behavior
laelaps | March 18, 2008Last year, in a paper published in the journal Current Biology, Jill Pruetz and Paco Bertolani reported on their observation of ten different chimpanzees thrusting wooden "spears" into holes in trees 22 times over the course of more than a year, presumably to stun bush babies that sleep in the hollows during the day. The report has been somewhat controversial, especially since chimpanzees often shove sticks and twigs into holes, but the observations are receiving some new attention in a National Geographic article about the Fongoli population in Senegal.
Before considering what the Current…
laelaps | March 12, 2008Like every kid who went on family outings to the NJ shore, I ended up coming home with any number of hermit crabs over the years. I'd make sure the sponge was wet, that they had food, that they were really in their shells and not just hiding elsewhere (probably terrorizing them in the process), but they generally didn't last long. My grief as to my departed pets is now made all the worse by a new paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B that suggests that hermit crabs have personalities. Oh Pinchy, how I miss you...
The experiment on responses of the hermit crab species Pagurus…
grrlscientist | March 11, 2008tags: Simon's cat: let me in!, animated cartoon, humor, streaming video
A hungry cat resorts to increasingly desperate measures to get indoors. If this doesn't make you laugh, well, you need serious help. [1:52].
this video is the second in a series, this was the first.
grrlscientist | March 5, 2008tags: Talking Cat, streaming video
This kitty has a lot to say, don't you think? But what is this cat talking about? The owner's translation; "Hello, Hello, Hello, I Know Hello, Hello Hello Hello. Hello. I'm Alone, I'm on my own, I'm Alone, I know hello." [0:26]
More about the cat, Tiggy.
My cat can say hello, she only does it when shes looking for you though once you call her or she sees you she'll stop so I had to set the camera up and leave it for awhile until she did it. She does this at least 10 times a day shes does it in the morning when she wants us to get up, in the night when shes…
laelaps | March 4, 2008The New York Times has two new articles out today, one involving dinosaurs in Argentina and another about the social life of the spotted hyena. The article about the southern hemisphere dinosaurs is another reminder of the controversy between private collectors, academics, and the public, and the hyena article is a must-read piece about social intelligence by Carl Zimmer. (This piece is even more relevant given that the Berkley hyena research program is in definite danger of being dismantled.) Each of the articles is also accompanied by a slide show.
There is one mistake in the dinosaur…
laelaps | March 3, 2008A pair of male cobras grapple with each other in a clip from Life in Cold Blood;
Oddly enough, I was just thinking about dominance contests between males and various armaments this morning. Although violence is a part of nature, there are many species in which males compete for territories or mate access that have evolved traits or behaviors to minimize risk in such contests (elongated canines, like among the dinocerata, and the horns of kudu were what primarily occupied my thoughts this morning). Mating systems and systems of male competition may vary widely, though, and as strange as it…
grrlscientist | February 27, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, endocrine disruptors, environmental pollutants, DDT metabolites, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, birdsong, physiology, behavior
European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris.
Image: Gerd Rossen [larger view].
An elegant but disturbing paper was just published that documents that biologically relevant concentrations of endocrine disrupting pollutants are affecting the quality and quantity of song produced by male songbirds, which in turn, influences female mate choice. According to the research team, not only do these pollutants influence behavior, but they also affect…
grrlscientist | February 9, 2008tags: caecilian, amphibian, parental care, flesh-eating amphibians, behavior, evolution, streaming video
The Purple Caecilian, Gymnopis multiplicata,
is native to Costa Rica, South America.
Image: WildHerps.com
What is that peculiar creature in the above image? Did you guess that it is a worm? Many people do, never realizing that there are strange subterranean vertebrates that resemble worms, but are actually amphibians. So far, only 114 species of these creatures, known as caecilians [seh SEE lee ans], have been identified, but because they rarely come to the surface of the earth, the…
grrlscientist | February 9, 2008tags: gender bias in science, female scientists, science publishing, sexism, feminism
I have been thinking about this problem of reviewer bias against female scientists and have a proposal: all scientists should either choose or be randomly assigned a gender-neutral first name, such as "Lee", "Alex", "Jordan", "Reese" or "Ali" or something like that, followed by the initials denoting the scientist's real first name, along with as many more initials as that person desires, and ending with the surname, spelled out. Thus, if a reviewer is subconsciously biased against his (or her) female…
grrlscientist | February 4, 2008tags: starling flocks, birds, streaming video
This flock of starlings at dusk is an amazing thing to see, near Oxford, England. The area is an RSPB reserve called Ot Moor. The road from the village to the parking lot is closed from January 7th to March so beware -- you can still see the starlings but it is a long walk. The music is from a company called CSS Music. The track is "soaring with the sun". This video was shot by Dylan Winter on a high definition camera. [5:28]
grrlscientist | January 24, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, neotropical ants, Cephalotes atratus, parasitic nematodes, Myrmeconema neotropicum, tetradonematid nematode, evolution, coevolution, fruit mimicry
A neotropical black ant, Cephalotes atratus,
infected with the newly described parasitic nematode,
Myrmeconema neotropicum.
