feeding

Nudibranchs: Photographing feeding records

bnsullivan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:18:52 +0000

Nudibranchs: Photographing feeding records

Nudibranchs -- marine snails without shells -- make wonderful photo subjects for the macro photographer. They are small, colorful, and they move slowly (as snails are wont to do). That last characteristic is particularly welcome. Most fishes are in motion almost constantly, and non-sessile invertebrates tend to scurry hither and thither. It's nice to find a subject that is not only photogenic, but doesn't turn tail or flat out disappear before the photographer can focus the camera's lens!

It's always interesting to find out and record which critters feed on what. Here are some macro photos of two sponge-eating nudibranch species feeding on their favorites. The colorful nudibranch in the first photo, at right, is Chromodoris quadricolor -- also known by its common name Striped Pajama nudibranch. While we cannot see the mouth parts of the creature in this photo, or any obvious feeding damage on the sponge, the species is known to feed on these brightly colored sponges (Negombata sp.).

The individual in the first image was photographed in the Red Sea at Tiran Island.

In the image above, we see a Mediterranean nudibranch species, Peltodoris atromaculata, known by the common name Dotted Sea Slug. The nudibranch is on a brown sponge (Petrosia ficiformis), which is thought to be its primary food source. Both the sponge and the nudibranch species are found throughout the Mediterranean, including the Adriatic and Aegean Seas.

The final image, above, is much more convincing as a feeding record. Here again we have P. atromaculata, but this time the feeding scars on the sponge, P. ficiformis, are very obvious. It is not uncommon to see several of these nudibranchs feasting on a single sponge at the same time. They can leave the sponge quite scarred.

Each of the two photos of P. atromaculata is of a different individual. Both were photographed off the coast of Greece, near Cape Sounion.

Note: Although the nudibranchs in the second and third photo appear larger than the C. quadricolor in the first photo, in real life they all are about the same size: approximately 5 cm (2 in) long. The second and third photos were enlarged.

bnsullivan Wed, 08/19/2009 - 02:18

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Oooh, I LOVE nudibranchs! I was going to call them the butterflies of the sea, and then realized that this reflects my own entomo-centric bias. Maybe butterflies are actually the nudibranchs of the land!

Hi Julie - Nudibranchs are colorful like butterflies, but I can tell you one thing from experience: Nudibranchs are MUCH easier to photograph than butterflies. ;-}

clear clean water! A day in rice and that phone is as good as new.(Now if that's a solution of NaOH or HCL, well then, that's a different story.

You want bad, have that cell phone drop into a privvy on the Appalachian

Note: Although the nudibranchs in the second and third photo appear larger than the C. quadricolor in the first photo, in real life they all are about the same size: approximately 5 cm (2 in) long. The second and third photos were enlarged.

thanks...very nice post

Orcas Work Together for Adorably Tasty Meal

zooillogix — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:25:18 +0000

Orcas Work Together for Adorably Tasty Meal

A pod of Orcas surrounds a seal on an ice sheet and creates waves to try and knock it off. This reminds me of when you buy a candy bar and it gets stuck by the wrapper and you have to shake the machine to get it out.

Thanks to Zooillogix reader extraordinaire Don Quixjote (aka ali) for forwarding along.

zooillogix Wed, 12/19/2007 - 05:25

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Nice video! Back in my undergraduate days, I was a tour guide at the Ocean Sciences Center in St. John's, Newfoundland which is a research facility. We'd take the public on little 45 minute interpretive tours of the facility as outreach, let them see a room of cold-water aquaria, the few seals we had in an enclosure for research, and some whale exhibits.

Once, my co-worker was giving the 'whale talk' and a VERY angry woman started screaming at him, because a) He called it a "Killer Whale" rather than an orca and b) Because he was mis-informing the public. She stood up in front of the tour group and said something along the lines of "These are lies! They're not killers! They're KIND and GENTLE animals." when my friend tried to tell her that she was mistaken, and that they were indeed carnivores, she told the (baffled) crowd that they "Ate kelp".

