laelaps | December 27, 2007Ecological conservation has never been more important than it is right now, but perhaps "conservation" is the wrong term for the movement. To use the word "conservation" implies that something remains to be conserved, that there are still parts of the world that can truly be called Wild, but as Stephen M. Meyer points out in his to-the-point book The End of the Wild we have already lost the fight to save the great wildernesses of this planet. At this point, it's more about damage control;
Since the invention of the first stone tool, humanity has pounded the wild into a shape that fits its…
laelaps | December 27, 2007
Lions (Panthera leo) are big cats most famously known for their social structures, a pride consisting of many females (two females from the Philadelphia Zoo picture above) and one male (or a coalition of several males) living together. Unlike other gregarious carnivores like the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), however, lions lack a well-defined social hierarchy, something that becomes readily apparent when these cats feed. In terms of feeding males are dominant and eat first (and may be entirely selfish if they captured some prey on their own), but beyond this the females do not have any…
laelaps | December 27, 2007Sorry for the lack of new material, everyone. The past few days have been a little hectic and I didn't think I had internet access at the place I'm currently staying, but it turns out that I actually do (I made a rather silly mistake). I'm using an old laptop that can only be described as an "unwieldy behemoth" that recalls the days of dial-up, but I suppose it's better than nothing. As you all might have suspected most of my Christmas gifts ending up being books, the stack reaching about three feet high when everything is placed on top of each other, but I've already made some decent…
laelaps | December 26, 2007When the issue of creationism raises its ugly head (either in the form of young earth creationism, intelligent design, or another variant) it usually involves the first chapters of the book of Genesis, specifically the special creation of humans and the Noachian Deluge. There's much more in Genesis than stories involving forbidden fruit and boat construction, however, and one story in particular is interesting when considered in the light of the history of the "evolution idea." Most of you will be familiar with the idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics, most famously championed…
laelaps | December 26, 2007
While not as vibrant as some of my other Cheetah photos, I love this shot of one of the three cats at the Philadelphia Zoo. All three individuals are brothers and are part of a coalition, a group that often is more successful at obtaining a territory in the wild. Just any territory won't do, though; a coalition of male cheetahs often occupy where the territories of three females overlap, which increases their chances of mating as they likely not be successful if they tried to occupy the territory of any one female.
laelaps | December 25, 2007
[I know I posted this the other day, but I couldn't find a more fitting clip.]
laelaps | December 25, 2007
I wasn't quite sure to put up here on Christmas Day, but I thought this shot of the three Philadelphia Zoo tiger cubs worked best. Indeed, I hope those of you celebrating today (or around this time of year in general) not only get what you want/need but also have the time to enjoy it, the young tiger in the center of the photograph having a little less luck in keeping his toy to himself. I have no idea how big the cubs are now (this photo was taken in September, if I recall correctly), but I shall soon see them again when I return to the Philly Zoo over break. The zoo may be home to cheetah…
laelaps | December 24, 2007
"...you will find him wrapped in terrycloth in a small apartment, yowling for food whenever his bowl fails to sufficiently yield the desired quantities of nourishment."
Unfortunately I neglected to take a holiday photo this year (oops!), but happy holidays to you, dear reader, and I look forward to another great year of science blogging. For now, though, I'm going to finish reading The Hogfather aloud and settle in for a short winters nap, so happy Christmas to all those who will be celebrating it tomorrow!
laelaps | December 24, 2007
I'm delighted to inform everyone that Cole, the little ginger kitten in the photo above, has been adopted into a loving home. Unfortunately, though, Beatrice (see below) has yet to find a home and is back in the apartment for a few weeks to recuperate. We had Beatrice for a few months and will probably have her over the holidays before she goes back to the adoption center, but I hope someone takes her home soon. Still, I'm glad that many of the kittens born late in the season this year have been able to find good homes.
laelaps | December 24, 2007...or not, but either way there's an interview with yours truly up on Page 3.14.
