28 posts · 10,685 views
A Nature Network blog that makes newly published research about evolution, ecology, ethology and birds accessible to the public. By GrrlScientist.
GrrlScientist
28 posts
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- December 23, 2011
- 05:24 AM
- 182 views
Hot? Or not? The economics of red-hot chili peppers
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Chilis that produce the hottest fruits grow best when they are given lots of water... Read more »
Haak, D., McGinnis, L., Levey, D., & Tewksbury, J. (2011) Why are not all chilies hot? A trade-off limits pungency. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2091
Tewksbury, J., Reagan, K., Machnicki, N., Carlo, T., Haak, D., Penaloza, A., & Levey, D. (2008) Evolutionary ecology of pungency in wild chilies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(33), 11808-11811. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0802691105
- Biology
- Ecology / Conservation
- Botany
- Environment
- Agriculture
- Ecology
- Chemical Biology
- directed deterrence
- genetic correlation
- frugivory
- secondary compounds
- fruit chemistry
- chemical defence
- secondary metabolite
- capsaicinoids
- capsaicin
- natural selection
- chili peppers
- Evolutionary Biology
- Capsicum chacoense
- December 22, 2011
- 03:46 AM
- 176 views
The science behind Santa [video]
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
How does Santa visit billions of homes all around the globe in just one night? The last important scientific question in the world has been solved! ... Read more »
Billing, R. (2008) Harnessing the brane-deer. Nature, 456(7224), 1007-1008. DOI: 10.1038/4561007a
- December 1, 2011
- 01:52 PM
- 83 views
The economics of tree swallow brood sex ratios
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Tree swallows reveal that brood sex ratios are an economic balancing act with far-reaching evolutionary consequences... Read more »
Renaud Baeta, Marc Bélisle, & Dany Garant. (2011) Importance of breeding season and maternal investment in studies of sex-ratio adjustment: a case study using tree swallows. Biology Letters. info:/10.1098/rsbl.2011.1009
Griffith, S., Owens, I., & Thuman, K. (2008) Extra pair paternity in birds: a review of interspecific variation and adaptive function. Molecular Ecology, 11(11), 2195-2212. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01613.x
Peter O. Dunn, Linda A. Whittingham, Jan T. Lifjeld, Raleigh J. Robertson, & Peter T. Boag. (1994) Effects of breeding density, synchrony, and experience on extrapair paternity in tree swallows. Behavioral Ecology, 5(2), 123-129. info:/10.1093/beheco/5.2.123
John P. McCarty. (2001) Variation in growth of nestling tree swallows across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Auk, 176-190. info:/10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118 [0176:VIGONT]2.0.CO;2)
Whittingham, L., & Dunn, P. (2000) Offspring sex ratios in tree swallows: females in better condition produce more sons. Molecular Ecology, 9(8), 1123-1129. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2000.00980.x
- Biology
- Ecology / Conservation
- tree swallows
- Behavioral Biology
- tree swallow
- Environmental Health
- Molecular Biology
- Tachycineta bicolor
- CHD gene
- Reproduction
- Avian Breeding Systems
- body condition
- Zoology
- Extra-pair Paternity
- nestling mortality
- Ornithology
- Monogamy
- sex ratio
- Conservation
- Polygyny
- survival
- Ecology
- Breeding density
- birds
- DNA fingerprinting
- breeding season heterogeneity
- Extrapair paternity
- sex allocation
- breeding synchrony
- Evolutionary Biology
- sex-ratio
- December 1, 2011
- 03:59 AM
- 111 views
Let's talk about evolution
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Prominent female role models in science and science communication talk about evolution and its importance to science, medicine and society... Read more »
Jon D. Miller, Eugenie C. Scott, & Shinji Okamoto. (2006) Public Acceptance of Evolution. Science, 313(5788), 765-766. DOI: 10.1126/science.1126746
- November 11, 2011
- 06:30 PM
- 90 views
Bird-friendly California vineyards may have fewer pests
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Insectivorous cavity-nesting birds can be encouraged to occupy vineyards by giving them nest boxes. New research documents that these birds reciprocate by providing significant eco-friendly pest control services to winegrape growers... Read more »
Julie A. Jedlicka, Russell Greenberg, & Deborah K. Letourneau. (2011) Avian Conservation Practices Strengthen Ecosystem Services in California Vineyards. PLoS ONE, 6(11). info:/
Mols, C., & Visser, M. (2002) Great tits can reduce caterpillar damage in apple orchards. Journal of Applied Ecology, 39(6), 888-899. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2664.2002.00761.x
Mols, C., & Visser, M. (2007) Great Tits (Parus major) Reduce Caterpillar Damage in Commercial Apple Orchards. PLoS ONE, 2(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000202
Germaine, H., & Germaine, S. (2002) Forest Restoration Treatment Effects on the Nesting Success of Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana). Restoration Ecology, 10(2), 362-367. DOI: 10.1046/j.1526-100X.2002.00129.x
- November 8, 2011
- 05:10 AM
- 122 views
The seventh starling (Murmuration)
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: What do particle physics, statistics and poetry have in common? (includes videos)... Read more »
Cavagna, A., & Giardina, I. (2008) The seventh starling. Significance, 5(2), 62-66. DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-9713.2008.00288.x
Cavagna, A., Cimarelli, A., Giardina, I., Parisi, G., Santagati, R., Stefanini, F., & Viale, M. (2010) Scale-free correlations in starling flocks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(26), 11865-11870. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1005766107
Hemelrijk, C., & Hildenbrandt, H. (2011) Some Causes of the Variable Shape of Flocks of Birds. PLoS ONE, 6(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022479
- November 2, 2011
- 03:58 AM
- 241 views
Scientists reach new heights with gecko-inspired robot
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Engineers finally succeed at building a robot that climbs smooth walls with ease and shuffles across ceilings without crashing to earth -- just like a gecko! ... Read more »
J Krahn, Y Liu, A Sadeghi, & C Menon. (2011) A tailless timing belt climbing platform utilizing dry adhesives with mushroom caps. . Smart Materials and Structures, 20(11), 115021. info:/10.1088/0964-1726/20/11/115021
- October 25, 2011
- 04:45 AM
- 157 views
Jumping genes reveal birds and their sex chromosomes evolved together
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Avian retroposons -- "jumping genes" -- reveal that birds and their sex chromosomes evolved together, and provide us with important clues into the evolution of sex chromosomes and sex in general... Read more »
Suh, A., Kriegs, J., Brosius, J., & Schmitz, J. (2011) Retroposon Insertions and the Chronology of Avian Sex Chromosome Evolution. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 28(11), 2993-2997. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msr147
Nam, K., & Ellegren, H. (2008) The Chicken (Gallus gallus) Z Chromosome Contains at Least Three Nonlinear Evolutionary Strata. Genetics, 180(2), 1131-1136. DOI: 10.1534/genetics.108.090324
Shetty, S., Griffin, D., & Graves, J. (1999) Comparative Painting Reveals Strong Chromosome Homology Over 80 Million Years of Bird Evolution. Chromosome Research, 7(4), 289-295. DOI: 10.1023/A:1009278914829
- October 24, 2011
- 06:39 PM
- 203 views
Siphons really do suck
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Video proof that siphons do not require atmospheric pressure to suck ... Read more »
Boatwright, A., Puttick, S., & Licence, P. (2011) Can a Siphon Work In Vacuo?. Journal of Chemical Education, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1021/ed2001818
- October 14, 2011
- 01:50 PM
- 225 views
The birds and the trees
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Gray jays hoping to survive and reproduce during Canada's harsh winters must store food in the right kinds of trees ... Read more »
Strickland, D., Kielstra, B., & Ryan Norris, D. (2011) Experimental evidence for a novel mechanism driving variation in habitat quality in a food-caching bird. Oecologia. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-011-2040-y
- August 17, 2011
- 05:58 PM
- 254 views
Why are there so many bird species in the tropics?
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: What can we learn about evolution, geography and biodiversity by studying continental patterns of speciation? ... Read more »
Lijtmaer, D., Kerr, K., Barreira, A., Hebert, P., & Tubaro, P. (2011) DNA Barcode Libraries Provide Insight into Continental Patterns of Avian Diversification. PLoS ONE, 6(7). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020744
Mittelbach, G., Schemske, D., Cornell, H., Allen, A., Brown, J., Bush, M., Harrison, S., Hurlbert, A., Knowlton, N., Lessios, H.... (2007) Evolution and the latitudinal diversity gradient: speciation, extinction and biogeography. Ecology Letters, 10(4), 315-331. DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01020.x
Jun Chen, Qi Li, Lingfeng Kong, & Hong Yu. (2011) How DNA Barcodes Complement Taxonomy and Explore Species Diversity: The Case Study of a Poorly Understood Marine Fauna. . PLoS ONE. info:/10.1371/journal.pone.0021326
Moritz, C., & Cicero, C. (2004) DNA Barcoding: Promise and Pitfalls. PLoS Biology, 2(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020354
Hebert, P., Stoeckle, M., Zemlak, T., & Francis, C. (2004) Identification of Birds through DNA Barcodes. PLoS Biology, 2(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020312
- Biology
- Ecology / Conservation
- palaeoecology
- latitudinal diversity gradient
- mtDNA
- speciation
- tropics
- mitochondrial DNA
- DNA barcodes
- Marine Biology
- NJ
- Evolutionary Biology
- COI sequences
- Bioinformatics
- neighbor joining
- Genetics
- Ecology
- Zoology
- Molecular Biology
- Biodiversity
- Veneridae
- Taxonomy
- biotic interactions
- DNA Barcoding
- biogeography
- diversification
- cytochrome c oxidase I
- glacial cycles
- evolutionary speed
- COI
- birds
- extinction
- K2P
- ornithology
- geographical isolation
- Kimura-2 parameter
- August 5, 2011
- 10:39 AM
- 429 views
The decline and fall of showy bustards
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: The showiest bustards live fast and die young ... Read more »
Preston, B., Jalme, M., Hingrat, Y., Lacroix, F., & Sorci, G. (2011) Sexually extravagant males age more rapidly. Ecology Letters. DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01668.x
- August 3, 2011
- 04:36 AM
- 406 views
Miniature lab can diagnose disease in the field
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: In a brilliant cross-pollination of engineering, physics and biology, scientists have developed a credit-card sized device that can diagnose HIV and syphilis in the remotest parts of the world in just minutes... Read more »
Chin, C., Laksanasopin, T., Cheung, Y., Steinmiller, D., Linder, V., Parsa, H., Wang, J., Moore, H., Rouse, R., Umviligihozo, G.... (2011) Microfluidics-based diagnostics of infectious diseases in the developing world. Nature Medicine. DOI: 10.1038/nm.2408
- July 6, 2011
- 01:33 PM
- 438 views
American crows: the ultimate angry birds?
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
ABSTRACT: Crows remember the faces of humans who have threatened or harmed them, and these memories last for the bird's lifetime (probably)... Read more »
Heather N. Cornell, John M. Marzluff, & Shannon Pecoraro. (2011) Social learning spreads knowledge about dangerous humans among American crows. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. info:/10.1098/rspb.2011.0957
- July 1, 2011
- 05:03 PM
- 441 views
How safe is mist netting for birds?
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
ABSTRACT: A newly-published study analyses the risks to wild birds of using mist nets to capture them for research ... Read more »
Erica N. Spotswood, Kari Roesch Goodman, Jay Carlisle, Renee L. Cormier, Diana L. Humple, Josee Rousseau, Susan L. Guers, & Gina G. Barton. (2011) How safe is mist netting? Evaluating the risk of injury and mortality to birds. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. info:/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2011.00123.x
- June 27, 2011
- 04:47 PM
- 394 views
The stresses of Mr Wrong
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
ABSTRACT: Having a genetically incompatible mate can increase a female bird's stress hormone levels which then can affect the sex ratio of her offspring ... Read more »
Pryke, S., Rollins, L., Buttemer, W., & Griffith, S. (2011) Maternal stress to partner quality is linked to adaptive offspring sex ratio adjustment. Behavioral Ecology, 22(4), 717-722. DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr040
Pryke, S., & Griffith, S. (2009) Postzygotic genetic incompatibility between sympatric color morphs. Evolution, 63(3), 793-798. DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00584.x
- June 21, 2011
- 08:28 PM
- 404 views
The new fungus from Bikini Bottom
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
ABSTRACT: There's a newly discovered fungus amongus and its name is SpongeBob SquarePants ... Read more »
Dennis E. Desjardin, Kabir G. Peay, & Thomas D. Bruns. (2011) Spongiforma squarepantsii, a new species of gasteroid bolete from Borneo. Mycologia. info:/10.3852/10-433
- May 26, 2011
- 12:27 AM
- 325 views
Sparrows show us a new way to have sexes
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Hypothesis: A close look at a common North American songbird, the white-throated sparrow, reveals that it may be evolving a second pair of sex chromosomes! ... Read more »
Huynh, L., Maney, D., & Thomas, J. (2010) Chromosome-wide linkage disequilibrium caused by an inversion polymorphism in the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). Heredity, 106(4), 537-546. DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2010.85
Joron, M., & Whibley, A. (2010) Stripes, sex and sparrows: what processes underlie heteromorphic chromosome evolution?. Heredity, 106(4), 531-532. DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2010.106
Matsunaga, S. (2009) Junk DNA promotes sex chromosome evolution. Heredity, 102(6), 525-526. DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2009.36
Moore, R. (2008) Sex chromosome evolution: A ‘missing link’ in the evolution of sex chromosomes. Heredity, 102(3), 211-212. DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2008.115
Tuttle, E. (2003) Alternative reproductive strategies in the white-throated sparrow: behavioral and genetic evidence. Behavioral Ecology, 14(3), 425-432. DOI: 10.1093/beheco/14.3.425
Thorneycroft, H. (1966) Chromosomal Polymorphism in the White-Throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmelin). Science, 154(3756), 1571-1572. DOI: 10.1126/science.154.3756.1571
- Biology
- Zonotrichia albicollis
- Taxonomy
- Evolutionary Biology
- Zoology
- Behavioral Biology
- Endocrinology
- Genetics
- Botany
- Molecular Biology
- Sex Chromosomes
- Reproduction
- y Chromosome
- Population Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Ornithology
- Life History
- birds
- white-throated sparrow
- White-throated sparrow
- white-throated sparrows
- February 21, 2011
- 11:09 AM
- 589 views
Century-old museum specimens reveal when deadly bird disease came to Galápagos Islands
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Hypothesis: old specimens in museum collections are invaluable sources of material for molecular forensics research, providing glimpses into the history and ecology of diseases in wildlife ... Read more »
Parker, P., Buckles, E., Farrington, H., Petren, K., Whiteman, N., Ricklefs, R., Bollmer, J., & Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G. (2011) 110 Years of Avipoxvirus in the Gal. PLoS ONE, 6(1). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015989
- February 14, 2011
- 04:30 PM
- 707 views
Whipping up a storm
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Hypothesis: beating tired racehorses with a whip stimulates them to run faster ... Read more »
Evans, D., & McGreevy, P. (2011) An Investigation of Racing Performance and Whip Use by Jockeys in Thoroughbred Races. PLoS ONE, 6(1). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015622
DEUEL, N., & LAWRENCE, L. (1988) Effects of urging by the rider on gallop stride characteristics of quarter horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 8(3), 240-243. DOI: 10.1016/S0737-0806(88)80016-9
- Biology
- Medicine
- Mathematics
- Psychology
- Research / Scholarship
- thoroughbreds
- stride length
- race performance
- quarter horses
- whipping
- whip rules
- punishment
- Probability and Statistics
- Veterinary Medicine
- Behavioral Biology
- Ethics
- Animal Behaviour
- sports
- horse racing
- horseracing
- race horses
- horses
- whip use
topics
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