31 posts · 14,237 views
A Nature Network blog that makes newly published research about evolution, ecology, ethology and birds accessible to the public. By GrrlScientist.
GrrlScientist
31 posts
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- March 19, 2010
- 11:00 AM
- 1,170 views
Size Matters -- Bigger is Better, Even for Male Pipefish
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: New research shows evidence for cryptic mate choice in Gulf pipefish. ... Read more »
Paczolt, K., & Jones, A. (2010) Post-copulatory sexual selection and sexual conflict in the evolution of male pregnancy. Nature, 464(7287), 401-404. DOI: 10.1038/nature08861
- February 14, 2011
- 04:30 PM
- 858 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
- Research / Scholarship
- Biology
- Medicine
- Mathematics
- Psychology
- Probability and Statistics
- Veterinary Medicine
- Behavioral Biology
- Ethics
- Animal Behaviour
- sports
- horse racing
- horseracing
- race horses
- horses
- whip use
- thoroughbreds
- stride length
- race performance
- quarter horses
- whipping
- whip rules
- punishment
- February 21, 2011
- 11:09 AM
- 732 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
- March 17, 2010
- 08:21 AM
- 723 views
Gender-Bending Chickens: Mixed, Not Scrambled
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: Sexual identity is genetically imposed on male and female chicken cells at fertilization and is the major factor in determining the adult sexual phenotype -- gonads have limited effects on the avian sexual phenotype... Read more »
Zhao, D., McBride, D., Nandi, S., McQueen, H., McGrew, M., Hocking, P., Lewis, P., Sang, H., & Clinton, M. (2010) Somatic sex identity is cell autonomous in the chicken. Nature, 464(7286), 237-242. DOI: 10.1038/nature08852
- August 5, 2011
- 10:39 AM
- 623 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
- December 13, 2010
- 12:36 PM
- 612 views
Redefining Great Britain
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
SUMMARY: This new research describes a clever way to redefine and redraw geographical areas using telephone communication networks... Read more »
Carlo Ratti, Stanislav Sobolevsky, Francesco Calabrese, Clio Andris, Jonathan Reades, Mauro Martino, Rob Claxton, & Steven H. Strogatz. (2010) Redrawing the Map of Great Britain from a Network of Human Interactions. . PLoS ONE, 5(12). info:/10.1371/journal.pone.0014248
- July 6, 2011
- 01:33 PM
- 603 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
- February 11, 2011
- 01:11 PM
- 582 views
How the seahorse got its shape
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Hypothesis: form and function evolve hand-in-hand: compared to their close relatives, the straight-bodied pipefishes, seahorses' unique curved shape provides them with increased feeding efficiency... Read more »
Van Wassenbergh, S., Roos, G., & Ferry, L. (2011) An adaptive explanation for the horse-like shape of seahorses. Nature Communications, 164. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1168
Teske, P., & Beheregaray, L. (2009) Evolution of seahorses' upright posture was linked to Oligocene expansion of seagrass habitats. Biology Letters, 5(4), 521-523. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0152
- August 3, 2011
- 04:36 AM
- 581 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
- December 20, 2010
- 05:42 AM
- 576 views
The Psychology Behind Wrapping Paper
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Hypothesis: gift-wrapping influences the recipient to have a more favorable attitude towards owning the gift item... Read more »
Howard, D. (1992) Gift-Wrapping Effects on Product Attitudes: A Mood-Biasing Explanation. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1(3), 197-223. DOI: 10.1207/s15327663jcp0103_01
- July 1, 2011
- 05:03 PM
- 574 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
- February 9, 2011
- 11:29 AM
- 571 views
Mate Choice: when Mr Right isn't good enough
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Hypothesis: female birds in monogamous mating systems with incompatible partners have higher stress hormone levels and are slower to reproduce than those with compatible partners... Read more »
Griffith, S., Pryke, S., & Buttemer, W. (2011) Constrained mate choice in social monogamy and the stress of having an unattractive partner. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.2672
- June 21, 2011
- 08:28 PM
- 559 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