I wish I could have shown her this video :)

You guys rock, so I can't believe I beat you to the bite on this one. But then you won with the candy bar analogy. Sigh, just when I thought I was rising to the top. http://blogfishx.blogspot.com/2007/06/orca-attack-seal-with-waves.html

we bow our heads in defeat.

You may have broke the whale story, Mark, but you didn't break the Megalodon video. It's the video of the week in the top sidebar. Chew on that!

If you saw what they do to their food when it is still alive, playing with it and playiing "fling the seal" for up to half an hour before consumption, you'd hork up a lung just watching--it's pretty gruesome.

This was relatively tame (thank goodness, or I'd never have been able to watch it.)

I think I saw that video or at least the same source material on Engadget a few months ago. Note that the seal is actually still alive at the end and back on the ice floe, suggesting that the Orcas weren't actually going for a meal.

I remember some video series that used to be advertised on Nickelodeon when I was wee and playing hooky from school. It was called something like 'Killers of the Wild' and one of the clips was of an Orca partially beaching itself in a seal colony and just going to town, mowing on seal pups like my dad on hushpuppies. Horrifying, especially for a children's network during the day. Ah, the eighties.

I've been afraid of orcas ever since, especially since you can't see their eyes. Very Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. 'Feed Me Seal Meat!'

There was a mishap in Sea World few years ago, some twit jumped into the pool because "he wanted his family to take a video as he is swimming with orcas". Needles to say his family took a video of him being bitten by orcas into two equal halves. (The family then proceeded to sue the Sea World for presencting killer whales as smart fun-loving animals...)

Orcas apparently can develop taste for oranges - I have seen video from some bay in Greenland where the orcas were taught to exhibit themselves for turist cruise ships. They became very fond of oranges - eaten whole of course, without much ill effect. It must have the been orca's equivalent of tic-tac breath fresheners.

There was the one in the late nineties too, when the homeless man hid in the park and waited for it to close before leaping into the water. The coroner's finding was that the fellow had died of hypothermia, mercifully before the whales had started batting him around for fun. It was big news then.

He was a drifter that briefly lived in my home town of West Palm Beach at a Buddhist collective, and he was kicked out for not trying to find enlightenment or helping with the daily chores by the others.

I hope the candy bar doesn't feel the same as the seal or I am going to have stop buying candy bars from that machine!
Dave Briggs :~)

Thanks for video link..

Excellent video. Some of the people in the background were wondering why the Orcas didn't just break the ice floe. I'm thinking that might be because it's actually too thick -- does anyone know how thick a floe like that is typically? I would guess 5 or 6 feet.

My question would be why they didn't just run up on the ice to nab the seal if that was their goal. Definitely just messing with the seal. So kind and gentle, those orcas.

Did you happen to watch the other one that is linked to this video? Where the orca follows the boat with the dog barking at it? Again, if the orca had wanted a meal, a little more swish in its tail would have done the trick.

Thanks for the links!

organizations that support the cause and have a means to distribute them. If you have a local zoo, aquarium, nature center or similar organization

What's On My Parrots' Menu This Week?

grrlscientist — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 09:59:59 +0000

What's On My Parrots' Menu This Week?

tags: parrots, feeding

One of the great pleasures I have is feeding my birds. I love everything about it, from shopping for the finest and freshest foods to preparing them for the birds to eat. As a result, I'd guess that my food preparations for the birds become rather complicated. Anyway, I thought I'd let you all know what my birds are eating this week;

All the birds;

frozen, thawed mixed vegetables (peas, carrot pieces, corn, lima beans)
fresh zucchini pieces
fresh red bell pepper pieces
fresh corn-on-the-cob cut into 1-inch "wheels"
fresh gala apple pieces
fresh mango pieces
fresh orange pieces
fresh kiwi pieces
fresh globe grapes
bird dietary supplement powder (either Nekton vitamins, or Bene-Bac) mixed in
fresh pomegranate seeds sprinkled over the top

