Spiritual Lessons from Biology

The life of a Sandgrouse is lived in storms.   Their habitat is a sea of sand, burning and corrosive.  There is no shelter from the heat or from the deadly sandstorms that rip across the landscape.   The ruddy deserts of Africa are barren a landscape as you can imagine.   Yet the sandgrouse is perfectly at home here.  They scour the desolate plains to find seeds deposited in the sand months or years ago by plants; seeds carried in storms.   After a brief rain falls, they fly as far as 50 miles to find a puddle.   These conditions may sound nearly impossible, yet biologists are fascinated to find that the Sandgrouse not only survives, he thrives .   This bird exhibits many unique features attributing to a lifestyle thriving in storm.   For instance, Sandgrouse chicks must survive the battering heat of day under the shade of their mother.   They have neither the feathers nor the strength needed to fly the 50 miles or so to a wat...

The Horseshoe Crab looks like an alien life form rather than an earth creature.   It is more closely related to spiders and scorpions than actual crabs; this is exemplified by their whopping 10 eyes that can see UV light.   These crabs are categorized in the class “Merostomata” which means it's legs are attached to it’s mouth (I don’t think they can walk and talk at the same time…).   Without these creatures, the beloved Red Knot would be extinct.   Red Knots feed solely on Horseshoe Crab eggs in their 9,300 mile migration along the coast.   They arrive in the Delaware Bay on the last full moon in May where the Horseshoe Crab spawns each year.   Here they double their weight before continuing to breeding grounds in the Canadian arctic. Horseshoe Crabs are not only useful for the Red Knot, however.   They have also inadvertently saved countless human lives.   Horseshoe Crab blood is used for every single injection, whether vaccines, drugs, or bl...

Spectacled Eider Ducks inhabit boggy tundra waters during the relative warmth of summer.   In winter the lakes freeze and the ducks vanish.   Until recently no one knew where the ducks went.   In the late 90’s localized patches were discovered across the frozen Arctic Ocean.   Upon further investigation, voilá, there were the Eider Ducks! It seems that the Eider Duck forms massive colonies by which their constant movement and body heat keep sea ice from forming.   The entire world population of Eider Duck can be found in only a dozen such colonies each winter.   By packing tightly together and keeping the ice at bay, Eider Ducks can dive all winter to find food where normally sea ice makes life impossible. This weekend i was invited to go “Extreme Sledding”.   i  wasn’t sure exactly what “Extreme Sledding” meant.   i  do now.   It’s basically like sledding but with more speed, more bruises, and a lot more fun.   Im...