Dr. Navtej Kohli Blog

It might occus to one that stocking the Great Lakes with things like trout and salmon would be good for the herring gull. The birds usually eat from the water, so more fish would mean better dining. But a new report published in the April journal of Ecology by the Ecological Society of America says that the addition of species such as exotic salmon and trout to the area has not been good for the birds, proving that such actions can sometimes have very unexpected outcomes.

Craig Hebert (National Wildlife Research Center in Ottawa, Canada) and his team analyzed 25 years of data on the gulls and found that throughout the Great Lakes region, the birds were in poor health in many areas. Tests of their fatty acids showed an increase in the type of transfat that mostly comes from food produced by humans.

“It seems that the birds are being forced to make a dietary shift from fish to terrestrial food, including garbage,” says Hebert.

Although no one is certain why the birds are eating more garbage, evidence points to fish stocking. When exotic salmon and trout have been added to the waters, the birds seem to be out competed for their favorite prey of smaller fish, such as alewifes.

Herring gulls, which differ from the ring necked gulls that often populate American beaches and parking lots, are by no means endangered.

But the birds have long been used as monitors of environmental conditions on the Laurentian Great Lakes. Their eggs are collected annually and analyzed for insights into how the region’s food webs are changing.

Gulls are top predators in this system. When fish are unavailable, the birds turn to land instead for their foraging. When given a choice between prey fish and garbage, the birds readily chose the fish. Thus scientists assume that they only eat garbage when the prey fish numbers are low.

Prey fish in the Lake have been declining since 1980. Although multiple factors may be at play, predation by piscivorous fish appears to be the one factor that was universally important across all five Great Lakes because of massive fish stocking. The stocking was done to create recreational activities, and to reduce populations of exotic prey fish in the hope of restoring populations of native fishes.

“The effects on other species that are more closely tied to the water, such as terns, may be more severe,” says Hebert. “Those kinds of birds can only eat fish, so their diet may be affected by this, too. They don’t have the option of eating food found on land.”

Compiled by Navtej Kohli. Also more interesting articles are available by Navtej Kohli at associated content.

A neighbour of a newly wed couple was worried when she didn’t hear her rather noisey neighbours for a while. A few days later, she peered through their letterbox and through the windows. But there was no sign of anyone. Concerned for the young couple, she called the police. The officers promptly broke down the door, then searched the house. Only to find the young women gagged and tied to the bed. Her husband was lying unconscious on the floor, wearing a Superman Outfit. They later explain that they had been engaged in a superhero role-playing fantasy, and the costumed husband had knocked himself out attempting to jump onto his wife from atop the dresser. Of course, the woman was unable to help him!

A drunk staggered into a Pennsylvania ER complaining of severe pain while trying to remove his contact lenses. He said that they would come out halfway, but they always popped back in. A nurse tried to help using a suction pump, but without success. Finally, a doctor examined him and discovered the man did not have his contact lenses in at all. He had been trying to rip out the membrane of his cornea.

A 63 year old widow was admitted to the hospital in Recife, Brazil, suffering abdominal pains. X-rays showed that she was carrying a 20 inch long skeleton of a foetus which she conceived a decade earlier. It had become lodged outside the womb and was never expelled from her body.

Once during a complete physical exxam, including the visual acuity test. a patient was placed twenty feet from the chart and began, “Cover your right eye with your hand.” He read the 20/20 line perfectly. “Now your left.” Again, a flawless read. “Now both,”. There was silence. He couldn’t even read the large E on the top line. The doctor turned and discovered that he had done exactly what was asked; he was standing there with both his eyes covered.

by Navtej Kohli

Once gain on Navtej Kohli Personal Blog, I bring a very interesting piece of humor.  

While browsing the Internet I came across a very Interesting joke. While reading it you might think that what’s in this joke. The fact is that in 2002 this joke was awarded as world’s funniest joke.

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy takes out his phone and calls the emergency services.

He gasps: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator says: “Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: “OK, now what?”

It was later on researched that this joke while looks good to read but is not that effective when told. Let me know how you feel about this!

On this sunday I decided to again try something new and post the experience on my Navtej Kohli blog. I joined a flying class for a decent amount. The feeling of flying in the air, feels amazing. You can just forget all your wordly worries and fly away…. 

To start with there are several different flying experiences you can undertake. First is formal flight training for becoming an Airline Carrier Pilot, Second is casual training for learning to fly smaller and more agile planes, Third is a guided combat adventure in which you are able to take the flight stick without any previous training.

All three are great experiences and depend on your level of interest, from a career to a weekend experience. There are different experiences for every budget starting from $49 introductory flying courses to $1000 fighter jet training lessons. I recommend flight highly as it is very exciting and miles apart from commercial airplane flight. Have Fun!

On this Navtej Kohli  blog I bring for you the humorous disadvantage of using fertility drugs……Hope you have a lol.

“The good news, folks, is that you are pregnant with twin daughters. The bad news is that your twins are pregnant too.”

Problems with Fertility Drugs.

Enjoy!!!!