DNA Extraction- Quest-LIVE event (testing protocols)

Original was Live Streamed on Quest via Facebook.

Hosting: Chris Jorgensen

Videographer:Lauren Schiebelhut

The Fennec Fox

Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda)

Range (where they are found): Saharan Africa (northern Africa)

Description (what do they look like?):   When young they are insanely cute... other than that? ... they are the smallest canid (dog-like animal) in the world, weighing only up to 3.5 lbs (that's ~ 1.6 in kg).
The fennec fox is generally a creamy color with a dark-tipped tail.

Behavior (how do they act and what do they do?): They live in family dens, dug out of the desert sand. These dens can even be joined to other fennec fox family dens, like an underground village!

Life Span (how long they generally can live): 14 years

Special Adaptations (ways that they are especially well suited to their environment [environment = the area in which an organism lives/operates] ):

• Ears - very large ears (larger ear to body ratio than any other type of fox) with blood vessels very close to the skin that allow the fox to get rid of heat through it's ears! (we'll talk more about different types of thermo-regulation [ => ways that organisms manage their temperature!] in another post!)
• Ears - very sensitive ears! It can even hear prey under the ground!
• Coloring - camouflages it, so it blends in to it's environment!
• Feet - it's hairy feet protect it from the hot sand!

Diet (what they eat!): Fennec foxes are omnivores, which means that they eat plants and animals.
 
The fennec fox seems to be doing very well in the wild and is listed as "least concern" by IUCN RedList.

Fennec foxes are bred in captivity as pets... the legality of this varies by area... they fall in to the category of exotic/wild. As with all wild animals, great care should be used in keeping these in captivity!

The Strawberry Full Moon Welcomes Summer 2016

We didn't see the sunrise this morning, it rose behind a wall of trees at 5:09. Shortly before that, and on the opposite side of the sky at 4:02 AM, the Strawberry Moon, the June full moon, reached it's fullness for this lunar (moon) cycle. The full moon set shortly before 6. 

And that is how the longest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere) started today not far from Seattle!

It has been decades since the June full moon coincided with the June Solstice. 

Today, here, the day-length (as measured by hours between sunrise and sunset) was 7 hours and 40 minutes longer than the shortest day of the year (Dec. 21). The sun will set at 9:12 tonight.

Do you know how long your longest and shortest days are, and the difference between the two?

This website, Time and Date, will let you enter your location and, when you scroll a bit down the page, the month and year. If you enter June 2016 for the date the paragraph immediately below the table will discuss the difference between your longest and shortest days. If you enter December 2016 you can also look at the December Solstice (Dec. 21).

What is a Solstice?

A solstice occurs twice a year, once ~ December 21 and again ~June 21. The solstice is marked as the 2 days when the sun reaches it's extreme highest and extreme lowest points in the noon sky, the longest and the shortest days of the year.

When the northern hemisphere is having it's longest days, in June, the southern hemisphere is having it's shortest days, and visa-versa in December each year. So, our summer solstice in June in the northern hemisphere is winter in the southern hemisphere.

 Even though our summer *season* is just starting, as of tomorrow our days start getting slightly  shorter each day until December 21.

What's the Buzz?! Celebrating Our Pollinators - National Pollinator Week (US)

This week in June is National Pollinator Week!

Exploring and Celebrating the Pollinators that allow so much of our world to bloom, fruit, and function.


Pollinators are an integral part of the food web, without them many of the plants that feed us (and other animals, including the animals that many of us eat), would not produce... or would not produce as much... so, even if we aren't thinking of anyone else, *we* need them.

In some places the populations of pollinators have been so damaged that people hand pollinate fruit! That means that *each* apple blossom would have to be hand pollinated so that it can create an apple (that is ONE single apple!)... that's a lot of work for a bushel of apples!



What can YOU do to help them out?

• if you need to use pesticides /herbicides, read and follow the instructions carefully!
•  compare pesticides!
• some pesticides stay in the plant for a very long time.
•  put in plants that the different pollinators use! (get some ideas from the list in our post Bees: Flowers for Every Season!)
• some plants are poisonous to pollinators! (see our list!)
• be aware that pesticides are frequently on the plants you buy at stores/nurseries... ask whether the plant is pesticide free... 
• if it isn't maybe try growing it from seed OR
• ask what pesticide was used so you know when you can safely make it available to your pollinators!

