courtesy Dr. Anne Russon
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OK, here's a riddle for you ... what caused the downfall of great empires throughout history, from the Mayans to Mesopotamia to Rome. Warfare? Invasions? Political infighting? Well, according to a new book by a Canadian researcher, it was famine. Dr. Evan Fraser makes the case that we are what we eat; and when the crops fail, the fields erode, or the temperature changes, that's when great civilizations fall. He also thinks we just might be headed for such a fall ourselves.
We'll meet another Canadian scientist who has spent decades observing orangutans, and has discovered how they use mime to communicate; we'll also hear why some monarch butterflies take the long way home; and we'll learn why scientists are trying to stop a highway through the Serengeti.
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Orangutan Mime
Orangutans are so keen to get their message across to humans and other orangutans, they actually act out their intentions in the form of mime.
Dr. Anne Russon, a Cognitive Ecologist and Professor of Psychology from York University in Toronto, has observed 18 cases of orangutans in Borneo using mime to communicate both simple and complex messages. In one example, an orangutan asked a researcher for help cracking open a coconut by acting out the motions required. Another wanted to share the memory of having had a researcher remove a sliver from a foot by repeatedly miming the action. It is thought that this form of communication among these great apes could provide a clue to the origins of human language.
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Paving Paradise
Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania preserves an iconic representation of African wildlife. A million-and-a-half wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of zebras, buffalo, gazelles and other herbivores, not to mention thousands of lions, hyenas, leopards and other predators, roam the park. It's a UN-designated World Heritage Site, and perhaps one of the most important parks in Africa, considering the diversity and sheer numbers of the wildlife that live in it. Unfortunately, the Tanzanian government has announced plans to drive a road through the park, which may threaten the future of the park's wildlife. The road will cut directly through the major migration route of the wildebeest, which are the ecosystem's keystone species.
Dr. Tony Sinclair, a professor of Ecology in the Beaty Biodiversity Centre at the University of British Columbia, co-wrote an article in the journal Nature this week, signed by more than twenty eminent colleagues, describing the impacts of this new road on the park. They fear that the road will ultimately lead to a massive decline in the wildebeest population and a collapse of the park's rich ecosystem.
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Marathon Monarch Migration
Adult monarch, courtesy D. Davis, U. of Guelph
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The lengthy annual migration route of the monarch butterfly is well known, but it may be even more impressive than previously thought. The monarch's round-trip to the wintering grounds in Mexico is well documented, but still holds a few mysteries. One has just been solved.
Dr. Ryan Norris, from the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, has figured out why monarchs arrive from Mexico later on the east coast than they do in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Hydrogen and carbon isotope measurements were used to determine where the monarchs were born. With this knowledge, it was discovered for the first time that many monarchs take an additional side trip from west to east over the Appalachian Mountains to the east coast.
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Empires of Food
According to
Dr. Evan Fraser, a professor of Geography at the University of Guelph, the Romans, the Mayans, the Mesopotamians and many other ancient civilizations had one thing in common. Their collapse and fall was ultimately related to a decline in their ability to feed themselves. Dr Fraser thinks that the growth of these empires shared a dependence on favorable climate and unsustainable farming practices, and when climate change and depleted soils reduced the amount of food available, it signaled the end of their dominance. In his new book, Empires of Food: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations, (co-authored with journalist Andrew Rimas), he describes how these empires rose and fell, and then points at the uncomfortable parallels between ancient "Food Empires" and our modern global civilization. We too have prospered and grown during a period of favorable climate, and we too are guilty of unsustainably overexploiting our agricultural wealth. Dr. Fraser thinks we need to make some significant adjustments to our food production systems if we're to avoid being another collapsed "Empire of Food."
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Science Fact or Science Fiction - Blue Eyes More SensitiveToday we have another episode of our occasional feature, Science Fact or Science Fiction. From time to time, we'll present a commonly held idea or popular saying - and ask a Canadian scientist to set us straight on whether we should believe it or not. And today's popular belief is: "Blue eyes are more sensitive to light". To help us focus on this matter, we contacted
Dr. Stephanie Baxter, a Cornea and External Diseases Specialist from the Department of Ophthalmology at Queen's University in Kingston. She says it is science fact.
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