Laboratório de Tecnologia Educacional BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL               DE CIÊNCIAS

A imagem representa o saruê (Didelphis albiventris) prestes a predar três animais comumente indesejados pelos humanos: uma serpente, um escorpião e uma aranha. O saruê atua, dessa forma, no controle populacional destes animais.

Neste episódio, exploramos as diferentes estratégias de captura e digestão das plantas carnívoras, discutindo como essas plantas evoluíram para sobreviver em ambientes desafiadores.

Physical appearance: 36 cm. The legs are short and yellow. The body is predominantly grey, darker in the back. The top of the head is black. The immature is striated and brownish. Distribution: American Continent, Africa, Asia, Australia and islands in the Pacific. Habitat: Rivers, lakes and mangroves of different sizes. Diet: Aquatic insects, mollusks, amphibians, reptiles and fish. Reproduction: The nest is a platform on the top of tall trees. Lays three eggs. Natural history: Solitary and migratory. There are saw-like structures inside the beak to help holding slippery food. May be eaten by carnivorous fish such as the trahiras (Hoplias sp.) when walking on flooded land....

37cm It is a unique bird that can only be confused with other Potoos, from which it differs by being mostly gray. Not like any other bird, the Potoo is one of the best camouflaged birds on earth. It spends the whole day quietly perched on a carefully chosen branch in a way it blends with the substrate as the bird seems to be part of the tree. The large orange eyes, which could be a flaw for the camouflage are wisely covered by eyelids with a tiny fold in the middle, from which the bird can see the surroundings as the pupil is exposed while the orange iris is hidden. In the night the bird leaves its perch flying as a falcon in hunt for flying insects that it catches with its huge mouth...

30cm Members of the Caprimulgidae family are very difficult to tell apart. The best clues to recognize the Pauraque are its very typical song and the fact that it is one of the few nighthawks to get so close to urban areas. The Pauraque spends the whole day quietly sat on the ground, so well camouflaged that it is almost impossible to see. It remains quiet when approached, but when you are too close the bird flies in a fast zig-zag, and lands few meters away. It is curious to notice that even landing close it is difficult to see. The eggs are laid directly on the ground and have an earthy color. The Pauraque can be easily seen on dirt tracks at night, when its eyes reflect the cars’...

75 cm. Aquatic with narrow beak curved in the tip. The feet are webbed. The body is black and sometimes the throat is yellow. In the breeding season the male has some white feathers in the throat and ear region. The immature is fuliginous. Distribution: From Mexico to Southern South America Habitat: Lives in lakes, swamps and estuaries. Diet: Feeds on fish, even spiny ones. The gastric acids dissolve the spines. Reproduction: The nest is built on tall trees near lakes, sometimes mixing with heron flocks. Natural history: It is an excellent diver. When in flocks may pen fish schools, leading them to shallow water where they catch the fishes in frenzy. When it goes out of the wate...

25 cm. The supercilium is white. The plumage usually shows traces of earth. The male is slightly larger than the female and the belly is lighter. Distribution: From Canada to Tierra del Fuego. Habitat: Open fields, grasslands and suburbs, sometimes in soccer fields. Diet: Feeds mainly on beetles, but also other arthropods. Also consumes small vertebrates. Reproduction: The nest is a deep hole in the ground (1,5 to 3m of depth). Although it is able of digging its own hole it generally uses the ones dug by other animals as the armadillos. The couple lines the nest with grass and dry manure. The female lays up to four eggs. The female incubates and the male takes care of the brood. ...

As plantas carnívoras são plantas que evoluíram para viver em ambientes com o solo pobre em nutrientes. Elas desenvolveram estratégias obter esses nutrientes capturando e digerindo presas - insetos e até pequenos animais. A ilustração traz os principais tipos de armadilha de captura utilizados pelas plantas carnívoras.