Answered by Diana Lowrey, Archaeologist and Bat Expert, Idaho National Laboratory (This post was originally published on April 15, 2008.) Bats have evolved to have an exceptional navigation system called echolocation, which helps them to find their prey in the dark. Bats make sounds just like we humans make sounds, by expelling air from the…
Answered by Doug Halford, Wildlife Biologist, INL ESER Program Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven primarily by availability of food. It…
Answered by Alan Jensen, Registered Pharmacist That is a very interesting question. Sound travels at different speeds in different mediums. In a gaseous medium sound travels faster in lighter gases, and the faster the sound travels, the greater the frequency or higher the pitch of the sound. Since helium is about seven times lighter than…
Question Answered by Alana Jensen, Environmental Educator, INL ESER Program http://www.idahoeser.com You may say the answer is because gravity is pulling the air to the Earth and that is true. Gravity is the reason for the existence of an atmosphere on Earth. Another reason, however, is that the vacuum of space does not exert any…
Question answered by Bryan Bybee, Biologist, INL ESER Program The simple answer is that badgers do not hibernate. Hibernation is a seasonal behavior pattern characterized by long periods of reduced body temperature, inactivity, lowered heart and breathing rates, and suppressed metabolism. Body temperatures may be reduced to nearly that of the surroundings. By this definition,…
Answered by Dr. Steve Shropshire, Physics Professor, Idaho State University If conditions are right sound can travel farther and clearer when it is cold. Sound travels faster in warmer air due to the greater average speed of gas molecules with higher temperature. There is also a very slight increase in sound speed with increasing humidity…
Answered by Tamara Cox, RN, Eastern Idaho Public Health Human skin contains different kinds of sensory receptors (cells) that can identify several distinct types of sensations, such as tapping, vibration, pressure, pain, heat, and cold. Each receptor is triggered by a specific stimulus. Thermoreceptors detect temperature changes and send electrical pulses through sensory nerves to…
