NRMjobs Quiz answers 29-Oct-2020

This week’s theme: ‘Pollen’

(1) Pollen first appeared in the fossil record about (a) 370 million years ago (b) 260 million years ago (c) 150 million years ago (d) 40 million years ago.

Answer: (a) 370 million years ago.

(2) What is the study of pollen grains called?

Answer: Palynology

(3) True or false: Marine seagrasses produce pollen under water, which is sometimes carried from flower to flower by tiny crustaceans.

Answer: True. (NOTE: This question has been corrected following feedback from readers - thank you).

(4) The pollen of what plant is largely responsible for Melbourne’s occasional ‘thunderstorm asthma’ events?

Answer: Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne).

(5) What pollination technique – important for tomatoes – is employed by both native blue-banded bees and by European bumblebees, but not by honeybees?

Answer: Buzz pollination.

NRMjobs Quiz answers 22-Oct-2020

This week’s theme: ‘Pouches’

(1) What prevents wombats’ pouches from filling up with dirt while they are burrowing?

Answer: The pouch opens backwards.

(2) Does a kangaroo joey leave the pouch to urinate and defecate?

Answer: No.

(3) What vertebrate uses a large pouch to catch its prey?

Answer: Pelican.

(4) True or false?: Female echidnas have pouches.

Answer: True.

(5) What male vertebrate has a pouch for carrying and hatching eggs?

Answer: Seahorse (also pipefish).

NRMjobs Quiz answers 15-Oct-2020

This week’s theme: ‘Footy fauna’

(1) How many AFL and NRL clubs have birds as their official team nicknames?

Answer: Seven (AFL: Crows, Magpies, Hawks, Swans, Eagles; NRL: Sea Eagles, Roosters).

(2) How many AFL and NRL clubs have exotic species as their official team nicknames?

Answer: 10 (AFL: Lions, Cats, Tigers, Bulldogs; NRL: Broncos, Bulldogs, Panthers, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers).

(3) How many AFL and NRL clubs have fish as their official team nicknames?

Answer: Two (Paramatta Eels and Cronulla Sharks).

(4) How many times have either the NRL (ie since 1998) or the AFL (ie since 1990) men’s grand finals been won by teams with marsupial nicknames?

Answer: Twice (North Melbourne Kangaroos, AFL 1996 and 1999).

(5) Among the major national football codes (AFL, NRL, Super Rugby, A-League/W-League) how many current clubs have native plants as their official nicknames?

Answer: One (NSW Warratahs).

NRMjobs Quiz answers 08-Oct-2020

This week’s theme: ‘Convergence’

(1) Acridotheres tristis and Manorina melanocephala are unrelated birds from different continents. However, they look similar, behave similarly, and both are regarded as pests in some parts of Australia. Even their common names sound similar – what are they?

Answer: Common myna and Noisy miner.

(2) What identifying physical features are almost identical in humans and koalas?

Answer: Fingerprints.

(3) Notoryctes typhlops is a desert-dwelling Australian marsupial, while Talpa europaea is a common European placental. Despite their different origins, the two species have many similarities. What are their common names?

Answer: Central Marsupial Mole (aka Itjaritjari) and European Mole.

(4) Themeda triandra is native to both Australia and southern Africa. In Afrikaans it is known commonly as Rooigras (‘rooi’ means ‘red). What is its common name in Australia?

Answer: Kangaroo grass or ‘roo grass’.

(5) What ability has evolved separately in whales and bats?

Answer: Echolocation.