{"id":24504,"date":"2023-02-08T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T13:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=24504"},"modified":"2023-02-13T10:19:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T09:19:00","slug":"qa-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/2023\/02\/08\/qa-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Q &<\/span> A<\/h2>\n\n

Email your questions to wildquestions@immediate.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n

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Whaling may be rarer these days but cetaceans face other threats <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Have whales recovered since the whaling moratorium? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
CHRIS VICK ANSWERS: <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
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Humpbacks were hunted for oil, meat and baleen <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Sir David Attenborough recently said: \u201cFifty years ago, whales were on the very edge of extinction worldwide. Then people got together and now there are more whales in the sea than any living human being has ever seen.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

So, have the whales been saved? Well, yes and no. Certainly, there is a conservation success story to tell after the International Whaling Commission introduced a whaling moratorium in <\/p>\n\n

1985-86. Some of the big species that hunters historically targeted, such as fin and humpback whales, are increasing in number in some regions. The population of the largest and most iconic species, the blue whale, is also recovering. But some species are still classified as Endangered or Vulnerable, and the North Atlantic right whale is Critically Endangered. <\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s worth bearing in mind that the seven or eight \u2018great whales\u2019 that were hunted commercially are a relatively small percentage of the total whale species that exist. Those whales that were targeted by hunters probably number no more than 1.5 million, and perhaps half of those are minke whales. <\/p>\n\n

Sadly, some whale hunting still occurs today, and there is also a growing plethora of often poorly quantified and understood issues that are threatening whales worldwide, such as fishing and global warming, and noise, oil, plastics and chemical pollution. There is real concern that whales are now vulnerable to threats that are increasing and compounding. <\/p>\n\n

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It may not have ears but a bridge spider can detect sound better than humans <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Can spiders hear? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
STUART BLACKMAN ANSWERS: <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

As the old joke goes, you can prove that a spider\u2019s ears are on its legs, because if you pull all its limbs off, it doesn\u2019t come when you call its name. <\/p>\n\n

Actually, spiders don\u2019t have ears as such, but they do indeed hear with their legs, by means of a smattering of specialised fine hairs that are stimulated by airborne vibrations and connected to nerve cells at their base. <\/p>\n\n

However, at least one species augments these capabilities by constructing an enormous \u2018eardrum\u2019 10,000 times bigger than itself, sitting right in the middle of it and picking up the vibrations through its feet. In fact, the orb webs spun by the bridge spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) <\/em>\u2013 a UK species so-called because it is most commonly encountered on human-made structures near water \u2013 are more sensitive to acoustic vibrations than any known conventional eardrum. <\/p>\n\n

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Rosehips are the fruits of the rose plant and ripen from late summer <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Is rosehip syrup full of vitamin C? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
DAVE HAMILTON ANSWERS: <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

With a bit of care to filter out the tiny, itching hairs within the fruit, rosehips can be mashed up and stewed to make sweet and tasty rosehip syrup \u2013 great over pancakes or ice cream, or diluted with hot water for a cosy winter drink. Many online articles sing the praises of this syrup for its health benefits \u2013 particularly that it is high in vitamin C. In fact, during World War II, enemy blockades prevented the importation of fruits high in vitamin C, such as oranges and lemons. And as a result, the government at the time feared the population would suffer nutritional illnesses, such as scurvy. Their solution was the mass-scale picking of <\/span>rosehips to make rosehip syrup.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Although the syrup-making process usually involves boiling the pulped rosehips and depleting much of the vitamin C, there is so much of this vitamin in a hip, that there is still enough left in the end product to prevent nutritional problems. <\/p>\n\n

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RECORD BREAKER! <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

What was the largest dinosaur? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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No complete skeletons of Argentinosaurus have been found<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

All the contenders for this title belong to a subgroup of sauropods called the titanosaurs. Patagotitan <\/em>mayorum <\/em>may have measured 37.2m in length, although some scientists believe this is an overestimate. However, Argentinosaurus <\/em>may have measured between 37-40m in length. The truth is we don\u2019t know, as scientists can only estimate the size and weight of these dinosaurs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

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FACT. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Gorillas rarely drink water as they can obtain all the moisture they need from the vegetation they eat. Dian Fossey once wrote that mountain gorillas \u201cseem to dislike water in general\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

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Two for one: a tongue-eating louse within the mouth of a carpenter fish <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

