nature sometimes lies in the fact that we are left wondering and guessing.
o
Anemones
o
Corals
o Barnacles
o
Sponges
o
Sea Squirts
o
Portugese-man-of-war
o
Sea Cucumber
o
Venus flytrap
o
Seaweed
o
Algae
o
Mushroom
o
Sea Lilies
- Here’s a Habitat puzzle. Look at the photos of the 2 habitats and choose which one of the habitat do you think the animals in the puzzle live in.
See you all next week with more news,
activities and answers to this week’s puzzles.
Answers to last week’s puzzles:
· Here’s a photo clicked in a tidal pool. Tidal Pool is water that remains when the ocean recedes at low tide. Look at this photo of the underwater ‘tidal pool’ life and see how many words you can identify that begin with the letter ‘S’. Don’t limit yourself to just what you see, widen your imagination and look for intangible things as well.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of answers. What has got exhausted is my ‘imagination’ and ‘inclination’.
o
Shells
o
Sand
o
Shore
o
Sea
o
Shimmer
o
Seaweed
o
Saline
o
Shelter (that the Hermit crabs are seeking
within the shells)
o
Size & Shape (Shells in various shapes
& sizes)
o
Sharp (the sharp ends of many shells)
o
Shake (the effect of disturbed water)
o
Shallow (it’s shallow water)
o
Shine (of the Oyster shell)
Here is a ‘Mollusk’ crossword puzzle.
·
Here
are a few animals hiding almost in ‘plain sight’. Can you try and spot them and
identify them?
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