Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
January 8, 2007
As you watch these videos, you can almost imagine what a dromaeosaur might do something similar in self defense or against each other in battles for mates or territory. You sometimes hear about cassowaries disemboweling other animals, such as dogs.
But because dromaeosaurs had a much sharper claw…
January 8, 2007
I have been trying to update my blogroll for the past three days without success. Spercifically, I am trying to update my "drinking pals" section since I now have three new blog writers who are new drinking pals of mine; John, Brent and Jim, whose beautiful house I visited while I was in Phoenix…
January 8, 2007
Woodland Skipper, Poanes melanae,
puddling at a seep in the Deschutes National Forest
on 18 July 2006.
Skippers are ubiquitous. This is a fairly small, compact
butterfly. When a large number are nectaring in a
concentrated fashion, one can hear the fast flutter
of their wings.
Image: Biosparite…
January 7, 2007
Recently emerged Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis.
Image: Bev Wigney.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, amigos bonitos, and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of these images and the creatures and places depicted. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature…
January 7, 2007
Today is the last day of SICB. The meeting ends at noon, and since I stayed up until three in the morning, writing up summaries of the bird posters, I slept in a little bit this morning, so I am missing the last few presentations today. Overall, the meeting was excellent, with lots of fascinating…
January 6, 2007
Following (below the fold) are a few of the bird posters that I saw yesterday at SICB.
Class. Substantial data exists on the behavioral endocrinology of temperate-zone birds, yet ornithologists are just beginning to examine and compare tropical birds to temperate zone birds. In a recent…
January 6, 2007
I also managed to see a lot of posters today -- some of which I will tell you about below the fold (I primarily focused on those posters that discussed birds or molecular evolution of certain characters);
Albers. The mosquito larvae of the genus Ochlerotatus actively regulate of the osmotic…
January 6, 2007
The internet connection was down for nearly 24 hours at the hotel, so I was unable to update you all on the talks I attended yesterday afternoon, which caused me to express much crankiness. Hopefully, I will be able to get that done sometime within the next 24 hours (i.e.; before I return to NYC…
January 6, 2007
Caterpillar of the Pandora Sphinx Moth Eumorpha pandorus,
strikes a defensive pose. Photographed along the Cataraqui Trail in eastern Ontario.
Image: Bev Wigney.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, amigos bonitos, and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of these images and the…
January 5, 2007
I spent my morning going to presentations in the Hormones, Brain and Behavior section, which is the area that I studied for my doctoral degree before I switched fields to evolution and phylogenetics. Some of the presentations I saw included;
Hau. Evidence from studies in temperate-zone male…
January 5, 2007
Prince Baskettail dragonfly, Epitheca princeps, resting in shady spot.
Image: Bev Wigney.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, amigos bonitos, and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of these images and the creatures and places depicted. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature…
January 4, 2007
I have been running into people I know from graduate school all day long, and thus, haven't gotten to attend as many talks and posters as I'd like. Hopefully, I will be able to catch up with my grad school colleagues sometime during the next few days. I also have some talks and posters to tell you…
January 4, 2007
A juvenile Eastern Milk Snake Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum,
photographed near Mississagagon Lake in eastern Ontario.
Image: Bev Wigney.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, amigos bonitos, and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of these images and the…
January 3, 2007
Well, folks, PZ has arrived and is in fine spirits, although not as fine as me, considering that I have had a beer and already met some people I know from graduate school. I was also told that my dissertation advisor is here, and according to rumor, he is out birding somewhere so he may not show up…
January 3, 2007
Mystery moth species, Houston, Texas.
20 December 2006.
I use the zoom macro feature on the Finepix to take the photo from about three feet away since if I get close with the standard macro, I get lots of flash-back. I rarely get to photograph a moth with natural light. The wingspan on this lep…
January 3, 2007
Yes, my peeps, I have arrived in Phoenix, I have investigated the surroundings and am settled into my room on the 19th floor of the Hyatt Regency hotel. My room has a great view of the city, and of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance, which are currently obscured by a layer of smog. My…
January 2, 2007
A new research study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry revealed that people who were either physically abused or neglected or both when they were children have as much as a 75% chance of suffering from major depression when they reach adulthood;
Physically abused and neglected…
January 2, 2007
White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, fawn
found sleeping next to a hiking trail at Foley Mountain
near Westport, Ontario.
Image: Bev Wigney.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, amigos bonitos, and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of these images and…
January 2, 2007
So I've mentioned this before, but SICB is almost upon us. I am boarding my plane tomorrow at 630 in the morning (to avoid the NYC morning gridlock) to attend SICB. I should arrive in Phoenix before noon. There will be several get-togethers with our readers that you are invited to attend;
Friday…
January 1, 2007
Anticrepuscular Rays Over Florida
What's happening over the horizon? Although the scene may appear somehow supernatural, nothing more unusual is occurring than a setting Sun and some well placed clouds. Strangely, the actual sunset was occurring in the opposite direction from where the camera…
January 1, 2007
Scientists are predicting that 2007 will be the hottest year ever recorded, due to the combined effects of El Niño and global warming. As a result, they predict that Indonesia will probably experience drought while California will receive excessive rain;
The warning, from Professor Phil Jones,…
January 1, 2007
How was your New Year's celebration last night? Are you feeling the after effects today? This is because the body converts alcohol into acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical that causes headaches and other side effects of drinking to excess. According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, the way to lessen…
December 31, 2006
Dogday Harvestfly cicada. Tibicen canicularis
Found along the K&P Trail near Snow Road Station in eastern Ontario.
Image: Bev Wigney.
I love cicadas because they are so interesting and also because they remind me of Tokyo, Japan, where I first was introduced to them.
Happy Holidays to…
December 30, 2006
Today, I managed to drag myself out of my apartment where I've been hiding for the past four days, so I could pick up my mail from the post office. It turns out that I received several Christmas gifts from my peeps; a one year subscription to one of the top peer-reviewed journals, Science magazine…
December 30, 2006
Turritella perattenuata fossil, next to a nickel (for scale).
Caloosahatchee fm[1]., Brandtley quarry, near Highway 31, Florida.
This is a Caloosahatchee fossil, the remarkably elongate and now-extinct Turritella perattenuata. The Caloosahatchee is said to straddle the Plio-Pleistocene boundary,…
December 29, 2006
There will be a social event during the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) conference where you can meet me, PZ and John. It will take place in the evening of 6 January, 2007, from 530pm-800pm. For more details and to RSVP, check out the link provided.
December 29, 2006
Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens.
One does not ordinarily think of a soldier fly as a pollinator, but this one, with some green
camoflauge, was sipping from a Philadelphia fleabane last year at Anahuac NWR, Texas
on 2 April 2005.
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from…
December 29, 2006
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This study, carried out by Cancer Research UK, showed that women who did 16-17 hours of housework per week cut their risk of breast cancer by 20% for postmenopausal women and 30% for premenopausal women. Further, it was housework specifically that has this beneficial effect, not other forms of…