Black+Swan+Future+Animal

FUTURE ANIMAL......? The future swan will be adapted to its environment extremely well. It has yet to be named. :D (KAFU LAI)

HABITAT

The future swan enjoys a cooler environment (as its black feathers can absorb heat better than any other color). It breeds in summer, in the cool regions of Antarctica and North America where they can find abundant food source, since the nesting swan cannot move far from the nest. The male usually find food and the female incubates the clutch. During mating season (around September to December), future black swans all come together in the humid swamplands to mate, mated pairs set off to cooler regions to lay eggs and incubate, conserving their nomadic lifestyle. Global warming will have affected Earth badly; sea levels will have lowered 50%, leaving salt residue in the next 100 million years, leaving many sunken islands exposed. New animals will be arrive, lots of new unidentified creatures will be exposed from underwater e.g. large octopuses, oxygen producing algae in response to lack of vegetation near coastal areas and new unknown diseases. Regions around the tropics (mostly Africa and areas in South America) will become inhabitable, hot and arid at daytime and very cold, similar to the Sahara desert at night. Areas above and under the tropics zone will be hot and arid at daytimes but cool at night. Areas near the North Pole and Antarctic enjoy a warm temperate, similar to present day temperature of 25 to 30 degrees. The Antarctic will be warmer, some grass and vegetation appearing at edges.
 * Environment **
 * Climate **

They are more nomadic than ever, they will not gather together to raise young. The future swan follows a migration path that passes all continents in the world during the year. Its feathers will collect seeds from passing plants and land on other plant. This will cause new plant/hybrid plants to appear and support growing plant population. This also helps other herbivores such as the metalope survive.
 * Where it Lives **

It will still have no natural predators J since they are extremely nomadic, they do not stay in one environment for long (unless they are taking on young or mating). Human will no longer be a predator of the black swan, as humans have evolved to conserve the environment and learnt to collect resources with newer technologies that leave animals to their own adaptions. Potential predators include reptilians e.g. crocodiles, and other predators nearby the swan's chosen environment e.g. polar bear in Antarctica. The future swan is an omnivore; it preys on smaller mammals such as mice and small fish, it also consumes nearby vegetation and algae.
 * Predator/Prey **



ADAPTATIONS

The future swan begins to grow extra feathers around late afternoon in preparation for the cool nighttime. It will shed its extra feathers off at dawn when it begins its flight at around 6 a.m. This helps the animal survive the cold air at night and the heat wave that starts when the sun comes up. It is easy to track the future swan’s migratory path through the feathers it leaves behind at dawn.

The swan will decrease in size weighing around 6 to 15 pounds, and grow longer and larger wings (wingspan around 1.9 to 2.3 meters). Their flight wings will be all black, oppose to the white flight feather present black swans have. This adaptation helped the future black swan survive because a.) Less weight means it is capable of flying longer distances without straining its wings, with larger and longer wingspan, it also means the future swan can fly longer distances at a greater speed b.) All black feathers provide better camouflage from potential predators such as eagles or other future flying predators and the future swan will not attract as much attention (as white feathers contrast with its black feathers greatly).

The future swan develops small sharp teeth in its bill that can be exposed and retracted. The main purpose of this are to enable ease of consuming meat of small animals e.g. mice and other weeds that are still existing. The environment in the future will have become harsh; food will not be of an abundant resource for many animals. In order to survive, the future swan must become an omnivore, as salt residue (halite) will contaminate soil leaving growing vegetation scare, therefore the future swan has to rely on hunting other animals to survive.

The swan’s young develops faster, usually, it takes 9 months of tending by parents before fledging; the future swan’s cygnets take 6 months before growing into their full mature size. They also ride on their parent’s back while in water or flight more frequently than before (usually they preform this behavior less frequently than the white mute swan). This helps them survive, as the future black swans are extremely nomadic, the young need to develop its skills faster in order to keep pace with their nomadic lifestyle. The young may ride on parents back when they are tired or need assistance from their parents.

The future swan has an excellent defense mechanism. It has the ability to generate extremely bad smelling odors similar to the skunk though its rear end; its wings also developed tiny sharp spikes on the tip of each outer feather to scratch potential threats while flapping their wings. Their teeth also serve a small amount of this special defense. They can also screech at an extremely high level. It has helped the future swan survive because with these defense mechanisms because they can anticipate any sudden threats at any angles (in the back, in the face and on the sides).

ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURE

1. Too much salt in coastal regions and the tropics, this leads to the future swan being a omnivore. 2. Competition (over food), also a factor contributing to the future swan becoming an omnivore 3. Rapidly changing environment (hot during daytime and cooler during night time) causes the black swan to grow more feathers in preparation for nighttime and shedding of feathers at dawn. 4. Not enough food sources, it leads to smaller clutches (3 to 6 Cygnets per clutch) and also to the process of carrying seeds of plants around the world in hopes of cultivating more vegetation 5. Excellent defense mechanism, due to the increasing nomadic life leads to uncertainty of environment especially to predators.

SELECTION PRESSURE

The future Black Swan will face crisis in the far flung future due to salt and sand traveling though warm winds. This create numerous dust storms in areas such as Europe and Asia affecting sea water especially nearby coral s and other underwater organisms e.g Sea Urchins. Due to this crisis, the future Black Swan has yet again adapted to its enviroment by evolving into two different species, the Wading duck and the Nomadic goose. Both possess graceful necks and webbed feet.

OTHER LINKS a.) Presbyornis b.) Black Swan

= Bibliography = United States Enviromental Protection Agency. (2011, April 14). //Future Temperature Changes//. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from Climate Change- Science: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/futuretc.html Japan Science and Technology Agency. (2011, March 10). //The Future of Animal Behavior Research//. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from Science Links : http://sciencelinks.mastic.gov.my/content/view/1240/33/ Johnson, C. (2007). //Climate Change//. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from Future Climate Australia: http://www.futureclimate.com.au/