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December Factfile

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Hello,
The fact file vote has come to an end and we have a winner. This year, we will be doing top tips. These will come out at the beginning of the month. These tips are, at the same time, challenges. We hope you will enjoy, and apply them!

News

Good news

New hope for coral reefs

A coral reef in India has been restored to health- the proof being in the noises the fish have been making. Many of these strange sounds have never been recorded before. This is amazing, especially considering that the reef has been devastated by blast fishing, where explosives are used to stun or kill everything in the area. Although the corals are being restored, scientists want to know if the animals are also returning and in what numbers. The Guardian states that 'Sound is vital for reef survival, because almost all of its inhabitants, from corals to crustaceans to fish, produce offspring that spend the early part of their lives in the open oceans, before using sound and other cues as a homing beacon to return.'
which explains why these sounds are so crucial to the revival of this habitat.

Plastic in farming harms our health

Going to the supermarket, the first thing you see is plastic. It surrounds us everywhere we go and has become an everyday companion. You think little about the big fields from which food comes when you live in the city. But it seems that we are at great risk from the masses of plastic. The UN's food and agricultural organisation recently released a report in which it is stated that the soils contain more microplastic pollution than the seas! The amount of microplastic in the soil is alarming, and we humans may end up eating our own plastic. Quite ironically, because plastic is usually used to prevent bacteria from coming into our food, and us from getting sick. Although the FAO recognizes the benefits of plastic in the production of food, the masses of plastic should be better controlled, as there is an increasing concern about microplastics settling in the food chain and threatening food security. It is commonly known that marine animals already suffer under the effects of microplastics in their environment, but little is known about the effect it will have on humans when we consume plastic. But everyone can imagine that the effects will certainly not be good. So again, this report brings back the call for less plastic with more urgency!
Below I will put a couple of useful links about this topic, along with the link to the article from "The Guardian" that we got our information from.

Bad news

COP26 promises aren't enough

New reports and surveys show that, despite the promises made during COP26, many countries aren't phasing out coal fast enough. Coal is the most polluting of the fossil fuels and if it doesn't go quickly, we will have no hope of keeping inside the 1.5 C goal, set by the Paris agreement. This is not good. The global temperature has already risen too much for comfort; many countries are already feeling the effects.

And these effects are severe. From recent experience I can tell you, seeing the water inch closer to your house with every high tide, and every wave makes it a lot more real. It seems like many people will find the motivation to act once the impacts can be felt. But that will be too late! 

Animals and Plant of the month

Land - Polar Bear

Polar bears live in the artic. They mainly feed on seals but have been known to eat birds' eggs if they can find any. If other options are available then they are very flexible. Male bears will even eat cubs if there isn't any other food around! Polar bears hunt on sea ice and are strong swimmers. They spend the winter in dens under the snow. Female bears give birth to 2-3 cubs in that time underground. Half of all cubs die in their first year on the sea ice, while their mother hunts for food.




Polar bears are classified as vulnerable due to rising sea levels and permanent sea ice starting to melt.

Water - Common octopus

The common octopus is an incredible ocean-dwelling invertebrate that is known for its incredible intelligence. Like all octopuses, they have eight arms, also known as tentacles. They have a massive heads and two large eyes. 
Their most accomplished achievement is their ability to escape and hide from predators. Here are some of their techniques:

Ink

When discovered, the common octopus will squirt out a cloud of black ink. This means that their predator can't see, giving them time to speed off in the other direction. This ink also affects the predator's sense of smell. This is probably one of the most well-known of the common octopus's defence tactics.

Getting away

Once the common octopus has slowed the predator down with ink, they now have to get away. To do that, they normally slip through tiny gaps. The only hard part of their bodies is their beak, so they can get through any hole that is bigger than their beak. And if there is no hope left, then they can also lose an arm and regrow it later.

Camouflage

But they don't necessarily have to do all of the above. Common octopuses are very good at camouflage. They can change the colour of their skin to match their surroundings within seconds if a predator comes to a close. This also makes them very hard to find.
Common octopus use their intelligence to keep themselves safe and to overcome everyday problems, such as hunting. They are incredible animals. If you want to learn more about these amazing creatures, then we would suggest watching 'My Octopus Teacher' on Netflix. It's an incredible film/documentary about a filmmaker who befriends a common octopus in the kelp forest off the coast of Africa.

Air - Malachite Kingfisher

The malachite kingfisher has five subspecies that live around the world, and although share very similar traits, also look slightly different. They are all quite small at around 13cm long although this varies in different countries. A distinguishing feature is most definitely the bright metallic blue of the upper parts and the blue/black crest. They have white feathers too. They live near slow-moving bodies of water and like other species of kingfisher, are usually seen as a blue blur as they fly over the water. They eat small fish and insects. 

I have been lucky enough to see a kingfisher (though not one of this species) and I would be interested to know if any of you have seen a kingfisher so definitely let us know in the comments!

Plant - Water lily

Water lilies are plants living in freshwater, native to the temperate and tropical parts of the world. There are 58 species in the family. Water lilies are very popular for ornamental purposes in gardens and little ponds. They like to sit in calm waters, where they provide food for fish and wildlife. Water lilies typically have thick, waxy leaves that lie in or on top of the water, connected to the stems that are buried in the mud by long, thin stalks that contain many air spaces. The flowers of some species bloom only at night or in the morning to attract insect pollinators. The fruits are typical berry or nutlike and may grow underwater until they rupture or decay and the seeds will sink or drift away. Over the globe, water lilies vary greatly in size, colour and shape. In the Amazon Rainforest, gigantic water lilies can be found, and while typical flowers in Europe are white, yellow or pink, the Egyptian Lotus is blue and has toothed leaves.

Book Recommendation!

Migration by Melissa Mayntz
This is a book I got for Christmas and it is (obviously!) about bird migration. It goes through why birds migrate, exactly what migration is, how birds prepare for migration, why some birds don't migrate, the future of migration, your role in migration and so much more! I honestly can't believe how much is packed into this! I might do a post about it once I've read the book - so far I've just flicked through it! It looks fascinating and I love the illustration on the front too.

We hope that you enjoyed the last fact file. Sadly, this is the last one but we will be back with the first top tips soon! We are also hoping to get a wrap-up post for the whole year published in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled!


Your Green World Blog TeamšŸ’š

Sources:


FAO, "About Us" page to get to know the organisation: https://www.fao.org/about/en/


Images:
Title image: This image is owned by a blog editor.
Coral reef: This image, owned by USFWS - Pacific Region (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Farm fields: This image, owned by Peter Miller (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Polar bear cubs: This image, owned by Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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