What Does the Moon Smell Like?: 151 Astounding Science Quizzes by Eva Everything

They’re not very big, but if we grew at the same rate as a platypus, an adult human would grow to be about 15
    metres (49 ft) tall.
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    UNDERWATER RAINFORESTS
    Supermales
    The sun has just set on another beautiful day in para-Q
    dise. It’s dusk in the tropics. There’s a gentle breeze, and beneath the surface of the calm turquoise
    waters, a small group of fish is ready to rock on the coral reef. A big, macho supermale parrotfish is getting the superstar treatment from his enthusiastic female groupies. As far as they’re concerned, he’s the hottest hottie on the reef, and they all want to mate with him and have his babies. They won’t be disappointed. After all, he is a supermale. How does a guy get a job like that?
    How do parrotfish become supermales?
    a) dominant males fight for the position
    b) females undergo a sex change
    c) fertile females choose the healthiest male
    d) males eat a special diet to grow bigger than the other males
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    Supermales
    How do parrotfish become supermales?
    A
    a) dominant males fight for the position
    b) females undergo a sex change
    c) fertile females choose the healthiest male
    UNDER
    d) males eat a special diet to grow bigger than the other W
    males
    ATER
    RAINFORESTS
    CORRECT ANSWER:
    b) females undergo a sex change
    And no reconstructive surgery is required!
    Surgeonfish need not apply. You’d think that males would be the natural choice, but in a weird and won-derful parrotfish twist of nature, only females become supermales. They’re all born with spare male parts.
    When the local supermale dies, some of the biggest females activate the male within, and one becomes the new resident supermale. The makeover is complete, both inside and out. He even changes colour.
    The females are attracted to his distinct new colours and markings. The supermale stage is the terminal phase for parrotfish, meaning they soon die of old age. The ability to change sex is a brilliant survival strategy. It ensures that there will always be a male to mate with the females and produce the next genera-tion of parrotfish.
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    Life’s a Beach
    Parrotfish are always looking for something to eat.
    Q
    Luckily, their favourite food, the algae that grow in and around corals, are always on the menu. While they’re munching on the algae, they bite off hunks of UNDER
    coral and grind them up with their fused teeth, which resemble a parrot’s beak. Chomping on coral may WA
    sound destructive, but it’s actually a win-win-win TER
    situation. The parrotfish don’t go hungry, and they RAINFORESTS
    keep the corals healthy. The third win is a product of the parrotfish’s hearty appetite. Hunks of coral go in one end, and sand comes out the other. How much sand?
    How much sand can a big parrotfish make in a year?
    a) 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
    b) 100 kg (220 lb)
    c) 10 kg (22 lb)
    d) 1 kg (2.2 lb)
    81
    Life’s a Beach
    How much sand can a big parrotfish make in a year?
    A
    a) 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
    b) 100 kg (220 lb)
    c) 10 kg (22 lb)
    UNDER
    d) 1 kg (2.2 lb)
    WATER
    CORRECT ANSWER:
    RAINFORESTS
    a) 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
    No one has actually followed a big parrotfish around for a year and collected and weighed the sand that comes out of its rear end. But according to the best estimates and when you consider that a parrotfish spends most of its waking hours grazing on coral, it’s entirely possible that it could process a whole metric tonne of sand in a year. So, if you’re lucky enough to find yourself on a tropical beach, blissfully wriggling your toes in fine, white sand, remember the parrotfish and its contribution to the environment. Parrotfish are some of the unsung heroes of the reef. In an
    Australian study, damaged coral reefs that were grazed by parrotfish recovered, while those that were deprived of parrotfish died from an overgrowth of