Poop
Nearlyallanimalspoop.Poopissolidwastethatispassedoutoftheirbodies.Poopisn’tjustwaste,though.Itcandootherthings,too.Poopcanspreadseeds.Itcancreatesandybeaches.Itcanmakea home.
Poopcandoallthat?Yes!Takealookatthetambaquifish.Iteatstheseedsofwaterplants.Notalltheseedsgetdigested.Somegetpoopedoutand“planted.”Thennewwaterplants grow.
plants seeds
tambaqui
makes sand
parrotfish
Haveyoueverbeentoawhitesandybeach?Youmighthavebeenstandingonparrotfishpoop!Parrotfisheattinyplantscalledalgae.Theybitethealgaeoffcorals.Sometimestheyeatthecorals,too.Thentheypoopthecoralsoutasbitsof sand!
Leafbeetlescovertheireggsinpoop.Why?Thepoophardens.Itprotectstheeggsuntilthey hatch.
leaf beetleeggs
leaf beetle
makes homes
Name‑Droppings
Humans’solidwasteiscalledstool,feces(FEE‑seas), andexcrement (EX‑crum‑ent).Animals’wastehasdifferentnames,too.Hereareafewexamples:
castings -wormsdroppings - birds
dung - cattle,elephantsfewmets - deer
frass - insects
guano - bats, seabirdsscat -wildanimalsspraints - otters
