Celebrating Plants and the Planet:

"Amazon and Beyond" opened at the Miami MetroZoo the other day! It was exciting for me to work on a tropical rain forest exhibit that would be outdoors! And since this one features four distinct ecosystems, it was a fun challenge. Congratulations to the Zoo on a groundbreaking new exhibit. You'll find a link that includes a video tour by a VERY enthusiastic Ron McGill at www.zooplantman.com/ (Projects/Zoos)

"Auld lang syne" is all very well, but the future is in the fruits and the seeds. So December's links at www.zooplantman.com  (NEWS/Botanical News) look at seeds from various angles.

·         In a large swath of North America, the oaks produced no acorns this year! How could that happen and what will it mean for wildlife?

·         Umbrellabirds are beautiful and their lek behavior is fascinating. But did you know that they shape their forests by collecting and planting seeds of the plants they rely on?

·         Seeds are dispersed by wind, rivers, birds, mammals, even fish. Meet a tree that uses its own squirt gun.

·         Why are some fruit spheres while others are cylinders? Some have ridges while others have bumps? What would scientists do if they could manipulate fruits' shapes? They're dying to find out.

·         The Award for "Most Important Plant of this Season" goes to… to mistletoe. This incredible group of plants can be found around the globe and has more seed dispersal strategies than, um, Don Juan on Viagra (that's my last Viagra reference for 2008).

I guess animals have seed too, so if you're a sucker for a cute face, visit http://www.zooborns.com/  (What acorn can compete with a baby babirusa?)

Please share these stories with associates, staff, docents and -- most importantly -- visitors! Remember, over a hundred other stories can be found in the archive section of the website.

Rob

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