Read this section of Uriel’s report about flightless birds. Flightless birds are birds that cannot fly. Scientists do not agree on whether the ancestors of these birds could fly. However, most experts understand that flightless birds are missing body parts that allow other birds to fly.

What should Uriel do to help his readers understand the text, and why?

A.
Set the terms flightless and
ancestors in boldface text so readers understand that these are key words that they should look up.
B.
Create a timeline showing when the ancestors of flightless birds became extinct so readers will understand when birds became flightless.
C.
Add a map showing the location of flightless birds in the world so readers understand the connection between flightlessness and country of origin.
D.
Include labeled illustrations of a flightless bird and a flying bird so readers understand which parts the flightless bird is missing that would allow it to fly.

The study, published in Science Advances, finds that flightlessness evolved much more frequently among birds than would be expected if you only looked at current species.

Researchers say their findings show how human-driven extinctions have biased our understanding of evolution.

Lead author Dr Ferran Sayol (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research and University of Gothenburg, Sweden) said: “Human impacts have substantially altered most ecosystems worldwide, and caused the extinction of hundreds of animal species.

“This can distort evolutionary patterns, especially if the characteristics being studied, such as flightlessness in birds, make species more vulnerable to extinction. We get a biased picture of how evolution really happens.”

For the study, the researchers compiled an exhaustive list of all bird species known to have gone extinct since the rise of humans. They identified 581 bird species that went extinct from the Late Pleistocene (126,000 years ago) to the present, almost all of which were likely due to human influences.

The fossils or other records show that 166 of these extinct species lacked the ability to fly. Only 60 flightless bird species survive today.

Birds that cannot fly were much more diverse than previous studies had assumed, the study shows. The findings also confirm that flightless species were also much more likely to go extinct than species that could fly.

Co-author Professor Tim Blackburn (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research and the Institute of Zoology, ZSL) said: “Many bird species can become flightless in environments without their usual predators, for example on islands. Flying expends a lot of energy that birds can use for other purposes if they don’t need to take to the air. Unfortunately, though, this makes them easier prey if humans – and their associated rats and cats – suddenly turn up.

“Extinction has all too often been the result, and is likely to continue as flightless birds are overrepresented, compared to avian species, on global lists of animals under threat.”

The researchers report that most island groups worldwide had flightless birds before humans arrived, occupying ecological niches that otherwise would have been filled by mammals, with particular hotspots in New Zealand (26 species such as the extinct moa) and Hawaii (23 species, all of which are extinct, such as the flightless goose).

Adding extinct birds to the global picture of bird diversity reveals that flightlessness evolved in birds at least four times as often as we would expect if we only looked at living birds.

Dr Sayol said: “Our study shows that the evolution of flightlessness in birds is a widespread phenomenon. Today, most flightless species are penguins, rails or ostriches and their relatives. Now, only 12 bird families have flightless species, but before humans caused extinctions, the number was at least 40. Without those extinctions we would be sharing the planet with flightless owls, woodpeckers and ibises, but all of these have now sadly disappeared.”

The study was funded by Swedish Research Council and Carl Tryggers Stiftelse för Vetenskaplig Forskning, and involved researchers from UCL, ZSL, University of Gothenburg, University of Bayreuth (Germany), and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

not sure but i think it’s the snug nest

this essay is about basketball hope you like it, also dont forget to give me a good rating

  a basketball team comprises of five players as mentioned above. the five players include point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center (ramen 56). the rules do not limit players to certain locations. however, evolution of basketball from the 1980s made players assume certain locations and roles. the point guard should be the fastest team member, and is responsible for organizing the attacks of the team. he does this by making sure that the right player has the ball at the right time (wissel 87). the shooting guard creates mainly long-range shorts and watches the opponent's last player on the defense. the small forward member of the team is majorly responsible for scoring points through dribble penetration and cuts to the basket. he also rebounds and plays actively. power forward plays invasively having their back to the basket and when on defense he plays under the basket or against the opponent's power forward (ramen 54). the center often uses his size and height to score and safeguard the basket when on defense. however, there is no rule that limits the players to these descriptions.  

              there are four quarters in regular basketball game, and each takes 10 or 12 minutes (ramen 67). in college basketball games, the game uses two-twenty minute halves. extra time should take 5 minutes in all games except in high school, where it takes four minutes. teams need to change sides after the first half of the game. a typical basketball game might take approximately 2 hours excluding the time when the game is inactive. at any given time, the court should have ten players, 5 from both sides. despite substitutions being unrestricted, it can only be performed when the game is stopped (wissel 51). additionally, teams must have a uniform comprising of a jersey and a pair of shorts. for identification purposes, the jersey should have a unique number in the team printed at the front and back. in some instances, the jerseys have the names of players, sponsors and team printed on them.  

              in conclusion, regulation basketball hoop comprises of a rim or basket attached to a backboard. violating the rules of the game results in a change of the shot clock if the committed by the defense or loss of ball possession. basketball teams comprise of five players, which includes the point guard, shooting guard, power forward, small forward and center. a typical basketball game might take approximately 2 hours excluding the time when the game is inactive.