Ecology / Conservation posts
- May 25, 2012
- 11:02 AM
- 1 view
Octopuses Host a Masterclass on Hiding
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
When you're surrounded by an ocean full of potential predators, the best way to avoid seeing the inside of one's stomach is to make sure none of them see you in the first place. Octopuses and some other cephalopods are experts at camouflage, manipulating the colors and textures of their skin to hide in plain sight. But their strategy, it turns out, has nothing to do with disappearing into the background.
To learn the camouflaging secrets of the masters, researchers led by Noam Josef at Ben-........ Read more »
Josef, N., Amodio, P., Fiorito, G., & Shashar, N. (2012) Camouflaging in a Complex Environment—Octopuses Use Specific Features of Their Surroundings for Background Matching. PLoS ONE, 7(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037579
- May 25, 2012
- 09:09 AM
- 6 views
When introductions go bad
by Sarah Stephen in An ecological oratorio
My first sighting of the red squirrel was in Camperdown Park in Dundee in 2003. I remember that scene vividly. I had since tried desperately to see this elusive animal again but to no avail, save a brief sighting, again in Camperdown Park, in Autumn 2010. This is because although red squirrel, which is native to UK and is protected in Europe, is outnumbered by its foreign relative, the grey squirrel that was introduced to the UK from America. G........ Read more »
Vitule JR. (2012) Ecology: Preserve Brazil's aquatic biodiversity. Nature, 485(7398), 309. PMID: 22596145
Eisenhauer N, Scheu S, & Jousset A. (2012) Bacterial diversity stabilizes community productivity. PloS one, 7(3). PMID: 22470577
- May 23, 2012
- 02:09 PM
- 35 views
Snakes Deceive to Get a Little Snuggle
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
A lone red-sided garter snake. Photo by Tracy Langkilde.The red-sided garter snake is a small snake species with the largest and most northern distribution of all reptiles in North America. These northern ranges can get quite cold for any animal, let alone a reptile. Like most reptiles, they are ectotherms, meaning they regulate their body temperature largely by exchanging heat with their environment. If an animal gets almost all of its body heat from a cold environment, its body is also going t........ Read more »
Shine, R., Langkilde, T., & Mason, R. (2012) Facultative pheromonal mimicry in snakes: “she-males” attract courtship only when it is useful. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66(5), 691-695. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1317-4
Parker, M., & Mason, R. (2012) How to make a sexy snake: estrogen activation of female sex pheromone in male red-sided garter snakes. Journal of Experimental Biology, 215(5), 723-730. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.064923
Parker, M., & Mason, R. (2009) Low Temperature Dormancy Affects the Quantity and Quality of the Female Sexual Attractiveness Pheromone in Red-sided Garter Snakes. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 35(10), 1234-1241. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-009-9699-0
- May 22, 2012
- 07:32 AM
- 55 views
Rattling Nature’s Chains
by gunnardw in The Beast, the Bard and the Bot
To start with a cliché: in nature, everything is connected. Organisms are eaten by each other, waste material (including dead organisms) is used by others, and the impact of animals, plants and other life forms on the environment alters their … Continue reading →... Read more »
McCauley, D., DeSalles, P., Young, H., Dunbar, R., Dirzo, R., Mills, M., & Micheli, F. (2012) From wing to wing: the persistence of long ecological interaction chains in less-disturbed ecosystems. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep00409
- May 21, 2012
- 03:09 PM
- 64 views
Having a Water Bottle for a Mom Not Ideal
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
In the wild, young rhesus macaques can reasonably expect not to have their mothers replaced by kitchen props. The monkeys depend on their moms to nurse them and tote them through tree branches while they're small, just like other primates. But a laboratory experiment in Maryland took these babies from their mothers and had them raised alone or in groups of their peers. The monkeys' strange infancies had physical and mental effects that lasted into adulthood.
At the National Institute of Chil........ Read more »
Gabriella Conti, Christopher Hansman, James J. Heckman, Matthew F. X. Novak, Angela Ruggiero, & Stephen J. Suomi. (2012) Primate evidence on the late health effects of early-life adversity. PNAS. info:/10.1073/pnas.1205340109
- May 20, 2012
- 10:32 PM
- 63 views
Phosphorus, detergent, and Canada's Experimental Lakes
by Patrick in Evidence and Error
“I'm angry at the people who decided that phosphate was growing algae. I'm not sure that I believe that.” –Sue Wright, Texas
Sue Wright, quoted above, was upset because in 2010, sixteen American states banned the sale of dishwashing detergent containing high levels of phosphorous, an aquatic pollutant that sometimes causes eutrophication (algal blooms). Unfortunately, phosphorous is a rather effective component of detergent, so phosphorous-free dishwashing detergents did not immediate........ Read more »
Schindler, D. (1974) Eutrophication and Recovery in Experimental Lakes: Implications for Lake Management. Science, 184(4139), 897-899. DOI: 10.1126/science.184.4139.897
- May 18, 2012
- 10:55 AM
- 62 views
The Secret to Success Is Giant-Jawed Snake Babies
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
When coming face-to-face with a wriggling, freshly born pile of poisonous snakes, most of us wouldn't linger for a close look. But it was by looking into these living linguini platters that one biologist found a new answer to an old question: Why does island life make animals such freak shows?
