make a list of different plants and animals around your home
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
Native bees are just some of the wildlife found in your ... Many “plants for pollinators” lists available online are ... Aphids and scale insects also produce a sugary
Answer:
Prehensile tails
We often envision monkeys hanging and swinging from trees by their tails. However, not all primates have prehensile tales. These specially adapted tails can be used for a variety of tasks such as gathering food, climbing, and holding objects. It’s like having an extra arm. Animals such as opossums, harvest mice, spider monkeys, and tree pangolins have prehensile tails. A slightly modified version of the prehensile tail, referred to as a partially prehensile tail, is only able to be used to anchor an animal’s body as it climbs trees.
Kinkajou hanging out in a tree
Kinkajous: Living in the canopy of tropical forests of Central and South America, the kinkajou hangs from its prehensile tail, which also helps their balance and even acts as a blanket when sleeping. Kinkajous also have clawed feet to help them stay anchored in the trees. Photo credit: Ryanacandee
Membranes for gliding
Many arboreal animals use gliding and parachuting to bridge the gap between trees. Stretchy membranes between legs, like in the case of flying squirrels, help increase the surface area of some arboreal animals without adding weight, allowing them to glide from trees. Flying geckos, flying frogs, flying lemurs, and flying mice also take advantage of gliding to descend from trees. In some cases, such as the world’s smallest gliding mammal, the pigmy gliding possum (AKA “flying mouse”), extra membranes connect the animal’s elbows to its knees and its tail is used to steer as it glides from branch to branch.
Flying lemur in a tree
Sunda Colugo (AKA Sunda flying lemur): This nocturnal critter is completely arboreal, sleeping high in dense foliage of treetops. They can glide more than 100 meters with very little loss of elevation. They are so well-equipped for flight that their membrane becomes a hindrance when climbing. Photo credit: Jimmy Tan
Low center of gravity
Animals that live on the ground tend to have a center of mass that swings side to side while moving. If arboreal animals used the same strategy, their center of mass may move beyond the edge of a branch, resulting in a fall. Having a low center of mass is a useful adaptation for some arboreal animals, minimizing the chances of falling out the trees. Some animals also use a diagonal sequence gait to stay balanced.
Tree kangaroo
Tree Kangaroo: Unlike their ground-dwelling counterparts, tree kangaroos are stout with a low center of gravity. They have strong claws to help them climb, and long tails for balance. Unlike other kangaroos, tree kangaroos can move their back legs independently. This gives them added stability while balancing on branches. Photo credit: Richard Ashurst
Swinging from one tree to another using only their arms
Swinging from tree to tree is an extremely helpful adaptation if you are living in the forest canopy. This ability, which scientists refer to as brachiation, is only found in some primates with arms long enough for them to cross the gaps between trees or reach resources such as fruit on another tree. Primates with the ability to brachiate also have some other helpful features, such as shorter spines, short fingernails instead of claws, long curved fingers and smaller thumbs, long forelimbs, and wrists with the ability to freely rotate.
Gibbon swinging from a tree
Gibbons have the unique ability to brachiate, allowing them to swing from tree to tree using only their arms. Brachiation comprises 80% of a gibbon’s locomotion. Photo credit: Corrie Barklimore
Gripping feet
Animals that live in trees must be able to hold on tightly. Claws, adhesive pads, flexible ankle joints (such as a squirrel’s) that can turn forwards and backwards are all adaptions useful for staying in place. Arboreal primates have hairless fingertips that allow the animal’s hand to squeeze the branch between the fingertips to generate friction.
sloth eating a leaf
Sloths have extremely long claws that allow them to grip onto branches and hang from below. Photo credit: Christian Mehlführer
How do scientists study the canopy?
As you can imagine, exploring the treetop canopy is not easy for us terrestrial organisms. There is much yet to be discovered in arboreal ecosystems. Those brave enough to harness-up and climb to the top must be very careful not to disturb the plants and animals that make the treetops their home. The most common methods for treetop exploration are similar to what you might find at a high-ropes course – consisting of ropes, hanging walkways and ladders.
Not only must scientists safely climb to the forest canopy, but they must carry along with them their tools and equipment to collect data and specimens. Even more challenging is locating tree dwellers for observation and study. This group of animals tend to be rather elusive and cryptic. Ecologists would love to have the same adaptations as arboreal animals – prehensile tails and brachiating limbs would come in handy!
Explanation: