Animals Archives - Page 8 of 56 - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

April 5, 2023April 2, 2023

The Misunderstood Bats

What animals have been maligned and villainized the most by humanity, yet they are the unsung heroes of the animal kingdom? The Nature Conservancy and Bat Conservation International say the misunderstood bats fit that description. People think that bats hunt human victims and drink blood. On the contrary, Vampire bats do not go after human victims and are shy and gentle in behavior. They also only make up a tiny percentage of the total bat population.

Studies of the Bracken Cave bats in Texas show they eat 140 tons of flying beetles, winged ants, and moths every night, saving a billion dollars in crop damage. That is just in one area of Texas, but other bats eat their body weight in insects every night. Bats also are essential pollinators and disperse hundreds of seeds. Bats are vital to the balance of our natural world, and scientists studying bats tell us that they are declining in number. Can you imagine what life on Earth would be like if we eliminated the animals that eat insects?

As a teenager in southern Indiana, I was a spelunker – one who explores caves. The caves we explored had massive numbers of bats, and several times we were in the caves when the bats were flying out for their feeding binges. I never was bitten by a bat, and they used their echolocation to avoid us. When we found huge piles of bat guano, it never occurred to me that it all came from bugs they had eaten.

God has intelligently designed the systems of life on planet Earth, and we need to care for and protect them. When humans destroy animals such as the misunderstood bats, we invite disaster for our well-being.

Reference: The Nature Conservancy and Bat Conservation International research report released on March 3, 2023

April 4, 2023April 2, 2023

Black Heron Canopy Feeding

If you watch animals in the wild finding food, you will see some amazing techniques that are hard to believe could be the product of blind chance. In many cases, the food-finding system has so many parts that it would take various simultaneous changes for them to happen by chance. Securing food is often hazardous for the animal, but eating is a higher priority than avoiding danger. An example of all this is the canopy feeding of the black heron (Egretta ardesiaca) in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The jet-black color of the black heron causes two problems for the bird. One is that there is no camouflage in its coloration, so predators have no trouble seeing it. The black heron is very obvious from above or on the ground. The other problem is that being black means the bird is in danger of overheating because black absorbs solar radiation in the form of heat.

These problems make you wonder about the wisdom of the black heron being black. This is where we find an ingenious design feature built into the bird, allowing it to have all it wants to eat. The black heron eats fish, but finding fish is challenging for all fish-eating birds. Black herons solve this problem by spreading out their feathers in an umbrella-like fashion for what is called canopy feeding. Small fish in the area looking for shade are drawn to the bird’s canopy. Because of its black color, the water under the bird is too dark for the fish to see the heron.

This cloak of darkness and the cooling create a huge attraction for fish. As they gather in the heron’s shade, the bird can simply choose which fish it wants to eat. This canopy feeding provides food for the heron while controlling the small fish population so they don’t overgraze the area.

To attribute the black heron’s canopy feeding to trial and error or chance requires some imagination. To attribute the black color, which seems counterproductive for the climate, to the survival of the fittest is beyond reasonable thinking. God’s design and creative wisdom are evident in all life forms. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know there is a God through the things He has made, and the black heron is an excellent example of the truth of that statement.

Reference: National Geographic, May 2023, page 20

March 31, 2023March 31, 2023

Animal Communication in Turtles

An interesting fact of science is that researchers investigate the natural world in terms of human actions. An excellent example of that is our understanding of animal communication. Recent studies have shown that turtles have a rather complex system of communication which researchers have missed because the communication is very low-pitched and quiet. The frequency of the turtle communication is below 20 hertz, putting it below human hearing limitations.

With new listening devices, researchers have found that baby turtles chirp to one another while they are still in their eggs. They discovered this communication in giant South American river turtles called arraus. The apparent purpose is to coordinate their hatching time. When all the baby turtles come out of their eggs at the same time, it dramatically improves their chances of making it to the river before being snatched by a predator. The researchers also found that mother turtles use sounds to respond to the calls of their young and shepherd them to the water.

