Plants use a process called photosynthesis in order to change sunlight into food. Their cells contain packets of a green pigment called chlorophyll that carries out this process. During photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide from the air are converted into sugars that nourish the plant.
Picture credit: google
Plants survive the cold by shutting down most of their normal processes. Some plants die back as soon as the weather becomes cold, storing food in their roots or in special organs such as bulbs. The plants are ready to grow back when the weather warms up again. Woody plants cannot do this, so they usually lose their leaves because they do not need to photosynthesize. These plants become inactive, or dormant, until the spring. Some plants have tough leathery leaves that can withstand the cold, so they just slow down their internal processes and wait for warmer weather. Some plants do not survive the winter at all, but their continuation is guaranteed because they produce resistant seeds that grow quickly in the spring.
Picture credit: google
The Earth’s original atmosphere contained poisonous gases. The lack of oxygen meant that no animals could survive on the Earth. The earliest plants or plant-like bacteria began the process of photosynthesis, which releases oxygen as a waste product. This gas gradually built up in the atmosphere as the plant life spread, making it possible for oxygen-dependent animals to evolve.
Picture credit: google
Plants are organisms that use light as a source of energy and to produce the food they need in order to live and grow. Plant cells have a tough outer wall made of a substance called cellulose, which makes the wall rigid. This explains why plants are able to move only very gradually, unlike animals whose cells have no rigid wall.
Picture credit: google
A snow leopard is a large cat that is native to the mountain areas of Central and South Asia. These wild cats can be spotted sporadically in the alpine and subalpine zones of China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, and Mongolia, at heights between 3000 to 4500m.
In size, snow leopards are slightly smaller than others of its family. They have stocky bodies with thick fur and small, rounded ears, all of which together, help the animal to minimize heat loss.
Although the animals are agile and powerfully built, their population is in great danger. The main reasons for such falling numbers are hunting, habitat loss, and retaliatory killings. With the reduction in the number of its prey like the Argali sheep, ibex, and hares, these leopards are forced to hunt domestic animals in its nearby areas.
As a result, locals kill them in retaliation. The leopards are also poached for their skin for making fur coats.
Picture credit: google
The sei whale is one of the fastest whales in the world that inhabits all oceans and adjoining areas, except those in polar and tropical regions. They are the third largest rorquals, followed by blue whales and fin whales.
Sei whales are sometimes seen travelling alone, or in pods of up to six individuals. A normal individual is about 14 to 20 metres long, with a weight up to 26 tonnes. Females are a little longer than males. If unharmed, these animals can live till the age of 65.
As they are at the top of the food chain, whales have an important role in the overall health of a marine ecosystem. But today, they have a very insecure existence due to human activities.
The biggest threat faced by the sei whale population is commercial whaling. Besides, there is something called scientific whaling, carried out by countries like Iceland and Japan. It means killing whales for scientific research.
There have also been events of mass deaths of sei whales in the past due to pollution, and the presence of toxic substances in water.
Picture credit: google
[custom_search_and_filter]