Rain Drops Help this Carnivorous Pitcher Plant Catch a Meal
Pitcher plants are typically stationary while luring in their prey, but one variety uses rain drops to give insects a little push, or flick, into their traps. In addition to helping keep the rain out, the lid of Nepenthes gracilis is laced with nectar and an extra slippery wax on the underside. With the help of some structural modifications, this lid is especially good at using the momentum from a rain drop to knock any insects–hoping to grab a snack and get out of the rain–directly into the plant’s belly.
Courtesy of Bauer et al.
What lives below the ocean floor?
A 340°C, deep sea hydrothermal vent already seems like a pretty extreme environment, but how about a kilometer or two below the surface of the ocean floor? Scientists estimate that this deep ocean biosphere could hold up to one third of Earth’s biomass, but very little is known about what is down there and just what it’s up to. In addition to the difficulties getting there, it takes specialized tools, like the UV laser-based Deep Exploration Biosphere Investigative tool, to study these microbes in their native subterranean milieus. In the recent expedition to North Pond, a collaboration including the University of Southern California and NASA used this new tool to take a peek at Earth’s “intraterrestrials.”
Aquatic Eye Candy
Images from the people behind the Aquatilis Expedition are not to be missed ~
Image credits:
Bauer, U., B. Di Giusto, J. Skepper, T.U. Grafe & W. Federle 2012. With a flick of the lid: a novel trapping mechanism in Nepenthes gracilis pitcher plants. PLoS ONE 7(6): e38951. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038951, [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
Kevin Raskoff, Hidden Ocean 2005 Expedition: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce, CC BY 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/