For the lories;

extra globe grapes

For the Eclectus and hawk-headed parrots;

fresh cranberries
high-quality seed mix in a separate bowl

For the hawk-headed parrot;

pine nuts, shelled

grrlscientist Sat, 12/01/2007 - 04:59

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Life in My Own Private Zoo

grrlscientist — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:10:40 +0000

Life in My Own Private Zoo

tags: parrots, aviculture, conservation, personal story

Things are going well with the parrots, especially the new hawk-headed parrot (this bird has been living with me for one week and one day now). As I already mentioned several times, this bird is eating on his(her?) own now, although I still handfeed the bird each evening before we all go to sleep.

Speaking of food, this little bird is as eager an eater as any of my birds are. This morning, for example, I gave all my birds their breakfast* and the hawkheaded parrot immediately dove in to the bowl, head-first and began eating. Elektra, the Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, stood on the edge of her bowl in her cage a few inches away, watching this little bird with a mixture of what appeared to be astonishment and admiration. Oblivious to her presence, the hawk-headed parrot was busily making high-pitched squeals interspersed with a soft trilling, or purring, sound, all of which echoed inside the bowl. I wish I had a tape recorder so I could share these sounds with you.

*This morning's parrot breakfast

frozen mixed vegetables (corn, whole green beans, peas and carrot pieces)
fresh corn on the cob (appx one inch-long piece cut from the cob)
fresh red bell pepper pieces, including seeds
fresh globe grapes, sliced in half, including seeds
fresh pomegranate pieces
fresh apple pieces
fresh kiwi fruit pieces, including seeds
fresh orange pieces, including seeds
fresh squash pieces, including seeds (sorry, I forgot the type of squash!)
fresh sprouted beans (I sprout the "16 bean mix")

Special foods added to this breakfast;

Yellow-bibbed lories only: extra globe grapes along with mango juice poured over the top of everything
Eclectus and hawk-headed parrot only: fresh jalapeno pepper pieces, including seeds, and also a separate bowl containing a high-quality parrot seed mix
Hawk-headed parrot only: approximately one dozen raw shelled pine nuts and almonds are added to the seed mix and fresh fruits and veggies to increase the bird's dietary fat consumption

Everyone's favorite food? The globe grapes, followed by pomegranate.

Oh, did I mention that I enjoy feeding birds?

grrlscientist Tue, 11/06/2007 - 07:10

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Splendiferous! I enjoyed observing my animals eat, too - horses and goats munching on hay, poultry feasting on fresh greens, cats and dogs eating special dishes of Jiffy cornbread, flaked brewer's yeast and chicken livers when they arrived ill or undernourished, and rescued rabbits playing with and then devouring their apple treats. During the summers, the rafters were filled with barn swallows, and so I always left extra food for them to enjoy with the sanctuary animals. There's something about enjoying their enjoyment and contentment, isn't there? And for your wee one, the excitement of food s/he obviously enjoys is wonderful! It sounds as if your bird buddies are terrific dining partners! I'm very happy for you, GrrlScientist.

Gosh, that's quite a menu. I think I'd purr too.

do you suppose everyone loves to feed their pets?

I have a little mutt named Boo, part Pekinese, part Jack Russell and the rest a question mark.. She's the most clever dog I've ever seen at getting human attention - and snacks. One of her tricks is to dance on her two hind feet. People actually come to my house to visit and feed her. She goes to see my mother-in-law, who has Alzheimer's, every Sunday and gets a chicken breakfast. She also has her rounds, the bank, and other drive through windows where people shower her with dog biscuits. She's an efficient little scrounger and has learned to exploit people's joy in feeding animals.

Thought I'd share this with you - it's about birds (well, kindasorta):

Why did Beethoven get rid of his chickens?

All they ever said was "BACH Bach bach bach BACH Bach bach..."

(Sorry, but you know how those things are: you HAVE to pass them on!)

Cute ... I assume uncut grapes would be two big for your birds, but I have been entertained by a sulfur-crested cockatoo peeling their grapes.

Jalepenos: OK, I get the birds-don't-taste-capescin thing, but is there a nutritional reason not to use other peppers (such as bell)?

Is there a gray in your collection of birds?

I ask because I have a Congo gray that I've raised since she was five weeks old (she's about 1 1/2 years now). I adore this bird. The feeling is mutual.

But, she's very small, thin. Should I be giving her the diet you give your parrots? At this time she gets a mixture of seed, with, apples, and the occasional green pepper, and such, on the side.

I should mention that she will only eat the fruit and veggies if I hand feed them to her while she sits on my shoulder.

I'm doing a lot wrong with this baby, I just feel it.

debra; i did once have a grey. this bird was also a fatality when i was in the hospital. i have been reluctant to even talk about it because it was so incredibly upsetting. i still hope to get another African grey parrot, but we shall see if that will transpire.

how much does your bird weigh? how do you know she is thin?

anyway, if i lived with your bird, i would take her to a vet for a complete check-up. it will be expensive (probably a couple hundred dollars), but if there is an underlying physical problem, it is best to identify it and take care of it.

next, i would make sure the bird has a high-quality seed mix (not solely sunflower seeds, regardless of how much they might like that) and access to plenty of fresh foods. greys can be notoriously reluctant to eat any foods that are out of their ordinary experience, so if the bird will eat "unusual foods" from your hand, so much the better -- many greys won't even do that. you can also feed your bird other items that will help her gain some weight, such as pasta, pizza and cheese (in moderation, of course).

Grrl, thanks for the reply.

Nelson (female) weighs 389g. I do feed her quality food, plus anything she can snag from me or my family.

She had a complete checkup about a month ago, so I'm fairly certain she's in good health, just skinny. Or not. I had her nails clipped yesterday and the vet tech remarked on how thin she is. And when I compare her to a younger gray at a terrific local pet shop, the other bird is rounder, healthier looking.

The vet wanted me to put her on a diet of only Harrison's formula food. I relented after a couple of days into her hunger strike.

I've never had a large bird before, but found this one (only 5 weeks old) huddled on the floor of a rabbit run in a pet store. Dried food was crusted all over her face and breast, she was exposed to children poking at her, drafts...I was disgusted. I bought her, took her to the vet, and learned to feed her myself.

Anyway, here we are best buds, but I worry because I care.

Maybe she's just from a scrawny bloodline.

Deb

hrm, that is quite light, depending upon the subspecies. is your bird a "congo" african grey or a "timneh" african grey parrot? "timnehs" are quite a bit smaller than "congos" and have different coloring as well.

pellets are not necessarily the best food to be providing to a parrot, especially if that is the ONLY food they are eating. veterinarians are notorious for demanding that their clients convert all their parrots to a pellet-only diet because the vet is the only source for the pelleted food that the pet owner is suddenly dependent upon.

that said, when i was breeding hawk-headed parrots, i fed them pellets as a PART of their diet, which also had a high-quality seed mix and large amounts of fruits and vegetables included (along with flowers that i grew specifically to feed my birds). i purchased my pellets in bulk, wholesale, and not from a veterinarian.

it is possible that your bird is thin/small because of a poor early start in life, as you mentioned. in that case, it might not be possible to overcome all that, although the bird should not be thin at this point in time.

i'd be concerned about the bird's thinness, although not so much about the bird's size.

Hey Grrl....

Is there a reason you don't feed a pelleted diet? When i have had large parrots (green winged macaws, most notably), they had a free choice, high fat pelleted mix available to them at all times, and then got fresh fruits/veggies, pasta, mashed potatoes (they LOVED mashed potatotes), etc. throughout the day.

My vet says that a seed based diet is asking for trouble, like fatty liver disease and other metabolic issues. =o)

I'm not criticizing your care -- I'm just curious! I don't know a lot about lories (except that they're nectar eaters mostly), and I know that Eclectus are often calcium deficient in captivity... The only experience i've had with hawk heads were the three i handfed when i worked in a petstore. :)

*hugs*
Jamie

Oops!

I must have been typing as you were commenting!

Nevermind!

*Hugs*
Jamie

Nelson is a Congo African Gray.

Thanks, Grrlscientist.

BTW, I only discovered your site today. So much to delve into here!

Deb

jamie; people can and do argue forever about the proper diet for a parrot -- any parrot species, in fact. but we all need to remember that NOTHING that we feed is "natural" for parrots since they all have been removed from their natural habitat and are simply making do with what is convenient for humans to feed them. and this diet-of-convenience often consists of a bowl of dried seeds, which almost no parrot species eats naturally (cockatiels and budgerigars eat dried grass seeds in the wild, but no other parrot species subsists mainly on dried seeds of any sort).

it is important to remember that most of the instances of fatty liver disease, etc., were caused by the seed-only diet that was so common among pet parrots even as little as ten years ago. in fact, there are some parrots out there who were (and still are, i suppose) fed only sunflower seeds, which is a terrible diet for them, resulting in poor plumage condition along with health and even some behavioral problems.

with the exception of my lories (nectar- and fruit-feeders who i feed exclusively on a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables along with mango and other fruit juices), my parrots' diet is mostly fresh fruits, vegetables and sprouted seeds (i'd guess something like 60% based on mass) while the rest of it is comprised of a seed mix. this diet -- while not "natural" in the strict sense of the word -- more closely resembles what they consume in the wild.

but, like everyone who lives with parrots, i am doing what i think is best, based on a lifetime of experience and research; reading about birds, watching and studying birds, and living with/breeding parrots. that's about all that any of us can do.

Deb, my Congo weighs ~450 g, so yours does seem a bit thin (it is a Congo, and not a timneh?).

My vet doesn't want me giving my birds any seeds at all! She made me radically change their diets in the last 10 months. This is what I feed them now:

Bird bread (a low-fat cornbread with lots of veggies) crumbled, mixed with chopped fruit, grated carrot, and Harrison's mash, all on top of a bed of Roudybush pellets.

This is the bird bread recipe (adapted from Charlene of Charlene's Avian Care near Seattle):
2 cups corn meal
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
mix these together in a large bowl.

In a microwave, defrost:
10-oz package chopped frozen spinach
10 or 16-oz bag frozen shelled edamame
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen bean mix (16-bean mix, soaked overnight and cooked until done, then divided up into baggies and frozen)

In another bowl, mix:
2 eggs, beaten
1 6-oz can low-sodium V8
1 serving cup natural apple sauce (1/2 cup)

Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and mix; add defrosted vegetables. Then add:

1 small, peeled yam chopped into small cubes
2 large chopped jalapenos (1/2 cup) seeds and all!

Mix these until blended, adding plain soy milk to moisten mixture. Bake at 375 degrees in a greased 8" x 13" pan for 50 minutes or until bread starts to pull away from sides of the pan.

I also sometimes add a handful of frozen blueberries. I cut the bread up into 10 pieces, which are stored in gallon baggies in the refrigerator. This lasts me 5 days (5 birds share 1 piece mornings and afternoons) - if you have fewer birds, cut it into smaller pieces and store baggies for 4 or so days at a time in the freezer until needed.

My birds really look forward to their mealtimes now, and yes, it is really a pleasure to watch them enjoy their food, and the happy beak-grinding that follows.

Using the frozen veggies available and doing the bean mix ahead of time saves time; you can also do a bunch of jalapenos all at once and freeze them. I know using the individual serving sizes of V8 and apple sauce is a little wasteful packaging-wise, but I got nervous about keeping opened jars of applesauce and V8 around in the refrigerator for long enough to use them up, so this approach seemed safer. I also found that Asian markets carry frozen shelled edamame in larger bags for much cheaper than your neighborhood grocery store ($1.29 for 16 oz vs $3.89 for 10 oz). Hope this helps. If you have the time an inclination to try it let me know if your birds like it. Mine dive for the edamame first!

