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.
Sunday Sketch: Learning to pick your battles
Northern elephant seal harems (Mirounga angustirostris) are a cacophony of noises with males vocalizing at each other and occasionally getting into physical battles; what information is coded within those noises? Researchers at University of California, Santa Cruz used playback experiments (i.e. recording vocalizations and then playing the vocalizations back to other individuals) to discover that…
Field Frame Friday: Chameleon coloration
While many people think that chameleon coloration serves only as camouflage, chameleons also change color to communicate with other chameleons. These color changes maximize communication between chameleons while minimizing the change of predation. [Photo and caption by Meredith Lutz] Reference Stuart-Fox, D., & Moussalli, A. (2008). Selection for social signalling drives the evolution of chameleon…
Creature Feature: Eastern Pacific harbor seal
These young harbor seals must learn many important life lessons before graduating to their independent sea lives!
Navigating the zoo debate: what we thought was black and white is actually gray all over
When approached to write an article highlighting zoos and aquariums, I did not hesitate to say yes, as zoos and aquariums have defined my career interests. However, brainstorming has been an overwhelming process, as there are so many directions this article could take. Should it highlight the history of zoos, and how they are evolving…
Field Frame Friday: How do you like your eggs?
Due to warmer temperatures, egg incubation in tropical birds presents a different set of challenges than temperate species. To regulate temperatures, lesser noddies (Anous tenuirostris) will rotate the egg around the nest every 50 minutes, and when ambient temperatures get above 30℃ (86 ℉) , parents will actually lift off of the egg, and depend…
Newsroom: Counter culture
Does social learning help or hinder adaptive response to human-induced rapid environmental change? Human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC), such as climate change, habitat fragmentation, and pollution, poses a potential threat to a variety of wildlife species. If or how it changes animals’ traits is a question of central importance bridging evolutionary ecology and conservation management….
Sunday Sketch: Stinging Sea Jellies
Planning on swimming at the beach this summer? Learn some facts about sea jellies before you ask a friend to pee on a sting wound! Sea jellies have specialized cells called cnidocytes on their tentacles that contain structures called nematocysts. Nematocysts act like harpoons that deliver a venomous sting. Though people say that urine can…
Field Frames Friday: Lactation station
Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in the Antarctic can lose up to 60% of their body weight during the nursing period. Researchers found that females will begin diving two weeks after giving birth to their pups and the amount of diving varied depending on the body mass of the mother. Thinner seals diving more often and…
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…
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