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Stuffing cigarette butts into the lining of nests may seem unwholesome. But a team of ecologists says that far from being unnatural, the use of smoked cigarettes by city birds may be an urban variation of an ancient adaptation.

Birds have long been known to line their nests with vegetation rich in compounds that drive away parasites. Chemicals in tobacco leaves are known to repel arthropods such as parasitic mites, so Monserrat Suárez-Rodríguez, an ecologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, and her colleagues wondered whether city birds were using cigarette butts in the same way.

In a study published in Biology Letters, the researchers examined the nests of two bird species common on the North American continent. They measured the amount of cellulose acetate (a component of cigarette butts) in the nests, and found that the more there was, the fewer parasitic mites the nest contained.

As well as having anti-parasite effects, Suárez-Rodríguez cautions there may be as-yet unknown negative effects for the birds, because many compounds in cigarette butts are known carcinogens, and some are pesticides.

(Fact Source/article) For more facts, follow Ultrafacts

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Instagram Photo by Emmanuel Rosario

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A woman, a queen, a mother.

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Boop

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I’m in love with this little buddy 🐌😍

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My plant friend is growing so nice.

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Shailene Woodley went on The Late Show to talk about how we can keep up the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline

“The front lines don’t necessarily have to be in North Dakota,” she explained. “The front lines can be wherever you are. You can create a protest in New York City, because protests are about awareness and about people coming together.” She also had some comments about the one thing she wished she’d known when she was taking her now-famous mug shot.

Gifs: The Late Show

WATCH THE VIDEO

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“Hear me loud and clear: If you are a human who requires water to survive, then this issue directly involves you. Don’t let the automatic sink faucets in your homes fool you — that water comes from somewhere, and the second its source is contaminated, so is your bathtub, and your sink, and your drinking liquid. We must not take for granted the severity of this truth. Whatever your cause is. Whatever your passion is. Whatever you care about most… none of your efforts or hard-earned opinions will matter when the planet and the people you’re fighting for have nothing left to show for it.” 

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by Stromschatten