“Fish are babies, not food!” Mother Astatotilapia burtoni cichlids may need to take a reminder from the sharks of Finding Nemo. These fish have an extreme form of maternal care. After laying their eggs, they carry them around in their mouths until they hatch! Protecting their eggs from all kinds of would-be predators comes at…
Author: The Ethogram
The official blog of the UC Davis Animal Behavior Graduate Group.
Field Frame Friday: How many species do you see?
The Farallon Islands, just off the coast of San Francisco, California, are a prime habitat for sea birds, marine mammals, and sharks. The Farallons sit in a highly nutrient rich area due to ocean currents which attract a whole ecosystem of animals to feed, reproduce, and rest. [Photo by Alycia Drwencke and caption by Karli…
Field Frame Friday: (Don’t) Share the Love.
Dominant yellow-rumped cacique (Cacicus cela) males mate with many females while males lower down in the hierarchy mate with only a few females, if any. Dominant males can consort with anywhere form 1-27 females and will guard them while they forage and nest. [Photo by Grace Davis in Barro Colorado Island, Panama; Caption by Maggie…
Newsroom: Primate play
This week, we debut a new section on the Ethogram: Newsroom. Here, we aim to make scientific literature more accessible to the general public by covering recent publications by UC Davis Animal Behavior students, faculty, affiliates, and the broader research community. Researchers at UC Davis, Bucknell University, and GERP [the Malagasy primate research group] have…
Sunday Sketch: Rabbits and Food Preferences
*Sniff, sniff* “That’s my favorite!” Rabbits can transfer food preference information to their offspring during different stages of development. They can be exposed to the mother’s food preference in utero, through nursing, and through exposure to the mother’s poop that are in the nest! Sketch and fact contributed by Karli Chudeau Bilko, A., Altbacker, V. &…
Field Frame Friday: What do behavioral scientists do when they aren’t observing animals for research?
They observe animals for fun! On a boat trip from San Francisco Bay to the Farallon Islands, it is rare not to have a whale sighting. However, to see two fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) cruising together is magic! [Photo by Alycia Drwencke and caption by Karli Chudeau]
Sunday Sketch: The Dolphin Digestive Tract Debris Dilemma
A recent study found plastic debris in the digestive tracts of 50 dolphins, whales, and seals. Surprisingly, a large amount of the trash came from synthetic fibers (found in clothing, fishing nets, and toothbrushes), while the rest were from plastic fragments. Keep in mind that plastic pollution affects many other marine organisms, as well. Therefore,…
Field Frame Friday: Squad goals.
Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) congregate in areas where natural cracks in the ice provide easy access into and out of the water, and while Antarctic waters remain around -2°C (~28°F) which may seem cold to us, these seals are well adapted to spending hours at a time in the water. [Caption and Photo taken (under…
Sunday Sketch: Lacewing Trash-Packages
Why bother with camouflage when you can just play dress-up? The larvae of green lacewings (order Neuroptera) blend into their surroundings by attaching bits of debris to small, hook-like structures on their backs. These “trash-packages” can consist of plant matter, lichen, dirt, or even the dead bodies of their prey (aphids)! Sketch and fact contributed…
Field Frame Friday: Wasps make good neighbors.
Female yellow-rumped caciques (Cacicus cela) choose to build their unique, enclosed, hanging nests next to wasp nests to provide protection from mammals and botflies. [Photo by Grace Davis in Barro Colorado Island, Panama; Caption by Maggie Creamer] Reference Corwin, P. (2012). Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab…
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