You can add turtles to the growing list of animal communication with sounds above or below the frequencies that humans can hear. Examples of subsonic or ultrasonic communicators are whales, fish, bats, and numerous birds. God has designed life to have maximum survival potential. Being able to communicate is just one of the tools that animals have been given to enhance that objective.

Reference: Lead research author Camila Ferrara of the Wildlife Conservation Society speaking to the Washington Post as reported in The Week magazine, February 3, 2023, page 22.

March 30, 2023March 27, 2023

Every Life Form Benefits Humans

Genesis 1:31 tells us, “God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” The creation is a carefully designed system that allows beauty and function, benefiting humans in every way. Every life form benefits humans in some way, but we may not understand how until we study all living things. Our websites and materials often point out surprising facts about how animals and plants benefit us.

Today we have many medicines, vaccines, and remedies for ailments derived from the creatures God created. However, many cures for human afflictions remain to be secured from other life forms that share the planet with us. Medical researchers are concerned that many creatures which might be able to help us cure disease and afflictions are becoming extinct because of the mismanagement of God’s creation.

Research on animal population changes from 1970 to 2018 shows that the number of birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and fish declined by 69% during those years. The research was an exhaustive study of 5,230 species in 31,821 populations. The most significant loss was in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the decline was 94%. Africa was second with a loss of 66%.

The research also studied the causes of the decline in living things and found that overexploitation and habitat degradation were the main issues resulting in 70% of the loss. Pollution contributed to less than 10% of the decline. Thus, human greed and selfishness are causing most of the problems.

An old story tells about a man at the judgment asking God why He allowed him to die in a flood. God replied, “I sent you my workers with a canoe, a row boat, a motor boat, and an airboat, but you kept saying you were waiting for me to save you.” God’s creation design provides that every life form benefits humans. He has given us everything we need, from food to medicinal agents, but we continue to allow greed and selfishness to waste God’s provisions.

Reference: March, 2023 issue of Population Connection magazine

March 28, 2023March 27, 2023

Cells and Cities Show Purpose and Design

Whether we live in a city or in the country, we all recognize that cities are hubs of activity that keep life going and hopefully thriving. A living cell is like a miniature city, and we see life functions in the cell that correlate with activities that maintain life in the city. We can learn some things by comparing cells and cities.

A city has a boundary called the city limits, and cells have a membrane marking their outer boundary. At the city center, we have a city hall and courthouse storing vital information and sending out directives to keep the city functioning. Cells have a nucleus that performs similar functions. The nucleus contains DNA that stores all the information for constructing and controlling the cell’s components and, ultimately, the entire body.

Both cells and cities must have a way to transport materials within their boundaries. In cities, streets, roads, and highways perform this function. Cells have a transportation system called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to move proteins around and perform other functions. Both cells and cities need an energy source to function. Cities get their energy needs from fossil fuels, solar cells, and electrical generators. Mitochondria, “the powerhouse of the cell,” convert food calories into chemical and heat energy to maintain the cell’s life.

Garbage trucks and sewers remove waste in the city. Cells have structures called lysosomes filled with digestive enzymes that eliminate toxic materials. Cities have factories that produce the products people need. Protein factories in the cell are called ribosomes, which manufacture new structures according to the genetic instructions in the DNA.

While the U.S. Postal Service and companies such as UPS and FedEx transport materials between cities, the Golgi apparatus does that for the cells. For example, Golgi bodies in the pancreas package insulin for transport to other cells, allowing them to convert sugar into energy. Cells and cities need places to store essential commodities, and vacuoles perform that function in the cells.

We live in a city that was not built by random chance. Our city has a history of design that allowed Niles, Michigan, to be founded and developed. Just as Niles was not merely a product of chance, so too the cell is not an accident. In this comparison, we have greatly oversimplified our explanation of the cell functions since cells are even more complex than cities. If cities require design and purpose by intelligent beings, living cells give strong evidence of purpose and design by a wise creator God.

