It would not be a very bold statement for me to say that “networking is important.” This is something most graduate students have likely heard from lots of different sources like their parents, their supervisors, or any formal professional development course they’ve taken. The reason this advice is so common is because it’s true. However, it can…
Author: The Ethogram
The official blog of the UC Davis Animal Behavior Graduate Group.
Field Notes: Breaking up (with your study species) is hard to do!
They say you never forget your first love, and I know that to be true…for birds. If you’re a regular reader of the Ethogram, you know that we put our hearts and souls into our study species. I’m often asked “Why that bird?” and while it’s easy to respond “Because they’re awesome!” there are actually…
Sunday Sketch: Spider Emojis
The Hawaiian happy face spider (Theridion grallator) is endemic to the Hawaiian archipelago. Small (< 5 mm) and fairly inconspicuous despite their unique coloration, happy face spiders live on the underside of leaves on the islands of Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. The spiders are polymorphic, showing individual variation in the pattern and color of…
Field Frame Friday: Tummy temperature telemetry…for science!!!
Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) can be an elusive species, especially concerning the weaning process (going from milk to prey) in pups. Using stomach temperature telemetry (sensor that can detect changes in stomach temperature), researchers could detect patterns of food ingestion in pups. The results showed that 63.7% of milk ingestions occurred while the pups were…
Field Frame Friday: Urchin and shrimp, the perfect roommate duo
Red slate-pencil urchins (Heterocentrotus mamillatus) often have permanent housemates (called obligate simbionts) a small shrimp (Levicaris mammillata) or the aptly-named red slate pencil urchin shrimp. While the relationship hasn’t been thoroughly researched, it seems that the shrimp keeps things nice and tidy, while the red-slate pencil urchin protects the shrimp from predators. [Photo and caption…
Field Frame Friday: Feathered bandit stare-down.
Ever have a coastal picnic and have a uninvited guest sneak onto your picnic blanket and make off with your sandwich? Research shows that to protect your food, try staring down the gull that is eyeing that delicious feast you brought to the beach. When stared at, gulls took on average 21 seconds longer to…
Creature Feature: Slave-making ants
“Take no prisoners!” said no slave-making ant ever.
Field Frame Friday: I wanna eat where the fishies are (but I can’t).
Unlike other marine birds such as cormorants and pelicans, western gulls (Larus occidentalis) don’t have the ability to dive. They considered foraging generalists and have 3 primary foraging methods: picking up prey from the ground or intertidal zone, surface dipping (pictured here), and jump plunging (where gulls will jump off a rock head first to…
Field Frame Friday: Meet George the gentle giant and his magic poop
The introduction of a ‘replacement’ species to areas that have suffered ecosystem damages due to the extinction of a similar species can greatly improve ecosystem health and species diversity. For instance, introduction of Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) to an area that had recently lost all large frugivores (animals that eat mostly fruit) that were…
Creature Feature: Loxo and Mud Crabs
In the animal kingdom, zombies really do exist! The cause is most often some nasty (but fascinating) parasites, and you’d best believe that these parasites are truly terrifying to their respective hosts.
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