The love lives of lone limpets may be lackluster, but limpets in pairs are luckier in love. A new study conducted by researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa revealed that lowly limpets have fascinating mating behavior!
#SciComm: Selfish or selfless?
“Looks good! Except. What is ‘phytoplankton’?” I chuckled as I read the text message from my editor, once again surprised at my oversight. I had just sent her my latest article on whale feeding habits, and as per usual, her text reminded me that I took some forms of scientific knowledge for granted. I am…
Creature Feature: Pin-tailed whydah
This parasitic bird has moved across the world to the Hollywood hills with dreams of making it big in Los Angeles. But will it succeed, and will it threaten native species?
Sunday Sketch: Are You a Squitter?
Spotted hyenas are no quitters, but they are squitters! A squitter is the annoying, grating sound a spotted hyena cub makes when it wants its mother to let it nurse. This sound is just one of about a dozen distinct vocalizations in the spotted hyena repertoire. Other calls in include “whooping”, “giggling”, “lowing”, and “alarm…
Field Frame Friday: Pandas aren’t the only bamboo eaters around here!
Bamboo lemurs, like the northern bamboo lemur pictured here (Hapalemur occidentalis), are most well known for their specialist diet on bamboo. Some groups of the genus, however, are known to eat other grasses. [Photo and caption by Meredith Lutz] Eppley, T. M., Verjans, E., & Donati, G. (2011). Coping with low-quality diets: a first account…
Sunday Sketch: Interrupt Much?
Meerkats use a variety of vocalizations to communicate in their tightly knit social groups, but all that talking takes coordination. And that coordination takes skill. Meerkats are particularly fond of communicating when they are “sunning”, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Meerkats’ “sunning calls” are a special vocalization that only occurs during…
Field Frame Friday: Eavesdropping to survive
Although they aren’t particularly vocal themselves, Malagasy spiny-tailed iguanas (Oplurus cuvieri) have learned to distinguish the predator alarm calls of their forest coinhabitants – including from those animals’ normal vocalisations. This “eavesdropping” allows the iguanas to get away before they become a tasty snack to local birds of prey. [Photo and caption by Meredith Lutz]…
Creature Feature: The kelp forest—an underwater housing crisis
Let’s take a dip into the dark, chilly waters of northern California, where upwelling supplies nutrients to a forest canopy of slick, bulbous kelp tendrils, tangles of verdant sea grasses, and richly iridescent seaweeds. Kelps are considered “ecosystem engineers” as they provide habitat structure and modulate nutrient dynamics for a diverse host of tenants.
Sunday Sketch: A whole snake? Piece of cake!
Snakes can eat a wide variety of animals due to their many feeding adaptations that allow them to consume animals that are bulkier and larger than what would seem possible at first glance. Snakes often eat other animals with elongated body plans such as other snakes, eels, and lizards. Still, they certainly can’t eat anything…
Field Frame Friday: That’s not your kettle. It’s a Pigeon Guillemot!
During the breeding season, Pigeon Guillemots (Cepphus columba) can often be heard making high-pitched vocalizations to one another. Whistles may be used by males to attract a mate, while trills are utilized between pairs. This particular bird, located on Southeast Farallon Island, had just finished trilling over a long distance to their mate. [Photo and…
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