Inspired by: “Cells function like miniature cities” by Sheryl Myers in the Herald Bulletin of Anderson, Indiana, February 25, 2023

March 22, 2023March 21, 2023

Microbes in Hydrothermal Deposits

One of the fascinating things about research on microorganisms is the diversity of species and environments in which they live. Superheated material at temperatures of up to 400 degrees celsius is extruded from vents in the deep ocean. When it contacts the cold seawater, it produces porous rocks in the form called “chimneys.” This rock differs from rocks on Earth’s surface due to the pressure at those depths. Researchers from Portland State University and the University of Wisconsin found diverse microbes in hydrothermal deposits.

The researchers sampled 40 rock communities and found 3,635 species of microbes in hydrothermal deposits. The researchers were amazed at how diverse these bacterial communities are. The lead researcher Anna-Louise Reysenbach said, “At one volcano, there was so much new diversity that we hadn’t seen elsewhere.” Not only did they find new species, but they also discovered two new phyla and at least 500 new genera. In addition, the scientists found that New Zealand samples differed from those found in other places.

The design of life is so flexible that you can find living things in locations where you would not expect life to survive. It is important to note that scientists are classifying the microbes in hydrothermal deposits using the same phyla, genera, and species categories they use for life on Earth’s surface. The bacteria are not so different from surface bacteria, but they can live in environments of extreme pressures and temperatures.

We know that life forms exist in extremely cold and hot places on Earth. The design of life is exquisite, and these microorganisms support the higher life forms familiar to us. This study implies that life could exist elsewhere in the cosmos if God chose to put it there. However, there is a world of difference between finding a microbe on a distant planet or satellite and finding a sentient alien being as portrayed on the movie screen. The complexity of life and the amazing design of our own bodies shows God’s creative wisdom. I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14). As we learn more about the diverse places where life can exist, we are amazed at how sophisticated life design is.

References: National Science Foundation Research News for March 7, 2023, and the journal Microbiome

March 10, 2023February 28, 2023

Convergent Evolution or Design?

Animals that are not closely related can display very similar characteristics. Evolutionary scientists say that these similar traits demonstrate “convergent evolution.”

According to Darwinian evolution, all life forms can trace their heritage to a common ancestor. From that first life form, branches diverged to form a tree of life. At some point, those branches diverge again. When two life forms develop a similar characteristic that their last common ancestor did not have, that is convergent evolution. There are many examples, such as dolphins and bats. Both use echolocation for navigating or finding food, but they cannot be closely related.

Animals that can fly include insects, birds, and mammals such as bats. Nobody claims that these creatures are closely related. However, they all use aerodynamic principles and wings to defy gravity. We see similar mouthparts in animals that suck blood, such as mosquitos and fleas. Both are insects but not closely related. We can say the same for insects that suck nectar from flowers, such as bees and butterflies.

Many plants produce edible fruits to encourage animals to scatter their seeds. That includes tomatoes, apples, and raspberries – which are not related. We find similar types of eyes in very dissimilar animals. Birds, butterflies, and even some plants use structural coloration, even though they are unrelated and live in very different ecosystems.

According to evolutionary scientists, one of the most dramatic examples of convergent evolution is found in thousands of plants that use ants to disperse their seeds. The plants attach “food bodies” called elaiosomes to their seeds. The elaiosomes are rich in nutrients to attract ants. The ants carry the seeds to their colonies, where they eat the elaiosomes and discard the seeds. How did over 11,000 plant species develop this technique more than 100 times independently? Evolutionists call it convergent evolution. Could it perhaps be evidence for design in plants?