I do give them Nutriberries from time to time as a treat, but my vet seems to think my parrots can do without them, and it appears that they can, as they are healthier now that they are eating this diet.

Tlazolteotl; it sounds like you are running a five-star restaurant for parrots!

I had a sick birdie earlier this year, and you know what they say...more often than not there's some dietary deficiency underlying when a domestic parrot gets sick. In this case, my dear Pionus got so hormonal she ended up with egg-binding AND aspergillosis :-(. I almost lost her twice. So I was sort of forced to get very serious about diets for my birds.

Long story short, after five months of terbenifine, she's clear of fungal infection, and we have her on HcG to keep her from getting eggy again. The vet advised that we really limit her fat intake so as not to encourage any more estrogen, meaning no more peanuts or seeds, which they used to get along with pellets and fruit and veggies. So, we switched them over to this bird bread and pellets. The original recipe I got did not have quite as much stuff in it, but I love to cook, so I never, ever leave a recipe alone :-). It is more work, but it has been worth it, as the birds love it, besides how grateful I feel at seeing the Pionus come back from being so ill. The first times she solicited head scratches again, or ground her beak again, and I knew she was feeling well enough to do that, were more gratifying than I can say.

Now, I just have to keep the Congo from laying eggs (something she did twice this year)...but that's another story!

my 2 cents on bird diets....
Last winter a good bird friend gave me the most fabulous present... a rice cooker.
Not only can you cook brown rice in it, but its great for cooking mixes of other grains,beans and peas.
On a regular basis I put a mix of all or some of the following: brown rice,lentils, green peas,black eyed peas,barley,cracked wheat, quinoa, red beans, black beans,
adzuki beans, buckwheat , you get the idea
anyway, in 20 minutes they all cook up nice and tender but not overcooked. I freeze what i don't use for quick microwave meals too.
I also use the rice cooker to steam vegetables for myself and the birds and often after I use the vegetable water to cook the grains.
I often eat the grain mixture too, addding a bit of hot sauce and maybe some cheese. yummy!!!
btw my birds get zupreem pellets daily but the bulk of their diet is mostly fresh food... cooked and raw vegetables,fruits,sometimes a small bit of cheese, or cooked poultry,I share with them when i make fritata/omelettes.
variety is the spice of life!!!
I loved the birdy bread recipe above too.
Katie

tlazolteotl, your parrot diet recipe makes me (hungry)ashamed, because it reads so nutritious for my bird, but too time consuming for my life. I've made a copy of it, however, just in case.

What your recipe(and Katchaya, your suggestions, too) has done, is make me aware that I've been overly cautious with the foods I offer to Nelson. I'm sure I'm the reason she's underweight -- perhaps even malnourished; there should be a law against good-intentioned, but ignorant parrot owners like me.

Now that I'm getting better information than I've been able to find on the web, I'm on a campaign to fatten my baby up.

If you're interested I can report her weight in a week or two. Maybe she'll have gained a bit.

Thanks so much.

Deb

An update on my CAG Nelson.

Within the last couple of weeks she has developed overly long, curly wing feathers. She also appears to be losing feathers in a spot on her crop.

Her activity/noise levels are as strong as ever, but in the last few days she's begun to eat very little -- snubbing even her favorite treats.

Yesterday I took her to the vet so that blood could be drawn then sent away for testing. That she has PBFD is my greatest fear (I, of course, read about it on the internet(s), which is why I called the vet).

Her vet said that her symptoms could be caused by many other things, but I can't locate information on what these other causes might be. He might have been trying to alleviate my anxiety.

I was told it would take 2-3 weeks for the results of her blood test to be available.

