Sending a Rotten Message up the Food Chain
It turns out there’s a reason for that instant repulsion you get when you open a tub of moldy leftovers from the back of your fridge. New research suggests that it’s a message from the microbes that says, “this food’s taken”. This interpretation redefines the role of microorganisms in food chains. Rather than waiting around for leftovers from top predators, microorganisms claim foods by making them unpalatable to higher organisms - and they do it by producing stinky odors and nasty flavors. This is pretty effective unless you’re a fan of smelly cheeses, which are generally stinky as a result of microbial fermentation during the aging process. So, if you’re repulsed by Limburger like me, you can leave it to the microbes and be satisfied by reminding yourself that those nasty odors are produced to prevent you from eating it… Just keep it to yourself at cocktail parties - you never know which of your friends are into the strong stuff.
Christian said,
November 26, 2006 @ 11:47 pm
Yuck, that’s like licking a cookie so nobody eats it.
** pun alert **
For bacteria, that’s so uncultured.
groans
Jim said,
November 28, 2006 @ 12:10 am
From Wikipedia:
“The bacteria used to ferment Limburger cheese … is Brevibacterium linens; this same bacteria is found on human skin and is partially responsible for human body odor. A likely reason for this is that the monks of Limburg who created the cheese would originally mix the milk and curds into cheese by stomping it with their feet.”
Yuck. Oh well.
For me, the smellier and runnier, the better. I guess acquired taste can supersede natural repulsion.
Christian said,
November 29, 2006 @ 12:36 am
Ugh.
sydney h. said,
November 20, 2007 @ 9:40 pm
it is a great site if you could just add a food chain with monkeys on it.
thank you
monkey said,
November 20, 2007 @ 10:23 pm
Thanks, I guess… It’s interesting you should ask, because I was just noticing the other day that I have been getting a small but significant handful of hits from search terms such as “monkey food chain”, etc. Is this some kind of school project?
I was curious so I googled it myself. I didn’t find anything about a school project, but I did find some quick info on a monkey food chain. I imagine it depends on the sort of monkey, but here is what I have so far, just for kicks:
Buds –> Rhesus Monkey –> Jackal
Info from http://www.lairweb.org.nz/tiger/hunting8.html (jackals eat rhesus monkeys, see text and accompanying diagram) and http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/211.shtml (rhesus monkeys feed on seeds, roots, buds, fruit, invertebrates, bark and cereals).
It’s far more complicated than that, of course. But I give you a very simple food chain, and demonstrate how one would go about researching a food web. I googled “monkey food chain” and got to the first site to see that jackals eat rhesus monkeys. Then I googled “rhesus monkey diet” and got to the second site. So to answer your question, you just find out what a monkey eats, and/or what eats the monkey. Then, look up the next thing. What does that eat and/or what is it eaten by? Then, just draw the arrows the right way (they go from what is being eaten to what is doing the eating), and you’re done.
So, does anyone care to share what sort of project we’re working on here?