Micro Post: Seahorse

More like a horse than a fish.

Seahorse is a wonderful creature since it resembles a horse while in fact it is a fish. There are 54 species of seahorse most of them found in shallow tropical and temperate water throughout the world. They mainly live in the areas with sea grass beds, estuaries, coral reefs or mangroves. Using its tail, seahorse will bind itself to vegetation to aid it from drift by the currents.

Seahorses’ sizes range from 1.5 to 35.5 cm (0.6 to 14.0 in). Not like any other fish, seahorse is the only species come with neck and tail, but like any other fishes, they have gills to allow them to breath in the water. Seahorse not a good swimmer and spend their whole life in the same small areas, sometimes just few meters cubic areas. They are not suitable for rough current areas and will die if caught in the storm-roiled seas.

Seahorse anatomy.

Hard to identify, seahorse resemble their surrounding.

Tied itself to corals or sea grass.

Previously thought that seahorses mate for life but further observation shows that some species will stay close together for the breeding season, while some species show a higher level of mate fidelity than others. One thing unique about seahorse is the male will get pregnant instead of the female. With the gestation periods will take around two to four weeks in most of species.

Despite of their slow movement, seahorse is voracious eaters and need to continually eating by consuming almost 3,000 or more brine shrimp per day. By sticking themselves to sea grasses or corals with its prehensile tails, they waiting for their prey to get closer and then suck them with its elongated snout.

Beautiful species of seahorse.

Another unique species of seahorse.

Pollution affected the life of this wonderful creature.

They area many other wonderful things about seahorses, because many of them not just be able to change their colours but some of them can make themselves look like their surroundings to avoid their predators and at the same time to increase chances of catching preys. Some of these wonderful species will be highlighted in their own dedicated articles. 

Online Courses from 10 Best Universities in the World 2018

Online courses give you many advantages.

The Times Higher Education recently came out with the World University Rankings 2018 with the list from top 1,000 universities in the world.

The 10 rankings are the most crucial rankings and slightly changes over the years among few well known universities. Some of these universities are specialized in specific areas and all of them are very good in not only for teaching but also researching with better impact to human all over the world.

While not all of us get the chance to be a fulltime student in these remarkable institutions, this is how we can follow their programs through their online courses. These online courses will provide many benefits before we decide to get more details about it or to further go for the full courses.

You can follow your class anytime.

The 10 ranking of Best Universities in the World 2018

1. University of Oxford

University of Oxford have massive full time courses and online courses covering many categories. These online courses classes are kept small in size to maximise interaction between students and the tutor. The Courses offered normally in 5-10 or 20 weeks in duration, while longer courses result in Oxford qualifications at the undergraduate, advanced diploma and postgraduate levels.

Online courses link: here

2. University of Cambridge

There are few courses offered online by University of Cambridge. There are not many online courses provided by this  university at this moment but still it will get you a chance to know how the learning styles provided from it. If you find there is any course that you like, why not give it a try, after all this is among the oldest university founded in 1209 that still survive until today.

Online courses link: here

3. California Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology also known as Caltech is a world-renowned engineering Institute that currently one of the best. Founded as Throop University in 1891 in Pasadena, California, and renamed the California Institute of Technology in 1920. If you are interested in technology field then Caltech’s courses should be the one you are eyeing for.

Caltech courses might be held through various platforms such as edX, Coursera and also iTunesU

Online courses link: here

3. Stanford University

Stanford University provide their online free online courses through Stanford Online with more than 100 unique online courses or MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). There are many categories offer by this institution that held directly from its own platform. There are many courses available to suit your interest. Follow the link below to know more about the courses available.

Online courses link: here

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT provide free online courses through its MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) and available to everyone. Over the years these materials had been used to improve educators’ courses, assist students all around the world for additional resources, and independent learners to expand their knowledge.

The materials provided in OCW covering most of the topics provided at MIT. Some of the courses also provided through different platform such as edX.

Online courses link: here

6. Harvard University

Harvard and MIT created edX as a non-profit online initiative. So you can find most of the courses from Harvard and MIT through edX, while Harvard itself conducting online courses with both free courses and paid online courses.

These courses include all categories from Art & Design, Business & Management, Science & Engineering and all other courses you can find at Harvard. You can either follow these courses directly from Harvard platform or through edX. – trust me, Harvard courses are the best!

Online courses link: here

7. Princeton University

Princeton Online is the Princeton University's initiative in order to provide online education by sharing their course materials with learners from around the world through other online learning platform providers Coursera, edX, Kadenze and NovoEd. Even though its free non-credit courses, its allow millions of educators, students and individual learners to learn more about their interest subjects.

Online courses link: here

8. Imperial College London

The online courses provided not as many other institutions. Sometimes you can also follow courses provided by Imperial College from other online courses provider such as Edx.org. The online courses provided directly from their website in the form of short courses as you can see from the link provided below.

Online courses link: here

9. University of Chicago

University of Chicago offering different types of online courses such as Open Online Courses, Private Online Courses, and Courses for Alumni and Professional Certificates that held in different platforms. These courses can be followed through platforms such as Coursera, Canvas Network, Graham School, Oriental Institute, and AlumniU. Currently online courses provided by University of Chicago not as much as provided by any other institutions above.

Online courses link: here

10. ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

ETH Zurich offers some online courses covering few categories from Architecture, Geomatics Engineering, Biology, Biotechnology, Computer Science, and many others. Some of these courses are also offer in English while some other in German. For more details about online courses provided by ETH Zurich, please follow the link below.

