Science Bytes

Fish that build with stones
Male river chub (Nocomis micropogon) gathers small pebbles in its mouth and piles them into a raised mound nest on the stream bed.

Male bluehead chub (a related Nocomis species) can carry thousands of stones, sometimes larger than its own head, to build pyramid‑shaped pebble nests.
These stone nests act like a home for eggs and also shelter eggs of other small minnows that use the same mound.

Why they build these nestsThe pebble mound protects eggs from being washed away by current and from some predators hiding in the sand.

Females choose males partly by the size and quality of the stone nest, so the structure is also a courtship display.

Many other species (called “nest associates”) lay their eggs in these chub nests because survival is higher there than on bare gravel.

Other “builders” you might meanSome cichlid fish move sand and small stones to dig pits or make mounds as breeding sites, but they usually use loose substrate, not big pebble piles like chubs.

The white‑spotted pufferfish makes large circular sand “artworks” and decorates them with shells and small bits of coral, but this is more sand sculpting than stone house building.

Certain cutlip minnows select dark, colored pebbles to decorate mound nests, similar to a bower.

The winning Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 image was taken with... an eleven-year-old Nikon DSLR
The winners of the Wildlife Photographer of The Year 2025 contest have been unveiled, and once again, it’s a set of incredible images. The overall winner was shot by South African photographer, Wim van den Heever, who takes home the Grand Prize.
His image depicts an otherworldly scene of a rare brown hyena exploring the dilapidated remains of the abandoned mining town of Kolmanskop in Namibia, a setting which creates an almost dystopian atmosphere. Van den Heever explains that he worked for almost ten years to capture his composition of a brown hyena in the perfect location, and his patience paid off, creating a haunting mood that reflects the ability of wildlife to recolonize areas once dominated by human activity.

🌾💨 Japan Ushers In a New Era of Farming! 🇯🇵✨

Kubota has unveiled the world’s first hydrogen-powered tractor that can be controlled remotely.

🚜 Running on clean hydrogen fuel cells, it emits nothing but water v***r.
🤖 The tractor is fully autonomous and remotely operated — a smart response to Japan’s shrinking agricultural workforce.
🌱 The mission: cleaner, smarter, and more sustainable farming for the future.

This isn’t science fiction — it’s Japan bringing innovation to life. 💡

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