How do fish get tongue-eating lice? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
JOANNA BAGNIEWSKA ANSWERS: <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Fish are prone to numerous parasites, and one nightmarish example is the tongue-eating louse. This trilobite-like crustacean enters the fish via the gills, and moves into its mouth. There, the louse severs the blood vessels to the tongue, leading to its degeneration, and attaches itself to the remaining stub \u2013 as an organ replacement of sorts. Fish tongues are not muscular, but bony and tough, and rigid lice can mimic them surprisingly well. Interestingly, all tongue-eating lice start off as males and only turn female when they reach over a centimetre in length. If two lice parasitise the same fish, the smaller one remains in the gills as a male and will pop over into the fish\u2019s mouth for a quick conjugal visit to the larger female there. <\/p>\n\n

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Mi casa essu casa: the neighbourly Argentine ant <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

What are ant supercolonies? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
RICHARD JONES ANSWERS: <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Like medieval city states, neighbouring ant colonies constantly bicker over land and resources. Enemy ants are detected by their genetically determined smell, so while worker sisters in the same nest have similar scents, foreign interlopers are repulsed. <\/p>\n\n

However, it is possible for ant nests to connect and form \u2018supercolonies\u2019. For instance, when the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, <\/em>was accidentally introduced to Europe in the 19th century, the gene pool was so shallow and the colonies so closely related to each other that they did not recognise neighbouring nests as the enemy, just as extended family.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

That family now runs for 6000km along the coasts of Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, and contains millions of interconnected nests and countless billions of happily cooperating sisters. <\/p>\n\n

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WHAT <\/strong>ON EARTH?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n
Sweet little mystery <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Sometimes, the question \u201cWhat on Earth?\u201d leaves even the experts stumped. A survey of our resident entomologists has failed to identify this unusual specimen, photographed in Peru. All we can say is that it\u2019s almost certainly an insect larva and quite possibly one that has built a protective silken cocoon around itself prior to pupating. But just what sort of insect it is remains a mystery. Contenders include sawfly, hoverfly, beetle, butterfly and moth. Ideally, we\u2019d hang around and see what eventually emerges, but we fear it might be a little late for that. <\/p>\n\n

Stuart Blackman <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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FAST ANSWERS <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Ghost apples will leave you hungry <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is a ghost apple? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

During the winter of 2019, images of hollow, apple-shaped ice formations resembling cut-glass fruits began circulating on the internet. Dubbed \u2018ghost apples\u2019 they confused and delighted all who saw them, but what were they caused by? During the winter, apples can rot from the inside \u2013 flesh behind the skin breaks down to the consistency of apple sauce. Freezing rain then \u2018sets\u2019 on the outside of these rotten apples, forming a hard, icy casing, before the mushy insides fall out, leaving an intact ghost apple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DH <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is a sea hare? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Related to the sea slugs of the nudibranch order, sea hares are a similar-looking group of herbivorous marine gastropod molluscs. One of the most notable features of the group are their \u2018ears\u2019, protruding from the top of the head, which somewhat resemble the long ears of a hare. These are actually a pair of rhinophores \u2013 structures that can detect chemicals in water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A kagu uses its wings in a defensive display <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How does a kagu use its wings? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lacking the muscles required for flight, the mostly flightless kagu bird still uses its wings in a variety of ways, including courtship displays and gliding through the forest. It also exhibits the \u2018brokenwing\u2019 display, where a parent fakes an injury in order to lure a predator away from its chick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

INSTANT EXPERT <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Cells: the basic units of life<\/h4>\n\n

WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY <\/span><\/p>\n\n

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GIVEN THAT THEY CONTAIN the biological molecules and machinery required by all life forms, it\u2019s ironic that cells were named after empty spaces. When the 17th-century polymath Robert Hooke looked down a microscope at the structure of cork, its repeating units of spaces reminded him of the sleeping quarters in a prison or monastry. Hooke called those units \u2018cells\u2019, from the Latin for \u2018little rooms\u2019. <\/p>\n\n

Is all life made of cells? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

It depends on how you define life! Viruses aren\u2019t made of cells, but some biologists consider them alive. A virus can\u2019t replicate without using a host cell, though, so we can sidestep the philosophical discussion of \u201cWhat is life?\u201d and say all life uses <\/em>cells. <\/p>\n\n

Life forms that are made of cells are called organisms. They\u2019re either unicellular (single-celled) \u2013 bacteria, for example \u2013 or multicellular. Unicellular organisms must do all the work needed to sustain life, but multicellular life forms can have a body with a division of labour: different types of cell play specific roles in the organism. <\/p>\n\n

What do cells have in common? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Every cell has a fatty membrane that establishes its boundary and controls which substances go in or out of its watery internal fluid, the cytoplasm. A cell will almost always contain genetic material, too. <\/p>\n\n