 
See our Previous Post for a large version of the Pollinator Chart!

http://quest-x.blogspot.com/2016/06/pollinator-chart-us-plant-x-pollinator.html

Pollinator Chart (US) _ Plant x Pollinator

Partial list of plants that produce commercial crops pollinated by animals (US)


>>> I'll be editing this for FORMAT! 

Common name	Pollinator
Acerola	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Alfalfa	Alfalfa leafcutter bee, Alkali bee, Honey bees
Allspice	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Almond	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies
Alsike clover	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Apple	Honey bees, orchard mason bee, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
Apricot	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies
Arrowleaf clover	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Avocado	Stingless bees, Solitary bees, Honey bees
Azarole	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Beans (Green, Kidney Haricot, Lima, etc)	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Beet	Hover Flies, Honey bees, Solitary bees
Black currant, Red currant	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Blackberry	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
Blueberry	Alfalfa leafcutter bees, Southeastern blueberry bee, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Honey bees
Boysenberry	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Brazil nut	Bumblebees, Orchid bees, Carpenter bees
Broad bean	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Broccoli	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Brussels sprouts	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Buckwheat	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Cabbage	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Cactus, Prickly pear	Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Carambola, Starfruit	Honey bees, Stingless bees
Caraway	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies
Cardamom	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Carrot	Flies, Solitary bees, Honey bees
Cashew	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Butterflies, Flies, hummingbirds
Cauliflower	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Celery	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies
Chestnut	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Chinese cabbage	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Clover (not all species)	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Coconut	Honey bees, Stingless bees
Coffea spp. -Coffee	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Solitary bees
Coriander	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Cotton	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Cowpea, Black-eyed pea, Blackeye bean	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Cranberry	Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Alfalfa leafcutter bees, Honey bees
Crimson clover	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Crownvetch	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Cucumber	Honey bees, Squash bees, Bumblebees, Leafcutter bee (in greenhouse pollination), Solitary bees
Durian	Bats, birds
Eggplant	Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Elderberry	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies, Longhorn beetles
Feijoa	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Fennel	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies
Flax	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Grape	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies
Guar bean, Goa bean	Honey bees
Guava	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Hog plum	Honey bees, Stingless bees
Hyacinth bean	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Jack bean, Horse bean, Sword bean	Solitary bees, Carpenter bees
Jujube	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies, Beetles, Wasps
Karite	Honey bees
Kiwifruit	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Lemon	Honey bees
Lime	Honey bees
Longan	Honey bees, Stingless bees
Loquat	Honey bees, Bumblebees
Lupine	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Lychee	Honey bees, Flies
Macadamia	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Solitary bees, Wasps, Butterflies
Mammee apple	Bees
Mango	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Flies, Ants, Wasps
Melons	Honey bees, Squash bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Mustard	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Naranjillo	Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Okra	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Onion	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Blow flies
Orange, Grapefruit, Tangelo	Honey bees, Bumblebees
Papaya	Honey bees, thrips, large sphinx moths, Moths, Butterflies
Passion fruit. Maracuja	Carpenter bees, Solitary bees, Bumblebees, humming birds
Peach, Nectarine	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies
Pear	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
Peppers (Bell, Red, Green, Chili)	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
Persimmon	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Pigeon pea, Cajan pea, Congo bean	Honey bees, Solitary bees,Carpenter bees
Plum, Greengage, Mirabelle, Sloe	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies
Pomegranate	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Beetles
Potato	Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Quince	Honey bees
Rambutan	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Flies
Rapeseed	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Raspberry	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
Red clover	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Rose hips, Dogroses	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Carpenter bees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
Rowanberry	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Bumblebees, Hover flies
Safflower	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Sainfoin	Honey bees, Solitary bees
Scarlet runner bean	Bumblebees, Honey bees, Solitary bees, Thrips
Service Tree	Bees, Flies
Sesame	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Wasps, Flies
Sour cherry	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies
Squash (plant), Pumpkin, Zucchini	Honey bees, Squash bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Strawberry	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
Strawberry tree	Honey bees, Bumblebees
Sunflower	Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Honey bees
Sweet Cherry	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies
Tamarind	Honey bees
Tangerine	Honey bees, Bumblebees
Tomato	Bumblebees, Solitary bees
Turnip, Canola	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies
Vetch	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees