zoology
grrlscientist | January 30, 2008tags: birds, Atlantic+Puffin, Fratercula arctica, ornithology, Image of the Day
Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica,
was one of the species badly hit by the Erika oil disaster,
which killed about 72,000 birds.
Image: RSPB.
grrlscientist | January 29, 2008tags: Jennifer A. Clack, 2008 Daniel Girault Elliot medal, National Academy of Sciences, zoology, evolutionary biology, paleontology
The National Academy of Sciences's 2008 Daniel Girault Elliot medal.
I just learned that Jennifer A. Clack, ScD, FLS, Professor and Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Acting Director of the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, UK, been awarded the 2008 Daniel Girault Elliot medal by the National Academy of Sciences.
The medal recognizes excellence in zoology or paleontology during a three to five year period of time, and the list of past…
grrlscientist | January 29, 2008tags: birds, Black Grouse, Tetrao tetrix, ornithology, Image of the Day
Data in the climatic atlas show that the distribution of the Black Grouse, Tetrao tetrix,
is likely to be affected by climate change
Image: Chris Gomersall/RSPB Images.
grrlscientist | January 29, 2008tags: hummingbird nest, birds, ornithology, streaming video
This video was sent to me by a friend who works at National Geographic (and later, by an aviculturist whom I know) and it seems appropriate for today, considering that winter has closed her icy hand around us all. This video is a small glimpse into the lives of two hummingbird chicks, from when they are mere eggs until the moment when they fledge. I am amazed to see how deeply the mother puts her long beak into the chicks' mouths when feeding them -- it seems almost as though she might pierce the bottom of their crops! The music is "…
grrlscientist | January 26, 2008tags: coral reef, marine life, endangered species, Image of the Day
Seventeen countries have marked 2008 as the International Year of the Reef, a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of coral reefs and to motivate action to protect them.
Image: S. Zumbrunn, Conservation International. [larger size].
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 17, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, Josephoartigasia monesi, Giant South American rodent, fossils, megamammals, Dinomyidae
The head of the newly-found Josephoartigasia monesi (A), in comparison to a South American rodent known as a pakarana, Dinomys branickii (B).
Image: G. Lecuona [larger size].
As a resident of NYC, you often hear stories of enormous rats that are aggressive enough to fight an alleycat -- and win. Even though I watch the rats run around in the subways and am impressed by their audacity, I've never seen any rats that had reached a particularly impressive size, although I have…
grrlscientist | January 15, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, blind cave fish, Astyanax mexicanus, evolution, fish, genetics
Blind cave fish, Astyanax mexicanus.
Image: Orphaned. Please contact me for proper credit and linkage.
Do you keep tropical freshwater fishes? I have kept tropical fishes for most of my life and was always intrigued by the so-called "blind cave fish", Astyanax mexicanus, that were sometimes offered for sale to the public. These fish evolved from a sighted species that live in surface streams, but since the blind cave fishes lived in caves since the mid-Pleistocene or earlier, they were not exposed…
laelaps | January 15, 2008
A crocodile (I would assume Crocodylus niloticus) from William Cheselden's Osteographia.
grrlscientist | January 8, 2008tags: Adélie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae , ornithology, birds, avian, leucism
A unique leucistic Adélie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae,
photographed by the Mawson Hut Foundation team in Antarctica.
Image: Brett Jarrett (Mawsons Hut Foundation) [larger]
An individual Adélie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, that lacks most of its normal pigment was recently photographed by Australian biologists near Granholm Hut in Antarctica. Penguins and other birds that lack pigmentation are referred to as "leucistic" by ornithologists. According to the Australian biologists, these abnormal white birds…
grrlscientist | December 28, 2007tags: blue poison dart frogs, Dendrobates azureus, Dendrobatidae, NewScientist, Image of the Day
Blue Poison Dart Frogs, Dendrobates azureus.
Dendrobates azureus is a species of poison dart frog found in the Sipaliwini District in Suriname of South America.
Image: Gail Shumway/Getty Images 2007 (NewScientist calendar 2008). [Much larger view]
The poison dart frog is the common name for the Dendrobatidae family of small, diurnal frogs that are endemic to Central and South America. These frogs are widely referred to as poison arrow frogs or poison dart frogs, which reflectes the widespread…
grrlscientist | December 27, 2007tags: Siberian tiger, Amur tiger, Panthera tigris altaica, NewScientist, Image of the Day
Amur (Siberian) tiger, Panthera tigris altaica.