Deb

Gobies Starve Themselves to Avoid Conflict

zooillogix — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:38:00 +0000

Gobies Starve Themselves to Avoid Conflict

Mandarin Goby, Synchiropus splendidus

Researchers from James Cook University in North Queensland, Australia have made a startling discovery: gobies intentionally deprive themselves of food to avoid conflict with their rulers. Goby society is lorded over by the largest males and females and these are the only individuals allowed to breed. If a smaller goby tries to jump the queue and mate, it will be expelled from the group by the bigger fish. However, all is not peaches and cream at the top, as competition between the larger fish to establish dominance is fierce. Therefore, smaller gobies will often stop eating as they approach the size of the larger fish in order to stay out of trouble.

Dr. Marion Wong of James Cook University explained, "I've done experiments where I feed a subordinate fish and initially it will eat loads, but as it grows and as it gets to this five per cent difference in size it will just suddenly stop eating."

"Punishment and cooperation have been notoriously difficult to demonstrate in such high animals such as apes because their behaviour is a lot more complex," she continued."

"With these gobies it's a lot easier to visualise and measure and quantify cooperation."

Despite what the other gobies might say, this look is not sexy

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zooillogix Thu, 06/28/2007 - 08:38

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Japan Has a Bug Problem

zooillogix — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:28:00 +0000

Japan Has a Bug Problem

But I just want to cuddle! Bathynomus giganteus

In what might be described as the world's most destructive termite problem, Hotboro Island is actually being eaten away by isopods only about an inch long. Isopods are not in fact insects, but primitive crustaceans ranging in size from the size of a pin to the size of a bowling ball. Inhabitants of neighboring Higohihiroshima had been noting the steady erosion of the island for years. After each tsunami, parts of the island would break off and disappear. When scientists finally examined the remnants of the island last year, they found isopods had overrun the island, burrowing into the tuff, or porous rock created by volcanic ash. The crustaceans tunneling weakened the rock and greatly increased the rate of erosion, researchers determined. Over the last 50 years, the nanatsuba-kotsubumushi, as the Japanese call them, helped reduce the island from its original size of 120 meters long and 22 meters above sea level, to the current size of a single boulder protruding out only 6 meters high.

All you can eat Hotboro Island buffet (before)

All you can eat Hotboro Island buffet (after)

Japan has struggled with arthropod problems for years.

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zooillogix Tue, 06/26/2007 - 17:28

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I've seen several of these washed up on the sand in Newport at Nye Beach and Yaquina Bay; I've never seen these in the thirty years I've been living here. Is this a new event or just something I've never noticed?

I've seen several of these washed up on the sand in Newport at Nye Beach and Yaquina Bay; I've never seen these in the thirty years

Birds Rely on Army-Ants for Dinner

zooillogix — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:00:00 +0000

Birds Rely on Army-Ants for Dinner

Army-ants storm through the jungles of Panama a million strong devouring any and every living creature in their path. Some clever birds have found a way to capitalize on the mayhem: Stay close to the ants and eat the leaping, running, and scampering insects that attempt to escape.

Who would want to escape from this love fest?

Antbirds and ovenbirds, the main ant-following species, have different strategies for using the ants to their advantages. Some birds only follow the ants within their own territories, but stop when they reach the borders. Others dabble in ant following, hitting them up for an easy meal but supplementing this by foraging on their own. Finally, the true loyalists rely solely on the ants to scare up their prey.

One species of ant-following antbird in the Thamnophilidae genus

Rob Brumfield, an Assistant Curator of Genetic Resources at the Museum of Natural History at Louisiana State University has studied the ant-following birds' behavior.

He describes the process of locating army-ants in the dense jungle: "I can hear in the distance the snap, crackle and pop of a million marauding army-ants marching through the leaf litter. They are consuming every insect, spider and lizard in their path. And traveling with the army-ants is a boisterous flock of birds."

Army-ants are routinely found in the birds' stomach contents, but scientists are split on whether or not the birds intentionally eat the army-ants or if the ants just happen to be attached to the prey.

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zooillogix Wed, 06/06/2007 - 09:00

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