The Irish Elk, the Worlds Biggest Deer

The Irish Elk, the World's Biggest Deer Although Megaloceros is commonly known as the Irish Elk, its important to understand that this genus comprised nine separate species, only one of which (Megaloceros giganteus) reached true elk-like proportions. Also, the name Irish Elk is something of a double misnomer. First, Megaloceros had more in common with modern deer than American or European Elks, and, second, it didnt live exclusively in Ireland, enjoying a distribution across the expanse of Pleistocene Europe. (Other, smaller Megaloceros species ranged as far afield as China and Japan.)    The Irish Elk, M. giganteus, was far and away the largest deer that ever lived, measuring about eight feet long from head to tail and weighing in the neighborhood of 500 to 1,500 pounds. What really set this megafauna mammal apart from its fellow ungulates, though, were its enormous, ramifying, ornate antlers, which spanned almost 12 feet from tip to tip and weighed just short of 100 pounds. As with all such structures in the animal kingdom, these antlers were strictly a sexually selected characteristic; males with more ornate appendages were more successful in intra-herd combat, and thus more attractive to females during mating season. Why didnt these top-heavy antlers cause Irish Elk males to tip over? Presumably, they also had exceptionally strong necks, not to mention a finely tuned sense of balance. The Extinction of the Irish Elk Why did the Irish Elk go extinct shortly after the last Ice Age, on the cusp of the modern era, 10,000 years ago? Well, this may have been an object lesson in sexual selection run amok: Its possible that dominant Irish Elk males were so successful and so long-lived that they crowded other, less-well-endowed males out of the gene pool, the result being excessive inbreeding. An overly inbred Irish Elk population would be unusually susceptible to disease or environmental changesay, if an accustomed source of food disappearedand prone to sudden extinction. By the same token, if early human hunters targeted alpha males (perhaps wishing to use their horns as ornaments or magic totems), that, too, would have had a disastrous effect on the Irish Elks prospects for survival. Because it went extinct so recently, the Irish Elk is a candidate species for de-extinction. What this would mean, in practice, is harvesting remnants of Megaloceros DNA from preserved soft tissues, comparing these with the gene sequences of still-extant relatives (perhaps the much, much smaller Fallow Deer or Red Deer), and then breeding the Irish Elk back into existence via a combination of gene manipulation, in-vitro fertilization, and surrogate pregnancy. It all sounds easy when you read it, but each of these steps poses significant technical challengesso you shouldnt expect to see an Irish Elk at your local zoo anytime soon! Name: Irish Elk; also known as  Megaloceros giganteus  (Greek for giant horn); pronounced meg-ah-LAH-seh-russ Habitat: Plains of Eurasia Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (two million-10,000 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to eight feet long and 1,500 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; large, ornate horns on head

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The earth completes its orbit about the sun in 365 days 5 hr 48 min 46 secthe length of the solar year. The moon passes through its phases in about 29 12 days; therefore, 12 lunar months (called a lunar year) amount to more than 354 days 8 hr 48 min. The discrepancy between the years is inescapable, and one of the major problems since early days has been to reconcile and harmonize solar and lunar reckonings. Some peoples have simply recorded time by the lunar cycle, but, as skill in calculation developed, the prevailing calculations generally came to depend upon a combination. The fact that months and years cannot be divided exactly by days and that the years cannot be easily divided into months has led to the device of intercalation (i.e., the insertion of extra days or months into a calendar to make it more accurate). The simplest form of this is shown in ancient calendars which have series of months alternating between 30 and 29 days, thus arriving at mean months of 29 12 days each. Similarly four years of about 365 14 days each can be approximated by taking three years of 365 days and a fourth year of 366. This fourth year with its intercalary day is the leap year. If calculations are by the lunar cycle, the surplus of the solar over the lunar year (365 over 354) can be somewhat rectified by adding an intercalary month of 33 days every three years. Reckoning of day and year was considered necessary by many ancient peoples to determine sacred days, to arrange plans for the future, and to keep some intelligible record of the past. There were, therefore, various efforts to gcn mbn tvthgcvreconcile the count in solar, lunar, and semilunar calendars, from the Egyptians and the Greeks to the Chinese and the Maya. The prevailing modern method of constructing a calendar in the Christian West came originally from the Egyptians, who worked out a formula for the solar year (12 months of 30 days each, five extra days a year, and... Free Essays on Earth Free Essays on Earth The earth completes its orbit about the sun in 365 days 5 hr 48 min 46 secthe length of the solar year. The moon passes through its phases in about 29 12 days; therefore, 12 lunar months (called a lunar year) amount to more than 354 days 8 hr 48 min. The discrepancy between the years is inescapable, and one of the major problems since early days has been to reconcile and harmonize solar and lunar reckonings. Some peoples have simply recorded time by the lunar cycle, but, as skill in calculation developed, the prevailing calculations generally came to depend upon a combination. The fact that months and years cannot be divided exactly by days and that the years cannot be easily divided into months has led to the device of intercalation (i.e., the insertion of extra days or months into a calendar to make it more accurate). The simplest form of this is shown in ancient calendars which have series of months alternating between 30 and 29 days, thus arriving at mean months of 29 12 days each. Similarly four years of about 365 14 days each can be approximated by taking three years of 365 days and a fourth year of 366. This fourth year with its intercalary day is the leap year. If calculations are by the lunar cycle, the surplus of the solar over the lunar year (365 over 354) can be somewhat rectified by adding an intercalary month of 33 days every three years. Reckoning of day and year was considered necessary by many ancient peoples to determine sacred days, to arrange plans for the future, and to keep some intelligible record of the past. There were, therefore, various efforts to gcn mbn tvthgcvreconcile the count in solar, lunar, and semilunar calendars, from the Egyptians and the Greeks to the Chinese and the Maya. The prevailing modern method of constructing a calendar in the Christian West came originally from the Egyptians, who worked out a formula for the solar year (12 months of 30 days each, five extra days a year, and...

Marketing and Sales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Marketing and Sales - Essay Example These three concepts form the backbone of many successful marketing strategies. But, the fourth P-Place is often overlooked by most of the marketing experts and business men. Every product should actually be produced, priced and promoted according to the place it is distributed. The company should decide whether to implement large-scale distribution in the area or selective distribution, based on the economic, social and cultural influences of the place chosen. A company can choose to distribute a product in a place intestivley, selectively or exclusively. The pricing and promotional budget should be determined based on which type of distribution is selected for a particular place. The marketing concept changed phase from "make-and-sell" to "sense-and-respond" way back in the past century (Kotler, 2008). Only companies producing exclusive products catering to the needs of people living in certain places thrive. They distribute the products only where there is ample need. For example, consider the ‘Voltas all weather AC’ designed and marketed for people living in deserts exclusively. The AC keeps the room cool during the scorching mid-days and heats the rooms automatically during the biting cold nights. They are much affordable than the room heaters used in the western countries and is portable. They can be used even in tents. The product was a great hit and it surpassed several competitors in sales revenues this summer. Integration of Place and Pricing Place is directly connected with pricing. Consider Marks and Spencer an Tesco departmental stores. M &S aims in selling branded, high cost products in all its stores no matter where it is placed. Tesco sells small packets of local products at an affordable cost in rural areas. It sells branded and costly products in its urban stores . This simple place related pricing helped the company to grow enormously in a short period of time, challenging the decades old M&S in profits. "Differentiation stems fr om uniquely creating buyer value" (Porter, 1985, p 150). Tesco did just that. They created a difference by understanding the buyer value pertaining to the place. Relationship of Place with Pr