Tigers are most commonly poached for their fur and body parts, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is estimated that in 1991 alone, one-third of the Siberian tiger population was killed to meet the demand for their bones and other parts used in this practice.
Image: Barry Slade, 2007 (NewScientist calendar 2008). [Much larger view]
grrlscientist | December 20, 2007tags: The Snoring Bird, Bernd Heinrich, book review, birds, ornithology, biography, science
I remember that I felt very cold when I read Bernd Heinrich's book, Ravens in Winter, even though it was a hot summer day. That was the first of Heinrich's books that I read, but it definitely wasn't the last. I just finished reading his most recent book, The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology (NYC: HarperCollins; 2007) and just as I wore a sweater while I finished his Ravens in Winter, I found that my normally routine daily subway rides to and from the library were…
grrlscientist | December 17, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, Parus caeruleus, sexual selection, mate choice, ornithology, female coloration, reproduction, maternal quality, evolution, birds, ornithology
In many bird species, the females are brightly colored, just as the males are, but the evolutionary reasons for brightly colored females is unclear. According to one hypothesis, because males and females share the same genome, their traits are similar. However, according to another hypothesis, there may also be selective pressures on females, just as there are on males, to develop brightly…
laelaps | December 5, 2007
A crude evolutionary tree drawn by Charles Darwin in his first "transmutation" notebook around July 1837.
Welcome, dear reader, to the second edition of the taxonomically-oriented blog carnival Linnaeus' Legacy, founded by fellow science blogger Christopher Taylor. Here's the "view from the top" as to what science bloggers have been saying about taxonomy and systematics this month;
Just like old rock stars, naturalists of old still go on tour, or at least some of their prestigious works do. Michael Barton of the Dispersal of Darwin tells us of Linnaeus' personal copy of Systema Naturae…
laelaps | November 7, 2007
The whole of natural history fascinates me, but everyone has their own favorite topics, and one of the most intriguing subject areas (to me, at least) is predator/prey interactions. Herbivores are interesting in their own right, surely, but for me it is the predators that are the most thought-provoking and impressive. Given this proclivity to ponder carnivory , I've chosen to write up my term paper for a seminar course I'm currently taking (Topics in African Prehistory) on the entrance of hominins into the "Carnivore Guild," especially in terms of hunting small prey in forests, scavenging…
grrlscientist | November 7, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, birds, migration, cryptochrome, blue light, garden warbler, Sylvia borin, magnetic compass, avian cryptochrome 1a, ornithology
Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin (Boddaert, 1783)
Blakeney Point, 16th September 2006.
Image: Matthew Rodgers [larger image].
Every year, millions of birds migrate to their breeding grounds and then back to their wintering grounds again. These birds' journies cover anywhere between several hundred to many thousands of miles, even when the skies are cloudy or dark. How do birds unerringly find their way to their destinations? Thanks to…
grrlscientist | October 31, 2007
A fossilized brown hyena, Hyaena brunnea,
which lived in Europe 1.8 million years ago. [Larger view].
An amazing fossil find in the Andalusian savannah in southeast Spain has revealed that a large variety of animal species lived together in that region during the boundary between the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, 1.8 million years ago. This discovery has so far yielded a remarkable somorgasbord of fossilized remains from at least 24 large mammal species, eight small mammal species, two reptile species and one bird species.
The fossilized remains, found at Fonelas, Spain, were from…
grrlscientist | October 13, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, conservation, captive breeding, endangered species, reproductive success
I bred parrots and other birds for zoos and for the pet trade for years before I moved to NYC. I often thought about applying my avicultural and ornithological skills and talents to propagate birds for release into the wild, to supplement wild populations that are decreasing. But in addition to the practical challenges of captive breeding birds, I often wondered about the evolutionary implications of doing this: because every individual is precious in a captive breeding program, they are…
grrlscientist | October 10, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, birds, SincoraÌ Antwren, Formicivora grantsaui, ornithology, Brazil
Male SincoraÌ Antwren,
Formicivora grantsaui.
Potentially a new bird species that was recently discovered in Brazil.
Image: Sidnei Sampaio. [larger view].
In a world where many humans believe they know the identities of every living thing on the planet, it is truly refreshing to learn that we have found yet another species of bird that is new to science. This new species was recently found in eastern Brazil. The bird was captured, studied and its vocalizations were recorded by ornithologists.…