Some big-bodied species shrink when they move from the mainland to an island habitat, a phenomenon that's created pygmy sloths, miniature mammoths, and possibly even a dwarf hominid that's now extinct......... Read more »
Fabien Aubret. (2012) Body-Size Evolution on Islands: Are Adult Size Variations in Tiger Snakes a Nonadaptive Consequence of Selection on Birth Size?. The American Naturalist, 169(6). info:/
- May 18, 2012
- 08:56 AM
- 45 views
Decay Fungi: Eaters of Forests, Painters of Wood
by Kimberly Gerson in Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Decay fungi are generally disdained, but wood is held in high regard. The meeting of both can create emotional conflict and challenges the viewer to reevaluate their position on functional wood and natural ornamentation processes. – Dr. Sara C. Robinson Gene handed me a small block of maple, maybe an inch across. “This is spalted [...]... Read more »
Rayner, A., & Todd, N. (1977) Intraspecific Antagonism in Natural Populations of Wood-decaying Basidiomycetes. Microbiology, 103(1), 85-90. DOI: 10.1099/00221287-103-1-85
Worrall, J. (2004) Armillaria root disease. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2004-0706-01
- May 18, 2012
- 07:56 AM
- 45 views
Decay Fungi: Eaters of Forests, Painters of Wood
by Kimberly Gerson in Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Decay Fungi: Eaters of Forests, Painters of Wood... Read more »
Rayner, A., & Todd, N. (1977) Intraspecific Antagonism in Natural Populations of Wood-decaying Basidiomycetes. Microbiology, 103(1), 85-90. DOI: 10.1099/00221287-103-1-85
Worrall, J. (2004) Armillaria root disease. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2004-0706-01
- May 17, 2012
- 05:46 PM
- 23 views
Bees and STDs
by bug_girl in Bug Girl's Blog
Solitary bees have parasites too.... Read more »
Miloje KRUNIĆ, Ljubiša STANISAVLJEVIĆ, Mauro PINZAUTI, & Antonio FELICIOLI. (2005) The accompanying fauna of Osmia cornuta and Osmia rufa and effective measures of protection. Bulletin of Insectology, 58(2), 141-152. info:/
- May 17, 2012
- 11:58 AM
- 59 views
■ Urban trees reveal income inequality
by Tim De Chant in Per Square Mile
Wealthy cities seem to have it all. Expansive, well-manicured parks. Fine dining. Renowned orchestras and theaters. More trees. Wait, trees? I’m afraid so. Research published a few years ago shows a tight relationship between per capita income and forest cover. The study’s authors tallied total forest cover for 210 cities over 100,000 people in the [...]... Read more »
Zhu, P., & Zhang, Y. (2008) Demand for urban forests in United States cities. Landscape and Urban Planning, 84(3-4), 293-300. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.09.005
- May 17, 2012
- 11:26 AM
- 54 views
Genomics, Open Access, and China
by Daniel Koboldt in Massgenomics
The associate editor of the journal Genomics has resigned, stating that he can no longer work for a system that puts profit over access to research. In an article in The Guardian, Winston Hide announced his resignation from “system that provides solid profits for the publisher while effectively denying colleagues in developing countries access to [...]... Read more »
Miller RD, Phillips MS, Jo I, Donaldson MA, Studebaker JF, Addleman N, Alfisi SV, Ankener WM, Bhatti HA, Callahan CE.... (2005) High-density single-nucleotide polymorphism maps of the human genome. Genomics, 86(2), 117-26. PMID: 15961272
- May 16, 2012
- 12:33 PM
- 91 views
Does Social Status Change Brains?
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Photo by The Grappling Source Inc. at Wikimedia CommonsBeing subordinated is stressful. The process of one individual lowering the social rank of another often involves physical aggression, aggressive displays, and exclusion. In addition to the obvious possible costs of being subordinated (like getting beat up), subordinated individuals often undergo physiological changes to their hormonal systems and brains. Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? But what if some of those changes are beneficial in ........ Read more »
Sørensen, C., Nilsson, G., Summers, C., & Øverli, �. (2012) Social stress reduces forebrain cell proliferation in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Behavioural Brain Research, 227(2), 311-318. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.01.041
Issa, F., Drummond, J., Cattaert, D., & Edwards, D. (2012) Neural Circuit Reconfiguration by Social Status. Journal of Neuroscience, 32(16), 5638-5645. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5668-11.2012
Yeh, S., Fricke, R., & Edwards, D. (1996) The Effect of Social Experience on Serotonergic Modulation of the Escape Circuit of Crayfish. Science, 271(5247), 366-369. DOI: 10.1126/science.271.5247.366
Issa, F., & Edwards, D. (2006) Ritualized Submission and the Reduction of Aggression in an Invertebrate. Current Biology, 16(22), 2217-2221. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2006.08.065
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- Affective Neuroscience
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- Affective Psychology
- May 15, 2012
- 09:44 PM
- 37 views
Spring Bioblitz 2012: The Hunt for Plethodon ainsworthi
by David Steen in Living Alongside Wildlife
The following
article is a guest post by Brian Folt. Brian is a Ph.D. student at Auburn University, where he studies the community
ecology of amphibians and reptiles. He grew up in the Midwest and received a B.S. from Ohio University in 2011. Brian conducted field work in Costa Rica
for his undergraduate thesis and is interested in future tropical ecology work.