- February 1, 2011
- 06:19 AM
- 549 views
The hot and cold of butterfly dancing
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Hypothesis: environmental temperatures experienced by developing larvae and/or pupae of the butterfly, Bicyclus anynana, controls expression of behaviour and morphology... Read more »
Prudic, K., Jeon, C., Cao, H., & Monteiro, A. (2011) Developmental Plasticity in Sexual Roles of Butterfly Species Drives Mutual Sexual Ornamentation. Science, 331(6013), 73-75. DOI: 10.1126/science.1197114
Robertson, K., & Monteiro, A. (2005) Female Bicyclus anynana butterflies choose males on the basis of their dorsal UV-reflective eyespot pupils. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 272(1572), 1541-1546. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3142
Brakefield, P., Beldade, P., & Zwaan, B. (2009) The African Butterfly Bicyclus anynana: A Model for Evolutionary Genetics and Evolutionary Developmental Biology. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, 2009(5). DOI: 10.1101/pdb.emo122
- Biology
- Ecology / Conservation
- Developmental Biology
- butterfly
- Reproduction
- wing patterns
- sexual ornamentation
- ultraviolet light
- Zoology
- eyespots
- Lepidoptera
- Ecology
- Bicyclus anynana
- Climate Change
- squinting bush brown butterfly
- climate
- environmental cues
- Evolutionary Biology
- Environment
- Behavioral Biology
- seasons
- June 27, 2011
- 04:47 PM
- 540 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
- January 17, 2011
- 11:35 AM
- 531 views
Salmon, scent and going home again
by GrrlScientist in Maniraptora
Did you know that salmon rely on their sense of smell (olfaction) for nearly every aspect of their lives, from locating food to avoiding predators? ... Read more »
Arthur Hasler, & Warren Wisby. (1951) Discrimination of Stream Odors by Fishes and Its Relation to Parent Stream Behavior. The American Naturalist, 85(823), 223. DOI: 10.1086/281672
W.J. Wisby, & A.D. Hasler. (1954) Effect of olfactory occlusion on migrating silver salmon (O. kisutch). Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 472-478. info:/
Yamamoto, Y., Hino, H., & Ueda, H. (2010) Olfactory Imprinting of Amino Acids in Lacustrine Sockeye Salmon. PLoS ONE, 5(1). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008633
Tierney, K., Sampson, J., Ross, P., Sekela, M., & Kennedy, C. (2008) Salmon Olfaction is Impaired by an Environmentally Realistic Pesticide Mixture. Environmental Science , 42(13), 4996-5001. DOI: 10.1021/es800240u
Sandahl, J., Baldwin, D., Jenkins, J., & Scholz, N. (2004) Odor-evoked field potentials as indicators of sublethal neurotoxicity in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) exposed to copper, chlorpyrifos, or esfenvalerate. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 61(3), 404-413. DOI: 10.1139/f04-011
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Ecology / Conservation
- Anatomy
- pheromone hypothesis
- Behavioral Biology
- olfaction
- Biochemistry
- Ecology
- Zoology
- Chemical Biology
- Ichthyology
- salmonidae
- fish
- pesticides
- salmon
- Environmental Chemistry
- Salmonidae
- Environmental Health
- migration
- Conservation
- homing
- Cell Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- olfactory pits
- May 26, 2011
- 12:27 AM
- 418 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
- Molecular Biology
- Sex Chromosomes
- Reproduction
- y Chromosome
- Population Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Ornithology
- Life History
- birds
- white-throated sparrow
- White-throated sparrow
- white-throated sparrows
- Zonotrichia albicollis
- Taxonomy
- Evolutionary Biology
- Zoology
- Behavioral Biology
- Endocrinology
- Genetics
- Botany
- August 17, 2011
- 05:58 PM
- 361 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
- 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
- palaeoecology
- latitudinal diversity gradient
- mtDNA
- speciation
- tropics
- mitochondrial DNA
- DNA barcodes
- Marine Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- NJ
- COI sequences
- Bioinformatics
- Genetics
- neighbor joining
- Ecology
- Zoology
- November 2, 2011
- 03:58 AM
- 337 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
- December 23, 2011
- 05:24 AM
- 336 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
- 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
- Botany
- Environment
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