QuestaGame

31/10/2024

The first marsupial fossils ever found were in China (in the time of the dinosaurs). Placental mammals either didn’t arrive in Australia or they didn’t survive the harsh conditions in the polar regions during & after the dinosaur extinction (perhaps having very small but easily replaceable young gave them an advantage).
After Australia separated, forests turned into grasslands and possums came down from the trees & evolved into kangaroos. The grasslands spread and with an elasticity to the legs & a counterbalance of the tail, large kangaroos developed the ability to move rapidly that required little muscle movement (many times more efficient than any running placental mammal).
Agile Wallaby, Notamacropus agilis.

01/10/2024

It's BioQuest time of year again! Get outside and explore Questers. Can't wait to see what you find.

Love exploring nature, documenting your finds, and sharing your stories? 🌿✨ This October’s global BioQuest is your chance to become a true Guardian of your special place in nature. 🛡️💚

Participating is easy! All throughout October, you can help boost the ‘BioScore’ of the Nature Realms you care about by:
🌍 Adding and/or amplifying nature stories,
📸 Recording observations of species, and/or
🔍 Verifying species data.

Open to Nature Realms of all kinds—Schools, Universities, Parks, Resorts, and more. Every ‘Nature Realm’ is a unique tapestry of biodiversity and cultural heritage. 🌳🦋🌏 We can’t wait to see what fascinating species and unexpected stories emerge throughout the month! 🐾📖

➡️ Visit our October BioQuest page to learn more, find or create your local Nature Realm, and get started!

https://www.guardiansofearth.io/bioquest/october

Good luck, and happy BioQuesting! 🎯💫

13/09/2024

Azaleas have toxic nectar that is harvested by bees to produce a mind-altering, potentially medicinal and occasionally lethal honey known as ‘mad honey’.
Rhododendron indica.

24/08/2024

Alpinia zerumbet. Statistically, Okinawan natives who consume a traditional diet that includes shell ginger have a very long-life expectancy.

Plants can make you Live Longer

They also have a real soft teddy-bear-like underside to their leaves.

22/08/2024

Macaranga tanarius
When an insect bites a leaf from this tree. The tree produces a sweet smelling nectar – attracting wasps & ants – who arrive and defend the tree.

Plants hire Assassins.

21/08/2024

The scene from Lord of Rings where Frodo is captured in Shelob's Lair is reenacted every day by this spider. Perfectly camouflaged she waits for someone to stumble on one of her tripwire webs.
Plants are Hollywood Movie Sets
Northern Lined Spider, Hygropoda lineata

25/07/2024

Water striders can tell from the ripples if another water strider is a male or a female. If that is the case, can they tell the difference between two different individuals? In the World of water striders, can they fall in Love, and do they dream of 'the most beautiful ripples.'
Limnometra cursitans

24/05/2024

22/05/2024

Any other Questers seen anything like this?! What an encounter 😍

15/05/2024

🏆 Congratulations to the CHAMPIONS of the Schools BioQuest, April 2024:
St. Julian's School, Portugal! 👏

In just 30 days the team from St Julian’s School mapped 241 sightings of 73 distinct species within the school’s grounds - with a competition score of 926. The team mapped a vast array of beautiful flowers, and many pollinators no doubt attracted to the diversity of colours and scents the school grounds clearly offers.

Rounding out the top 3 school Realms, we also saw fantastic efforts on display from:

2. Freshwater State School, Australia
3. Asociación Escuelas Lincoln, Argentina

Well done to all who participated in this round of the Schools BioQuest. On your adventures exploring nature, your valiant efforts have helped to expand biodiversity mapping data for research and conservation.

Results👉 https://www.questaschools.com/



Freshwater State School

15/05/2024

🏆 Congratulations to the CHAMPIONS of the UniBioQuest, April 2024:
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka! 👏

The team of just 26 people from Peradeniya should be very proud. In just 30 days of biodiversity mapping, they have managed to log an impressive 847 sightings of 222 unique species across their campus - with a competition score of 7,232. Their most common species submitted? The toque macaque (Macaca sinica) or as it is known in Sri Lanka, the rilewa or rilawa - a monkey recognisable for its distinct tuft of hair! ( 📷 from team member MalithK99).

Rounding out the top 10, we also saw fantastic efforts on display from university campuses across the globe:
2. Vanier College, Canada
3. UCLA, Berkeley, USA
4. University of Göttingen, Germany
5. Tsinghua University, China
6. Sorbonne Université, France
7. University of Helsinki, Finland
8. The University of Hong Kong, China
9. University of Bremen, Germany
10. JCU: James Cook University, Australia

Well done to all who participated in this round of the UniBioQuest. As you've had fun exploring nature, your valiant efforts have helped to expand biodiversity mapping data for research and conservation. Keep up the adventure!

Results👉 https://www.universitybioquest.com/

Biology Guild