darwin

Islands of Evolution episode 3 - Madeira

Islands of Evolution episode 3 – Madeira

Nature, Science / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Islands of Evolution episode 3 – Madeira: In the final episode, Richard Fortey travels to Madeira to examine what happens to a volcanic island as it nears the end of its life cycle and starts sinking back into the sea. Here, in the island’s laurisilva forest, he examines the remains of an ancient forest that once carpeted all of Europe, finds island lizards that live to be four times older than their mainland counterparts, and meets a huge wolf spider. With the help of local divers, he also discovers an unexpectedly rich marine habitat populated by whales, dolphins and unusual […]

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Islands of Evolution episode 2 - Madagascar

Islands of Evolution episode 2 – Madagascar

Science, Nature / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Islands of Evolution episode 2 – Madagascar: Professor Richard Fortey travels to the rainforests of Madagascar – an ancient island that has spawned some of the most extraordinary groups of plants and animals anywhere in the world. From beautiful Indri lemurs, toxic frogs, and the cat-like giant mongoose called the fossa, to evolutionary oddities like the giraffe-necked weevil and the otherworldly aye-aye, he uncovers the secrets of the evolutionary niche – examining how, given millions of years, animals and plants can adapt to fill almost any opportunity they find.       Three-part series in which Professor Richard Fortey investigates

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Islands of Evolution episode 1 - Hawaii

Islands of Evolution episode 1 – Hawaii

Science, Nature / 4 minutes of reading / / By

Islands of Evolution episode 1 – Hawaii: Richard Fortey investigates why islands are laboratories of evolution. On Hawaii he finds honeycreeper birds, carnivorous caterpillars and silversword plants. In the first episode, Fortey is on Hawaii to investigate how life colonises a newly born island. According to some estimates, Hawaii has been successfully colonised by only one new species every 35,000 years due to its remote location – yet the Hawaiian Islands teem with a great diversity of life. In search of the evolutionary secrets of how one species becomes many, Fortey encounters beautiful honeycreeper birds whose evolution rivals that of

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Darwin's Lost Voyage

Darwin’s Lost Voyage

Nature / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Darwin’s Lost Voyage: Contrary to conventional belief, Darwin’s greatest epiphanies do not occur on the Galapagos islands. Instead, they are a cultivation of years exploring the wilds of South America where forests become the cathedral of Darwin’s religion. Encountering a world like he’s never seen before, Darwin’s senses are overwhelmed by a world teeming with life, but what he finds along the way is perplexing to a 19th century naturalist.     He questions why do the fossils he discovers look like giant versions of the sloths and armadillos still living nearby; why do the penguins and other birds he

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