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…
Sunday Sketch: Thought Bubbles
Pacific and Atlantic herring (Clupea pallasii and Clupea harengus) are a large part of the commercial fishing industry and are thus well studied by scientists. However, nighttime sounds coming from the herring left scientists stumped, until video analysis revealed the herrings’ elusive communication style. Described aptly as Fast Repetitive Tick (or FRT), herring use digestive gas…
Field Frame Friday: Heads or tails? TAILS!
Black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) don’t have thumbs, but what they do have is the most mobile and dextrous of all primate tails! The underside of the tail is covered with ridges that help them grip branches as they swing. [Photo by Grace Davis and caption by Maggie Creamer] Reference Mittermeier, R. A. (1978). Locomotion…
Field Frame Friday: What a spectacle!
The Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata) can be found in many different types of habitats including tropical rainforests, riparian corridors along streams, savannah woodlands, and even in the trees surrounding coffee plantations! Geographically, spectacled owls occur in Central and South America. [Photo by Grace Davis and caption by Maggie Creamer] Reference MikRamírez-Llorens, P., & Bellocq, M….
Field Notes: A tale of extremes
Field work often leads you through many extremes.
Sunday Sketch: Red Squirrel Rattles
Did you know that North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) announce territorial ownership by making vocalizations called rattles? Recently, a study found that short-term stress from capturing and handling squirrels affected acoustic structure of these vocalizations. This research reveals that rattles may also carry important information about squirrel physiological condition. Sketch contributed by Rachael Coon and…
Creature Feature: Verreaux’s Sifaka
Learn more about Zaboomafoo’s close cousin, the Verreaux’s sifaka!
Sunday Sketch: Kangaroo Farts
In the 1970s and 80s, researchers thought that kangaroos didn’t fart, or at least that they hardly emitted any methane gas. Methane is naturally created by the bacteria that lives inside an animal’s gut, helping them to digest plant materials. Early findings indicating that kangaroos emit little methane made scientists think that they had special…
Field Frame Friday: What’s in a song?
The calls of the yellow-rumped cacique (cacicus cela) are significant in social contexts. For example, males counter-sing to establish the dominance hierarchy, songs can be used in territory defense or agonisitic encounters, as well as alarms to predators and to initiate flock cohesion. [Photo by Grace Davis and caption by Maggie Creamer] Reference Corwin, P….
