biology

Lava shearwater

Lava shearwater is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lava shearwater rather than just read about it. In short: The lava shearwater (Puffinus olsoni), or Olson's shearwater, is an extinct species of shearwater that bred on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. It is known from fossil remains, and was only described in 1990.

Key takeaways

Lava shearwater belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lava shearwater to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lava shearwater from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The lava shearwater (Puffinus olsoni), or Olson's shearwater, is an extinct species of shearwater that bred on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. It is known from fossil remains, and was only described in 1990. It was intermediate in size between the Manx shearwater and the little shearwater. The remains of the species are particularly common in lava fields. The species is thought to have survived the arrival of the first settlers in the Canary Islands, and become extinct after the arrival of European settlers in the 15th century. It is suspected that the species became extinct due to hunting pressures and possibly the arrival of introduced species such as rats.

References J. C. Rando, J. A. Alcover (2008) "Evidence for a second western Palaearctic seabird extinction during the last Millennium: the Lava Shearwater Puffinus olsoni" Ibis 150 (1), 188–192 doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2007.00741.x

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lava shearwater

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lava shearwater claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lava shearwater before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lava shearwater ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lava shearwater

In research: Lava shearwater appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lava shearwater in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lava shearwater is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird extinctions since 1500, Birds described in 1990, Birds of the Canary Islands, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lava shearwater outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lava shearwater in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lava shearwater means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lava shearwater out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lava shearwater in simple terms?

Why does Lava shearwater matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lava shearwater?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lava shearwater.