The ant's infected and swollen abdomen does not actually take on a red pigment.
It becomes a translucent amber. With the yellowish parasite eggs inside and a touch
of sunlight, it appears bright red.
Image: Steve Yanoviak, University of Arkansas.
In the first known example of a parasite…
grrlscientist | January 21, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, Female Scientists, science publishing, science blogging, gender bias, sexism, feminism
A microbiologist at work.
Image: East Bay AWIS.
In the wake of the Science Blogging Conference in North Carolina, which I was unable to attend due to financial reasons, The Scientist's blog published a piece today that asks "Do Women Blog About Science?" This article was written partially in response to the kerfuffle that was triggered last year after The Scientist asked what were their readers' favorite life science blogs. Several women, including me, noticed that they only…
grrlscientist | January 18, 2008tags: kitten vs ferret, humor, streaming video
This is a really amusing video of a kitten and a ferret playing with each other -- who won? [1:19]
grrlscientist | January 11, 2008tags: behavior, environmental enrichment, giant Pacific octopus, Octopus dofleini, cephalopod, animal intelligence
Louis, the giant pacific octopus, Octopus dofleini, cuddles his Mr Potato Head.
The 1.8meter-wide (6 foot) animal is so attached to Mr Potato Head that he
becomes aggressive when aquarium staff try to remove it from his tank.
Image: Apex.
Who would have thought that Mr Potato Head would turn out to be such a charmer? Certainly not I, but this morning, I unexpectedly ran across a news story about a giant Pacific octopus, Octopus dofleini, that lives in an aquarium in the UK.…
grrlscientist | January 9, 2008tags: Deroptyus accipitrinus, hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, pets, birds, avian, parrots, behavior
Orpheus, a very young male red fan (hawk-headed) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus,
who lives with me (December 2007).
GrrlScientist, 2007 [larger view].
My birds and I have been watching David Attenborough's Attenborough in Paradise on DVD (review coming soon) on my computer. In this situation, Elektra, my female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, perches on my left shoulder, thereby preserving her top-dog status in my little flock of parrots, while Orpheus, the very young male hawk-…
grrlscientist | January 4, 2008tags: Nora, piano-playing cat, behavior, streaming video
Nora is a cat who lives with a piano teacher, and she also loves to play the piano, as you will see in the video, below. Nora's solo was later followed by a duet with a student. Perhaps not surprisingly, Nora now has a CD available called Cat on the Keys. $2.00 from every CD sold are donated in Nora's name to Best Friends Animal Society. [2:48]
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, pets, birds, avian, behavior
Sophie, a female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis,
who looks just like my own Elektra.
Image: Courtesy of Denise and Dave Bell/Eclectus House.
As you might have surmised by looking at the image credit above, I still have not managed to get a picture of my companion, a female Eclectus parrot named Elektra, that pleases me enough to share it with you. Even though I don't have an image of her that is good enough to share with you, I do have a story about Elektra to share with you, thanks…
grrlscientist | December 27, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, champion racehorses, thoroughbred, genetic correlation, heritability, Equus caballus, nature versus nurture
Seattle Slew (1974-2002), the only undefeated horse to win the Triple Crown (1977).
I have been thinking about a paper that was published last week, that analyzed the effects of "nature versus nurture" on the development of a champion racehorse. In short, this paper found that the effects of a horse's pedigree is minor when compared to its environment .. the combined effects of training, diet, choice of races entered, jockey skill and of course, injuries…
grrlscientist | December 26, 2007tags: peacock, Pavo cristatus, pug, streaming video
This amusing streaming video shows what happens when a peacock and a pug meet -- in the pug's own backyard! [2:23]