Brian is an avid hiker and a... Read more »
Lazell, J. (1998) New Salamander of the Genus Plethodon from Mississippi. Copeia, 1998(4), 967. DOI: 10.2307/1447343
Graham, S., Steen, D., Nelson, K., Durso, A., & Maerz, J. (2010) An Overlooked Hotspot? Rapid Biodiversity Assessment Reveals a Region of Exceptional Herpetofaunal Richness in the Southeastern United States. Southeastern Naturalist, 9(1), 19-34. DOI: 10.1656/058.009.0102
- May 14, 2012
- 08:09 AM
- 96 views
Map of Life
by gunnardw in The Beast, the Bard and the Bot
A few days ago, the Map of Life went… well… live. It’s an interactive map that aims to… well… map global biodiversity. At present, it’s a beta version, so there are probably some bugs that need fixing. For now, the … Continue reading →... Read more »
Jetz Walter, McPherson Jana M., & Guralnick Robert P. (2012) Integrating biodiversity distribution knowledge: toward a global map of life. Trends in Ecology , 27(3), 159. DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.09.007
- May 12, 2012
- 09:35 AM
- 98 views
Plastic Seas
by GunnarDW in The Beast, the Bard and the Bot
There is a lot of plastic in the world’s oceans. This is widely known, even though it’s a fairly recent development, tracing back a few decades. Most of this plastic, however, is quite small and, as such, is known by the name microplastic (diameter below 5 mm).
For a while now, it has been known that this is not a good thing (mild understatement). ... Read more »
Goldstein M. C., Rosenberg M., & Cheng L. (2012) Increased oceanic microplastic debris enhances oviposition in an endemic pelagic insect. Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.0298
- May 11, 2012
- 10:42 AM
- 112 views
In the Spring, Bat Moms Choose Girls
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
Naturally a mother bat is happy to welcome into the world a bouncing baby whatever, as long as it has all its fingers and toe-claws. But she also wants her little one to have every advantage she can give it. So when spring comes early, big brown bats prefer to keep their female embryos. Unwanted males are reabsorbed into their mothers' bodies as if they never existed.
University of Calgary biologist Robert Barclay learned the bats' secret by spying on three colonies living in the charmingly ........ Read more »
Barclay, R. (2012) Variable Variation: Annual and Seasonal Changes in Offspring Sex Ratio in a Bat. PLoS ONE, 7(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036344
- May 11, 2012
- 09:58 AM
- 121 views
Journal Fire: Bonfire of the Vanity Journals?
by Duncan Hull in O'Really?
When I first heard about Journal Fire, I thought, Great! someone is going to take all the closed-access scientific journals and make a big bonfire of them! At the top of this bonfire is the burning effigy of a wicker man, representing the very worst of the vanity journals.... Read more »
Deans Andrew R., Yoder Matthew J., & Balhoff James P. (2012) Time to change how we describe biodiversity. Trends in Ecology , 27(2), 84. DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.11.007
- May 10, 2012
- 01:46 PM
- 85 views
■ Farming, circa 2050
by Tim De Chant in Per Square Mile
Farms today look nothing like the farms of 40 years ago. Thanks to market and policy changes along with advances in technology, they’re larger, more mechanized, and more intensive. And while those factors will likely continue to affect farmers, there’s another looming on the horizon—climate change. Agriculture has already seen the effects of a warming [...]... Read more »
Mandryk, M., Reidsma, P., & Ittersum, M. (2012) Scenarios of long-term farm structural change for application in climate change impact assessment. Landscape Ecology, 27(4), 509-527. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-012-9714-7
- May 8, 2012
- 11:44 AM
- 86 views
Buzz Kill? Bee Populations and Pesticides
by Whitney Campbell in Green Screen
A swarm of studies have recently been released concerning Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), and considering the serious implications of their findings, it's all of our beeswax. These experiments, including two published in Science1,2 and one forthcoming from the Bulletin of Insectology,3 demonstrate the threat to hive survival stemming from a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids. Individually, I think each study is convincing, but when taken together, the consensus provides overwhelmin........ Read more »
Henry, M., Béguin, M., Requier, F., Rollin, O., Odoux, J.F., Aupinel, P., Aptel, J., Tchamitchian, S., . (2012) A common pesticide decreases foraging success and survival in honey bees. Science, 348-350. PMID: 22461498
Whitehorn, P.R., O'Connor, S., Wackers F.L., . (2012) Neonicotinoid pesticide reduces bumble bee colony growth and queen production. Science, 351-2. PMID: 22461500
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