Marshes and Swamps..

Wetlands.. Yep! That's what we are talking about. The words Marshes and Swamps remind us of the vast wetlands from NatGeo or Discovery programs, sometimes also from real life adventures, treks or other nature trips we have had made. But were those Swamps, or were those Marshes? Aren't the two same? Both have lots of standing water, some rotting and some healthy vegetation, lots of mosquitoes and alike breeding and buzzing in the surrounding regions, loud calls of toads & frogs from sun-set through the sun rise, a variety of ducks, geese and birds during the day, and what not!

Well, practically all is true about both. A Swamp or a Marsh can have fresh water, brackish water or even salt (sea) water. Typically, a Marsh has shallow waters from frequent or continuous flooding, mostly covered with low-growing grasses, reeds, typhas, and other herbaceous plants, and is void of any woody vegetation. A Swamp on the other hand, usually has very slowly moving waters deeper than a Marsh, may have a number of dry-land protrusions (or hammocks), and supports woody vegetation (like trees) along with the type of low-growing vegetation found in the marshes.

Marshes and Swamps are characterized by rich biodiversity they support and are critically important to wildlife habitats.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp

Turtle or Tortoise?

All of us have heard the story of the Rabbit and the Tortoise a number of times over our growing years. And as we grew old, there came Turtles. Turtles? Aren't they the same as the Tortoise? Or just the plural of Tortoise? Or a new species?

Long long back, the Chordates Phylum - animals having vertebrates or backbone, evolved and formed the Reptiles Class, who in turn evolved into Testudines Order. Both the Tortoise and the Turtles belong to the Testudines Order in the Animal Kingdom with 300 known species dating back to 250 million years ago - much older than evolution of lizards and snakes in the reptile family. So how do tortoise and turtle differ then?

In general, the Turtles are water dwelling - Marine Turtles whose primary habitat is the sea or ocean, and Aquatic Turtles whose habitat is fresh water bodies - river, lakes, ponds, etc. Then there are land dwelling testudines - the Tortoise. There's a third category called Terrapins, which are found in Brackish water. Turtles are also classified on the way they retract their necks - Cryptodira: those who draw their necks in under the spine, and Pleurodira: those who contract their necks to the side.

As all other reptiles, they are cold-blooded (ectotherms), they breath air and do not lay eggs under water. They come in all sizes - largest ones grow up to 6.6 feet in length with more than 900kg of weight, to smallest ones measuring 8cm in length weighing 140gms. Turtles and Tortoises are believed to have very large lifespans ranging from typical 50 - 60 years up to 150 years. There have been records and claims for longer lifespans too ranging up to 250 years. They have a color vision and are though to have excellent night vision too. They have rigid beaks with knife-sharp or serrated-edged ridges to cut and chew food. The tortoise have short sturdy feet to walk on land, amphibious turtles have webbed feet with claws, while sea turtles have flippers to help them move in the water. Turtles actually fly in the water - they use the front flippers like birds to generate the lift and the thrust, the rear flipper are used as pitch, yaw and roll. :)

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrapin

Scoville, not FarmVille..

One of the senses we enjoy lot is the taste. Multi-billion dollar food industry runs day and night to cater to just 2 inches of the tongue.. Amazing, isn't it? Ever wondered how is the taste measured? Yes, its of course quite subjective and a very personal opinion. But hey! There are couple of methods and connoisseurs doing it for us.. Scoville is one of them.

American chemist Wilbur Scoville developed such a test for rating the pungency of chillies - 'Scoville Organoleptic Test'. The spicy heat is caused by Capsaicin - a chemical compound which stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes and the amount of capsaicin present is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The method involves mixing the alcohol extract of capsaicin oil from a measured amount of dried chillies in a sugar solution till the "heat" is detectable by a panel a tasters. Bell peppers have a rating of zero (0) SHU, ~5,000 SHU for Jalapeno, ~40,000 SHU for Tabasco, Andhra Chilli at 225,000 SHU, and guess what?! The top rated hottest chilli is at ~1,000,000 SHU is 'Bhut Jolokia' or the 'Cobra Chilli' from India!! Surprised?!! :)

Here's a table to give you a rough idea of pungency of chillies..

Scoville rating	Chilli / Pepper
15,000,000–16,000,000	Pure capsaicin
5,000,000–5,300,000	Law Enforcement Grade pepper spray, FN 303 irritant ammunition
855,000–1,050,000	Bhut Jolokia
350,000–580,000	Red Savina Habanero
100,000–350,000	Guntur Chilli, Habanero chili, Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Datil pepper, Rocoto, African Birdseye, Madame Jeanette, Jamaican Hot Pepper
50,000–100,000	Bird's eye chili/Thai Pepper/Indian Pepper, Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper, Pequin Pepper
30,000–50,000	Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper, Tabasco pepper, Cumari pepper (Capsicum Chinese)
10,000–23,000	Serrano Pepper
2,500–8,000	Jalapeño Pepper, Guajillo pepper, New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper, Paprika (Hungarian wax pepper)
500–2,500	Anaheim pepper, Poblano Pepper, Rocotillo Pepper, Peppadew
100–500	Pimento, Peperoncini
0	No heat, Bell pepper

Watch out this space for more Knowledge articles..

References:
1. Wikipedia: Scoville scale
2. Wikipedia: Bhut Jolokia pepper