Evolutionary scientists often give pat answers to explain how various species evolved the same traits independently. However, they say that all of these and many more examples of similarities in unrelated animals show convergent evolution. In other words, evolution is intelligent and uses the same ideas in various species. Or we could say that an intelligent Creator has used the same creative ideas in multiple species. Which is the best explanation? Evidence for design in living things calls for a Designer of life.

March 9, 2023February 28, 2023

The Fascinating World of Insects

This week, we have talked about the fascinating world of insects. My least favorite insects are mosquitoes. However, we have pointed out that mosquitoes perform valuable functions. Common flies are probably the second least favorite on my list, but even those flies have a purpose.

WHAT GOOD ARE FLIES?

Of course, there must be some way to control insect populations, especially mosquitoes and flies. Humans create pesticides to manage them, but that doesn’t work very well. Insects evolve resistance to pesticides, and those pest-killing chemicals also kill helpful insects and cause harm to the birds and animals that eat them. Natural insect control by birds, bats, and even insects is safer and often more effective.

BIRDS ARE BETTER THAN PESTICIDES

INSECTS CONTROL INSECTS

Some insects can also serve as nutritious, high-protein food for people. In addition, insects support the life of plants, animals, and humans in many ways.

INSECTS AS FOOD

WHY DO WE NEED INSECTS?

We can fear insects (entomophobia) or hate them, but we might as well love them because the fascinating world of insects is part of life on Earth. Thank God that we have insects to provide food for birds and other animals while pollinating the plants that provide food for us. Here is a final thought about “bugs.”

HOW MANY BUGS ARE IN YOUR HOME?

March 8, 2023February 28, 2023

Beautiful Insects – Butterflies and Moths

Insects can be beautiful. Today we want to consider a family of insects with about 180,000 described species. They include many of the most beautiful insects on Earth. They are in the Lepidoptera order, and we call them butterflies and moths.

Before they become butterflies and moths, these insects go through a larval stage as caterpillars.

KEYSTONE PLANTS AND CATERPILLARS
WALNUT SPHINX ACCORDION WORM

When the caterpillar has eaten its fill of nutrients from its favorite plant, it goes into a pupal stage and through a complete metamorphosis to become a butterfly or a moth. It is one of the most amazing transformations in nature.

THE INCREDIBLE BEAUTY OF MOTHS
LEARNING ABOUT LEPIDOPTERA
BUTTERFLY WING DESIGN
PAINTED LADIES OUT MIGRATE MONARCHS
THINKING LIKE A BUTTERFLY

The English word “metamorphosis” is from a Greek word meaning “transformation.” So the caterpillar goes through a dramatic change in form and lifestyle. That word is used in Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 to describe the “transfiguration” of Jesus Christ on the mountain where He met with Moses and Elijah. Paul used the word in Romans 12:2, where he describes the “renewing of your mind” to live a beautiful life according to the will of God.

There is much more to say about beautiful insects, but we will conclude our review of these fascinating creatures tomorrow.

March 7, 2023February 28, 2023

The Largest Insect Family

Many people fear insects, but those little critters are essential for life on Earth. Although they can be pests, insects perform valuable services, from pollinating the plants that supply our food to removing dead animal carcasses and waste. Yesterday, we looked at mosquitoes and ants. Today we consider the largest insect family – beetles.

We said that even though an estimated 20,000 ant species live almost everywhere on Earth, they are not the largest insect family. Beetle species make up more than one-third of the nearly one million scientifically identified species of insects worldwide. Here are some of the things we have written about beetles.

BEETLES THAT RECYCLE CARCASSES
BEETLES THAT DISPOSE OF ANIMAL WASTE
FIRE CHASING BEETLES
BEETLES THAT WALK UPSIDE DOWN UNDERWATER
JAWBREAKER BEETLES
STINKY BEETLES

Someone said God must love beetles because He made so many of them. Although we might think that beetles such as stink bugs are ugly, many are known for their beauty. However, the most beautiful insects are the ones we will examine tomorrow.