[Also, if you want to stay abreast of my latest writings and those of my fellow Sciblings, add the ScienceBlogs Latest Post Widget to your own blog or website.]
laelaps | December 24, 2007
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was likely behind the slaughter of three Amur Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) , an adult female and two cubs, involving two separate incidents in Chongqing, China during the past week. Last Thursday an adult female tiger was found by park officials, the criminals tranquilizing the animal before butchering it; they decapitated it and took the skin and legs, as well. The cubs were found today in a freezer in the park ticketing office, which makes me suspicious whether park officials were involved in the killings, and I don't doubt that similar incidents will…
laelaps | December 24, 2007
For those of you who haven't seen the Barosaurus mount at the AMNH, the adult skeleton is rearing to protect a juvenile from an Allosaurus, and this is the skull of that juvenile. I don't know how much material from it was actually found (not yet, anyway), but as you can see it's a bit dusty. Strangely enough, most of the exhibits at the museum were infested with dust bunnies or otherwise coated with a fuzzy covering of gray. Maybe I should try to get in on the ground floor in the style of Roy Chapman Andrews (who started at the museum as a janitor) by offering to dust the mounts...
laelaps | December 23, 2007
Wolves have always had a bad reputation, often being cast as bloodthirsty villains despite their relatively shy demeanor when humans are around. Indeed, of all the large carnivores present in North America, wolves are among the least threatening, and people generally have more to fear from moose than from any carnivore in the United States. Still, wolves (and even coyotes) are not as shy about dogs as they are about people, and it seems that there has been a rash of attacks on dogs in recent weeks in Alaska. A recent report in the Anchorage Daily News provides a review of recent incidents,…
laelaps | December 23, 2007... I could always feign being "born again" and write a crummy evangelical "non-fiction" book. I stopped by Barnes & Noble today to pick up a last minute Christmas gift that led me into the depths of the religion section, a section that's about 3 times as large as that devoted to science and nature. I almost cried out in terror when I heard a woman say she was picking up Joel Osteen's You Best Life Now and had to suppress my own rage when I came across Creflo Dollar's cheesy grin on the cover of his latest hardcover bit of holy money-grubbing. Imagine my disgust as I rounded a corner and…
laelaps | December 23, 2007
A light in the ceiling illuminates the holes in the skull of the towering Barosaurus mount in the Grand Rotunda of the AMNH. The trip into the city yesterday was tiring, but it was definitely a lot of fun, especially since I got to hang out with my fellow dino-nerd Amanda (and her boyfriend) in one of the best museums in the world. Amanda and I also got to chat with one of the "Fossil Interpreters" at the museum for a while, and it was definitely nice to chat with someone who knew a lot about the exhibits (Here's a tip if you visit the museum yourself; look carefully at the ribs on the left…
laelaps | December 22, 2007
Today's photo is of the famous sail-backed pelycosaur Edaphosaurus from the Permian red beds of Texas. As if its sail wasn't enough to puzzle paleontologists, the fact that the neural spines bear "cross bars" further adds to the mystery (I know of no other animal that has exhibited such a feature). I picked out this one, though, because today I'm off to the AMNH to meet up with fellow paleo-blogger Amanda (the "Self-Designed Student"), and will have plenty of photos to share when I return this afternoon.
laelaps | December 21, 2007[Note: Wow; apparently I hit a bit of a nerve, but that's a good thing. I hope the comments keep coming in. Like many of you mentioned I think Nature and Science are good "pop" journals that introduce new research to a wide audience over a wider range of topics, but I am often disappointed by how shallow some of the articles turn out to be. It's not so much about length as it is the effort of analysis/research that ends up in print, so while I think both have their place I do think they're a bit overhyped. I'm sure we've all heard of some scientists who won't publish in anything but Science…
laelaps | December 21, 2007As was evidenced by the long list of books that I've read this year, I've taken in a lot of material, and picking the 10 best books is a bit of a challenge. What makes a good technical book doesn't make a good popular science book, but overall there were a few that stood out from the rest to become volumes that I'm sure I'll be revisiting over and over again in the future (unlike the works in the "Bottom 10" list from a few days ago). As hard as it might be to rank some of these, here are my favorite 10 books that I read in 2007;
10) The First Fossil Hunters - Adrienne Mayor
The traditional…
laelaps | December 21, 2007
The Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) is usually identified by light-colored markings on its face and chest that sometimes cause the bear to look like it has glasses on, although not in this individual (which, to be honest, bears something of a resemblance to Jeremy Irons). Naturally occurring along the Andes mountain range in South America, these bears live near rain forests and make use of the rich variety of resources there (from roots to carrion). Unfortunately, these bears are not only victims of Traditional Chinese Medicine, their gall bladders being especially prized, but they are…
laelaps | December 20, 2007Ah, freedom... well, relative freedom anyway. I just polished off the last exam of this semester and won't be headed back to the classroom for about a month, although I'm anything but relieved. I still have a tangle of red tape (made all the more appropriate being that I'm at Rutgers) to fight through in my quest to get into evolutionary anthropology, which is all I really want for Christmas. Maybe I should put out some turnips, a pork pie, and some sherry and ask the Hogfather...