Online courses link: here

10. University of Pennsylvania

Penn Online Learning Initiative is the online learning provided by University of Pennsylvania that getting grower over the years. Until now Penn Online Learning have 135 courses delivered through Coursera and edX with more than 6.4 millions enrolments. You can enrol directly through Penn Online websites or other platforms above.

Online courses link: here

If you are thinking about to learn new things or advancing your own carrier, why not learn it from the best! With more online courses offer from various institutions that you can follow with your own pace, not to mention its safe lots of money and time too.

Micro Post: Whooping Crane

Elaborate courtship dance of whooping cranes.

Cranes are the symbol of long life and fidelity in eastern Asia. They inspired artists to picture them in their paintings since antiquity. Human admire cranes for its qualities such as mate for life, their elaborate courtship dance, their white plumage and many other.

Whooping crane also can be found in North America and almost extinct when their total numbers were less than 20 birds by 1941 - caused by lost of their wetland habitats. Their breeding areas are in the Midwest and Canada, and migrating to the Gulf coast during the winter. Their number had increased up to 600 today through captive breeding, wetland management and by teaches young cranes to migrate.

Whooping crane will keep on moving while searching for foods.

It can be in small flock.

Conservation work; feeding the young.

Whooping crane is a large bird that can reach height up to 1.5 meter (4.9 feet) and have a wingspan up to 2.3 meters (7.5 feet). Males weigh on average 7.3 kg (16 lb), while females weigh 6.2 kg (14 lb). The next largest bird in the same family is the great egret which is over a foot (30 cm) shorter with weight one-seventh the weight of this crane.

Whooping Cranes will keep on moving, browsing and probing for food rather than hunting patiently and stealthily like heron. They can be in small flocks too. Other than that, cranes are known for its elaborate courtship dance and usually painted by artists against white snow background. 

Flying above the water.

Flapping its wings.

Flying in small group.

Popular subject in painting.

Micro Post: The Sand Tiger Shark

Sand Tiger Shark, the most popular aquarium shark.

The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), the most popular shark in the aquariums since it’s doing very well in captivity. Sand tiger shark also known as grey nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark, or blue-nurse sand tiger they inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. The sand tiger shark rarely attacks human with no confirmed human fatalities.

The size of adult sand tiger shark range from 2 m (6.5 ft) to 3.2 m (10.5 ft) in length while weighing around 91 kg (200.6 lb) to 159 kg (350.5 lb). The shape of its head is pointy and opposed to round, while the snout is flattened with a conical shape. The sand shark has well built body and bulky with its easily seen extends beyond the eyes. They usually swim with its mouth open displaying three rows of sharp-pointed teeth. Besides its docile temperament, it’s become the most suitable shark to use as display in many aquariums.

Sand Tiger Shark with its meal.

Eating their smaller aquarium mate (aquarium in Seoul, Korea).

For their diet, most of their prey creatures are demersal (i.e. from the sea bottom), that consist of crustaceans, squid, skates and small bony fish. They prey also changes according to their stages of life, where when it getting larger they will start to take more benthic prey.

Other special characteristic of sand tiger shark includes the ability of breath air from the surface which allows it to float near the surface with ease. They have small eyes with no eyelids. While during pregnancy their young might eating each other while they still in their mother’s body.

Sharper teeth to easily catch its prey.

Arrays of 3 layer teeth can easily be seen.

As they doing very well in captivity, the sand tiger shark is listed vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It would be nice if we know more about this gentle creature as they might get closer to your beach. Kindly share if you have any additional information about sand tiger shark in the comment below.

Micro Post: Quetzal

Quetzal popular for its stunning plumage and long tail feathers.

Quetzal is considered one of the most beautiful birds in the world. It has immensely coloured plumage with iridescence green or golden-green wing coverts, back, chest and head, while red in its belly. They are fairly large with size up to 32 cm (13 in) slightly bigger than any other trogon species.

They habitats ranging throughout mountainous rainforest of Central America where they prefer the high mountain ranges at altitudes of between 4,000 and 10,000 feet. These areas are highly in moisture and cooler with dense vegetation. High moisture level too will form great deal of fog and these types of areas known as the best place for quetzal to live and breed.

Perching on the branch of tree in its clouds forest.

Leaving its nest.

Flying out of its hole.

Even though “quetzal” mostly used for the resplendent quetzal, the long-tailed quetzal found in southern Mexico and Central America, which is also the national bird and the name of the currency of Guatemala. Now it is also referring to all other species of the genera Pharomachrus and Euptilotis.

They are strongly sexual dimorphic where the females’ plumage are only brown and grey. They live high in the trees close to the top of the canopy in the hole where they either built it using their powerful beaks or ones that have been abandoned by woodpeckers. With their striking colours of plumage, quetzals are perfectly camouflaged in the dense vegetation of the rainforest.

Quetzal in omnivorous and also skilled hunter that capable to swoops its prey before eating whilst still in the air. They also prefer fruit-based diet from vast numbers around fruiting trees. They diet will change to small animals including insects, lizards, frogs, snails and larvae to provide nutrition for its body needs. As any other birds in the forest quetzal also play bigger roles in dispersing the seeds from fruits and berries throughout the forest from their droppings.

The male quetzal.

The female quetzal.

Although the quetzal known for its long tail feathers, they only grow when the males reach their maturity estimated at least three years. It can also be longer for some individuals. Anyway, these long tail feathers can reach length up to 1 meter long against its body around 35 cm (average).

Well there are many other interesting things to know about this beautiful bird. So if you have something to share about it, please write it down in the comment area.