Transkripti

Nocturnal animal, the bat

Good afternoon. In this lecture, we’ll focus on a common nocturnal animal, the bat. There are two types of bat: micro bats, or true bats, and mega bats, also called fruit bats. Let’s start with mega bats. Size wise, mega bats are from two to sixteen inches in length. Mega bats have extremely sensitive sight and smell. This helps them locate the flowers and fruit upon which they feed. It is while eating that mega bats play a important role in the distribution of plants. Like bees, mega bats serve as pollinators. When they lick nectar or eat flowers, their bodies become covered in pollen which they, in turn, carry to other trees and plants thereby acting as pollinators. In fact, many of the fruits and vegetables on our tables, such as bananas and peaches, would not be there if mega bats did not pollinate plants and trees. Next are micro bats. As the name implies, micro bats are quite small, about the size of a mouse. To find food, micro bats use echolocation, high frequency sounds they bounce off insects. The most common micro bat is the vesper or evening bat. Like mega bats, micro bats play an important role in the environment. The average vesper bat, for example, can eat one thousand mosquitoes in one night. By doing so, they control the mosquito population.

A: So, Joan, your roommate told me that you had a meeting with Dean Metzger this morning. B: Well, actually it's later this afternoon. I'm meeting her at 4:00 today. Well, I'm sure you've been hearing and reading about the cuts and the university budget, right? Well, the budget for the university debate team was really slashed. In fact, it was cut more than in half and it was already a bare bones budget. To tell you the truth. I don't know if. Well, I don't really think we'll be able to keep debating. Really. So how do you what does the debate team spend its money on? The coaches salary or no? As a matter of fact, my friend Kurt Wyndham is our coach and he volunteers his time. Curtsy graduate student now, but when he was an undergrad he was a debater himself. So then, how do you spend your money? Well, mostly we spend it on travel expenses. We take four or five trips of semester to other campuses and we need money for bus fares or gas money, hotel rooms, meals, things like that. Well, I I kind of hate to say this, but would it really be the end of the world if the debate team couldn't keep going? I mean, does anyone really? Care all that much about debate? The people on the team do. Most of us have been debating since high school and it's really important to us. And you know, it can be really good career preparation. You learn research skills, you learn well to communicate, to think on your feet. You learn teamwork. My father's a lawyer, you know, and when he was in college, he went to college over in England he was involved in. Debate. And he says it was a wonderful way to train for the courtroom. He's the one who talked me into joining the team. Well, I'm just saying, except for a few people on the team, how does having a debate team really benefit the university? Oh, don't even get me started. For one thing, there's the whole matter of school tradition. I mean, did you know that this school has had a debating team for over 100 years, and over the years we've won a dozen or more regional tournaments and a couple of national tournaments? Then there's the prestige we haven't had a good football or basketball team for. For years. But our debate team is always one of the best in the region. A good debate team attracts people who debated in high school, and they're always some of the top students. And you know, a lot of famous people are on college debate teams. President John F Kennedy, for one. And OK, OK, you've sold me. And we're not even asking for that much. It's like a a millionth of what the school spends on football and basketball. I mean, I don't have anything against sports teams, but still, I can't see why you're going to talk to Dean Metzger. She's, she's Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. She's not in charge of the university budget. No, I know, you're right. And we tried to get an appointment with President Fisher, but his assistant kept saying he was too busy right now and wasn't able to meet with us. So Kurt came up with the idea of talking to Dean Metzger. He said Dean Metzger's fair. She has that reputation anyway, and she's, you know, willing to listen. So I don't know, maybe if we can convince her. Then she can persuade President Fisher and the board of Chancellors not to cut our budget so much. Well, if anyone can convince her, you can. I'll tell you, though, if I were you, I'd keep trying to get a meeting with President Fisher. Talking to Dean Metzger won't hurt, but really, President Fisher is the person whose mind you have to change.