And how do they differ? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

The biggest distinction between cells is how they hold genetic material. In eukaryote cells, the DNA is enclosed with a \u2018nut\u2019 or envelope called the nucleus (hence eukaryote meaning \u2018true nut\u2019 in Greek). Meanwhile, in prokaryote cells \u2013 bacteria and archaea, descendants of life forms that didn\u2019t evolve to have a nucleus \u2013 the DNA floats freely in the cytoplasm (prokaryote means \u2018before nuts\u2019 in Greek). <\/p>\n\n

Eukaryote cells are more complex because they\u2019re organised into compartments with structures known as organelles (\u2018little organs\u2019) with separate functions, analagous to the organs of a body \u2013 as in energy-generating mitochondria that breathe oxygen like lungs. <\/p>\n\n

A cell\u2019s contents vary depending on a cell\u2019s function. Many contain something like muscle and bone \u2013 the cytoskeleton \u2013 for shape, support and internal movement. Other cells (such as plant, fungi and bacteria) may be surrounded by rigid cell walls. <\/p>\n\n

How do cells divide? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Prokaryotes duplicate genetic material then simply split in two by binary fission. But in eukaryotes, cell division is often complicated by having DNA distributed among numerous pairs of chromosomes, which are packaged inside the nucleus and have to be aligned before they\u2019re copied.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Eukaryote cells divide by either mitosis or meiosis. Mitosis involves one round of division, meiosis involves two rounds. Meiosis is the process that creates sperm or eggs and, because their DNA isn\u2019t duplicated during the second round of cell division, they end up with unpaired chromosomes. These combine into new pairs via sexual reproduction, when the cells from each parent fuse to form an embryo. <\/p>\n\n

How can one cell develop into so many different types? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

That\u2019s the miracle of life! Incredibly, a single-celled embryo repeatedly divided to form everything from your brain to your belly button. The path to making different cell types is like a plant whose stems represent stem cells with the potential to give rise to leaves, the specialised cells. <\/p>\n\n

Embryonic development seems more amazing still when you consider that different cells (over 200 types in a human body) carry the same genetic instructions. As a cell divides, it reads genes to make proteins, which determine its features and behaviour. That can even cause a cell to ditch its DNA: in humans, after making the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin, a red blood cell will use a weird kind of division to pinch off its nucleus and make space to pack in more haemoglobin. <\/p>\n\n

Are any body parts not made of cells? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Loads! The most apparent are parts such as feathers and scales, claws and hooves, which come from the integumentary system \u2013 an animal\u2019s skin and appendages \u2013 and are partly composed of the protein keratin. Even when an organism isn\u2019t made entirely of <\/em>cells, they\u2019re mostly made by <\/em>cells. <\/p>\n\n

NEXT MONTH WITH JV <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

PARASITISM <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Survival through exploitation <\/p>\n\n

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BBC WILDLIFE EXPERTS<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n

PHOTOS: WHALE: M.M. SWEET\/GETTY; ARCHIVE IMAGE: GETTY; BRIDGE SPIDER: MICHAEL GRANT\/ALAMY, DINOSAURS: STOCKTREK IMAGES\/GETTY; LOUSE: ALAMY; ROSEHIPS: DEBORAH VERNON\/ALAMY; LARVA: NICKY BAY, ANTS: MARK MOFFETT\/NATUREPL.COM; GHOST APPLE: ANDREW SIETSEMA; SEA HARE: DANIEL POLOHA\/ALAMY; KAGU: ROLAND SEITRE\/NATUREPL.COM (CAPTIVE), CWLL: GETTY; PARASITE: KEVIN SCHAFER\/GETTY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Email your questions to wildquestions@immediate.co.uk <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"86","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"86","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_86-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_86-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"March-2023","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"March-2023","purple_external_id":"March-2023-86-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"March-2023-86-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000087241||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000087241||","purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.501","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.501","purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.501","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.501","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"58d61955-0ac4-406c-83f1-ab6f21d86b70","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-02-10T09:53:33Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"936b1dfd-ba6e-414f-9209-0019dfb8911c","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-02-13T09:19:11Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Ak2sd_bpuQU-SCQAZ37iRHA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[29],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"11","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b.jpg",2048,1984,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b-300x291.jpg",300,291,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b-768x744.jpg",768,744,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b-1024x992.jpg",800,775,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b-1536x1488.jpg",1536,1488,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/a527d990-f99e-4b88-aa76-90e41f73239b.jpg",2048,1984,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Email your questions to wildquestions@immediate.co.uk","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24504"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24504"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25845,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24504\/revisions\/25845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}