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Friday, June 3, 2022

Scientists at the University of Western Australia published a study Wednesday suggesting that a seagrass off the coast of Western Australia is the world’s largest plant. The Posidonia australis is thought to have begun to clone itself 4,500 years ago, and covers about 200 square kilometres (77 square miles). It is located in Shark Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Western Australia. Shark Bay was submerged relatively recently, within the past 8,500 years.

The scientists discovered the plant was a single organism after taking 18,000 separate genetic markers to examine the seagrass to find samples to use in restoration projects. However, they discovered the same plant had cloned itself many times instead. Dr Martin Breed, an ecologist at Flinders University, said “We thought ‘what the hell is going on here?’… We were completely stumped.” Jane Edgeloe, one of the co-authors of the research, said the DNA of the samples was compared and it was discovered from this that the seagrass meadow was a single plant.

The plant is around three times the size of Manhattan, and measures at least 180 kilometres (112 miles) in length. As well as being the world’s largest known plant, it is the world’s largest known clone. The seagrass greatly surpasses the 43-hectare stand of quaking Aspen trees in Utah, United States, previously thought to be the world’s largest plant. The seagrass grows a maximum of 35 centimetres per year, with its large size helping scientists calculate its age.

Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair, another co-author of the study, said the plant’s survival was helped by it holding onto all the chromosomes from both its parents. This gave it genetic diversity, which is unusual among plants that produce asexually. The plant does not sexually reproduce; however, subtle variations in its DNA may help explain its longevity.

Associate Professor Kathryn McMahon, of Edith Cowan University, was not involved in the study but is an expert on seagrass. She said seagrass tends to live for between 2,000 and 100,000 years, meaning the plant’s age of about 4,500 years fits into the normal age range of seagrass. McMahon also said she was confident in the method used by the researchers, and that the finding it was a single plant was “amazing”.

Despite the plant’s vast size, in the past ten years, almost a tenth of it has been destroyed by cyclones and rising ocean temperatures, which NBC News noted had been attributed to climate change. The bay has relatively high salinity and its temperatures vary from as cold as 15 °C (59 °F) to as hot as 30 °C (86 °F).

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

The 1999 and 2000 year model Honda Civic SiR tops the list of Canada’s most stolen cars.

Consumer popularity also assures the cars will be popular with thieves. Its the second year in a row the Honda SiR has topped the list.

Rick Dubin Vice President of Investigations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada said “The Civics are easy targets.”

Dubin said that once stolen, the cars are most often sold to “chop shops” where thieves completely dismantle the vehicles. The automobile’s individual parts are worth more than the entire car.

The sheer numbers of the cars and their lack of theft deterrent systems make them thieves’ preferred choices.

1999 and 2000 Honda Civics do not come with an electronic immobilizer, however all Hondas from 2001 and onward are equipped with an immobilizer. Immobilizers will be mandatory on all new cars sold beginning September 2007. The devices enable an engine computer to recognize an electronic code in the key. If the code in the key and the engine don’t match exactly, the vehicle can’t be started.

In third place was the 2004 Subaru Impreza, while the 1999 Acura Integra came in fourth, with the 1994 Honda Civic rounding out the top five.

In sixth place, the 1998 Acura Integra, and the 1993 Dodge Shadow completed seventh.

When asked why early model vehicles are selected, he said that, “auto thieves continue to find it easier to steal older vehicles lacking an IBC-approved immobilizer. We’ve seen this trend developing for several years, and these results confirm it.”

Another Honda automobile, the 1996 year model Civic filled eighth place, with the 2000 German Audi TT Quattro in ninth.

The American 1996 Chevrolet/GMC Blazer rounded out the top ten.

None of the above cars had an electronic immobilizer.