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Enjoy The Silence ♥ by Aziza Rose

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Enjoying Autumn by coulportste

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Sefton Park Liverpool oct 2020

Enjoy the sun by Herman Hengelo

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Beukenblad

Enjoy the silence by Andi Fritzsch

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~ Enjoy the storm ~ by Keir Damone

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Very angry music, very relaxed me! xD

Enjoying the sunshine by Greet

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Heather dragonfly _ Common darter _ Heide libel

Thanks for your visit and comments I appreciate that very much

Enjoy the silence. by Francesc Candel

3.3K 969

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Frogs

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Phenotypic plasticity and the "Hourglass" Biology

If you find a still pond with a smooth, motionless surface, reflecting the surroundings like a mirror, you're likely in a place inhabited by the blue princes, tadpoles. They need to live in still, calm ponds to carry out their vital process, metamorphosis, a drastic biological transformation through which a living being physically develops after birth or hatching. This involves notable and often abrupt changes in its body structure, physiology, and behavior until it becomes an adult. A tadpole has a small tail, which serves as both its safety and its engine.. It has no legs, and it breathes through gills, absorbing oxygen dissolved in the water. Throughout the metamorphosis that typically lasts ten to twelve weeks in many frog species, but even months or years in some, many morphological structures and physiological functions must change to adapt to terrestrial life. These include developing four legs, changing their respiratory system to a pulmonary one to breathe oxygen from the air, and losing their small but crucial tail through absorption. The genotype is the complete set of genetic information possessed by a living being, located in the nucleus of cells and inherited from the parents. The phenotype, on the other hand, is the observable and physical expression of these genes; it is the appearance of an organism, its morphological and functional characteristics, its behavior... all influenced by its daily environment. We do not see an organism's genotype, but rather its resulting phenotype. In evolutionary biology, there is a very important concept called "phenotypic plasticity," the capacity of genes or a single genotype to produce different phenotypes in their morphology, physiology, or behavior. It is a response to environmental variations. It acts as an adaptive mechanism, allowing rapid adjustments to new or changing conditions, enabling organisms to survive in changing or extreme environments. It is considered a key factor in the evolution of species and an important genetic basis for adaptation. One of the most striking examples is frogs. When water begins to run low in a pond due to lack of replenishment or evaporation, it becomes saturated with mineral salts. This is detected by the tadpole, triggering an alert signal and an increase in stress hormones, corticosteroids, secreted into the water. This mixture of both substances sets off alarm bells in all the tadpoles in the pond and is perceived as an imminent sign of danger. This presents them with two difficult choices. One possibility is to remain in the pond, waiting for rain or for the water level to rise.. But the future is impossible to predict, even for a tadpole. The second alternative is "phenotypic plasticity," a race against the biological clock that involves a sacrifice and consists of accelerating the metamorphosis process. This alternative is to stop growing and speed up the metamorphic transformation process to become an adult, reducing the transformation time that is necessary and vital for normal metamorphosis. But this comes at a high price. The main consequences are that the frog's body doesn't develop; it grows very little in volume, resulting in a tiny frog, generally only two or three centimeters long. Another characteristic is their low fat reserves. And of all the other characteristics that remain incomplete, the inability to properly develop their immune system makes them even more vulnerable. All these accelerated and incomplete changes make the frog extremely fragile, with a very uncertain future for survival. Ultimately, both options are a coin toss, a life-or-death gamble, a difficult decision. Staying in the pond waiting for rain is unpredictable and risks dying from desiccation. Growing into adulthood but paying the price of being very small and fragile is also a risky gamble where the chances of survival are difficult to predict. Complicated decisions in the face of complicated environmental situations. Anyway, don't worry about the tadpoles, about the princes charming, because in the end... it did rain...

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Tadpole pond and seasonal wetland linked to the hydrological and river system of the Pantà de Foix, l'Alt Penedès

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At the River... Inside My Mind Blue Skies

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Postscript: The word amphibians comes from Greek and means "both lives" (tadpole/frog) and "in both environments" (water/land).

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Enjoy the moment by Ostseeleuchte

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Den Augenblick genießen

- an der Steilküste zwischen Neustadt und Sierksdorf -

enjoy your meal by Sabine Groel-Koch