Ever wanted to know what equipment is a must have for field researchers? Ryane Logsdon gives us insight into the highs and lows of technology.
Author: Ryane
Animal Myths: WATER
In this last installment of our Animal Myths series, we’ll be diving in to tackle misconceptions about the wet and wild critters that live underwater! If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the first two parts of this series which examine myths pertaining to creatures of the Air and Land. 1. Sharks are man-eaters This first,…
Animal Myths: LAND
Welcome back to our Animal Myth series, where we strive to debunk common animal misconceptions. In this post, we focus on animals that share our most familiar habitat: land. Note: If you haven’t already, check out the other Animal Myths posts on creatures of the sky and sea! 1. Camels use their humps to store water While this “fact” isn’t entirely true,…
Animal Myths: AIR
Everyone loves a fun animal fact (check out our Fun Facts here for some examples), but sometimes these “facts” contain more fiction than truth. As scientists, part of our objective is to bring truth to the forefront, so we are tackling some of the most common animal myths and misconceptions. We solicited some help from…
Creature Feature: Naked mole-rat
As humans looking around the animal kingdom, we find that some animal “superpowers” are obvious: Birds can fly! Fish can breathe underwater! Lizards can change colors! But often, an animal’s most incredible feats are those that aren’t visible. Cue the naked mole-rat. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), native to Eastern Africa, is a very atypical…
Mental Health and Graduate School
A note about the author: Ryane Logsdon is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Animal Behavior Graduate Group at UC Davis. She has dealt with generalized anxiety for most of her life, with bouts of depression throughout her undergraduate and graduate career. May is Mental Health Awareness month and while May has passed, the conversation about mental…
Let’s talk about leks, baby
Imagine a young woman walking into a bar looking for a date. Now imagine the men in the bar attempting to impress her, either by buying her drinks, dancing, or otherwise showing off. At the end of the night, one of these lucky men will be successful and leave with our imaginary woman. This…
Creature Feature: Peacock Mantis Shrimp
The peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus), sometimes known as the harlequin or painted mantis shrimp, are found in the warmer waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. While commonly known for their bright coloration, the peacock mantis shrimp has one of the most advanced eyes and vision systems in the animal kingdom, far beyond those…
Field Notes: Ryane’s first field season at Chicken Camp!
I’ve recently returned from my first field season and as I’m settling back into Davis, I wanted to take a moment to talk about my research in Wyoming studying the mating behavior of Greater sage-grouse! Sage-grouse are basically weirdly-awesome, tricked-out prairie chickens (thus, Chicken Camp). Greater sage-grouse are currently being considered for listing under the Endangered…
Crows and Aesop’s Fable: More fact than fiction?
Dr. John Marzluff caught and harassed some local American crows while wearing a caveman mask. He found that…
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