Grad students everywhere have had their best laid research plans stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has been particularly challenging for animal biologists whose research requires them to travel to other countries to conduct fieldwork. I’ve had many anxiety-ridden virtual conversations with colleagues whose study animals can only be observed once in a blue…
Author: Neetha Iyer
I am a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at UC Davis. My research interests include the evolution of sociality and disease in animals. I currently study the effects of ranging patterns and social behavior on parasite transmission in gorillas. I am passionate about promoting diversity in STEM fields by increasing public access to basic science research.
Creature Feature: Manatees
Many of us have slowed down our fast-paced lives during the pandemic, so it’s hard to recall how differently we lived last year. The morning grind to beat rush hour traffic, the hurried meal we scarfed down during our brief lunch break, the rushed exercise routine we somehow managed to squeeze in on our way…
Creature Feature: California ground squirrel
California ground squirrels choose bravado and spunk to protect themselves from rattlesnakes.
Creature Feature: Mexican Free-tailed Bat
Batshit crazy. Batty. Bats in the belfry. Blind as a bat. A cursory examination of these idioms does not exactly paint a pretty picture of the collective opinion of our winged mammalian relatives. Bats, however, have a slew of fascinating behavioral and morphological traits that should elicit awe and recognition. The Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida…
Creature Feature: Horned lizard
Horned lizards can shoot out a high propulsion stream of blood through their eyes!
Going Apes***: The Joys of Studying Gorillas in D.R. Congo
Neetha Iyer shares the nuances and adventures of trekking through the eastern region of the DRC in search of gorilla poop.
Creature Feature: Cooperative Trematode Parasites
…these parasitic flatworms exhibit an extreme form of cooperative division of labor via non-reproductive warriors and the reproductive baby-makers…
Field Frame Friday: Parasitism in the rainforest
While we often don’t consider them, parasites are a common occurrence in the natural world. Here, it might just look like an unidentified snail from Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, D.R. Congo, but if you look closely, you’ll see a minuscule wasp on the snail (circled in frame). It is unclear if this is a parasitoid wasp…
Creature Feature: Euhaplorchis californiensis
Euhaplorchis californiensis are trematodes that can modify the behavior of their host!
Sunday Sketch: Ape Tails
Did you know that an infant #chimpanzee has a white tail tuft until it is about 3 years old? Gorilla infants have this white patch on their rumps too! It is still unclear exactly why these great apes would need this derrière protective peace flag as infants, although evolutionary theory has suggested that it might…
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