Rove beetles are insects within the family Staphylinidae which includes around 63,000 species and thousands of genera. One of these genera in particular, Charoxus, appears to take advantage of the very tight mutualistic relationship between fig trees and their pollinating wasps. Fig trees, those in the genus Ficus, are pollinated by wasps in the family…
Sunday Sketch: White-tailed Deer
White-tailed bucks carry a prominent set of antlers in the summer and fall, which are grown annually and shed in the winter months. A set of antlers is made up of a number of different points, called “tines.” The length and number of tines are determined by nutrition, genetics, and age. While the antlers are…
Field Frame Friday: I’m sitting on what?!
Lesser Noddies (Anous tenuirostris), make their nest using leaves and their own guano (fancy word for poop). Waste not, want not? [Photo by Nick Chudeau in Cousin Island, Seychelles; Caption by Karli Chudeau] Reference Surman, C., Burbidge, A., & Fitzhardinge, J. (2016). Long-term population trends in the vulnerable Lesser Noddy Anous tenuirostris melanops at the…
Animal Myths: WATER
In this last installment of our Animal Myths series, we’ll be diving in to tackle misconceptions about the wet and wild critters that live underwater! If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the first two parts of this series which examine myths pertaining to creatures of the Air and Land. 1. Sharks are man-eaters This first,…
Creature Feature: Flapper Skate
When I refer to the skate as one of my study organisms, I tend to receive a blank stare. To be fair, as someone whose interest in research was sparked by popularized megafauna such as the great white shark, I understand that reaction. After all, when it comes to shark cousins, the ray takes…
Sunday Sketch: Calves and Colostrum
Calves (baby cattle) receive passive immunity through the intake of colostrum (the first form of milk) provided by their mothers shortly after birth. This important transfer protects them from infection! Sketch and fact contributed by Rachael Coon Source: McGee, M., & Earley, B. (2019). Review: passive immunity in beef-suckler calves. Animal, 13(4), 810-825. doi: 10.1017/S1751731118003026
Field Frame Friday: Vagabond for science habitat.
Sometimes collecting data means sleeping in your van by the beach next to your research materials. [Photo and Caption by Karli Chudeau]
Creature Feature: Thresher Shark
If you’re a fish in the ocean, you need to watch out for the tail end of this top predator rather than their razor sharp teeth!
Sunday Sketch: Koala Fingerprints
Did you know that koalas have fingerprints that look practically indistinguishable from human prints? This means that there could be some unsolved cases in Australia with koala prints in the database! Fact and sketch contributed by Amelia Munson Source: Henneberg, M., Lambert, K. M., & Leigh, C. M. (1997). Fingerprint Homoplasy: Koalas and Humans. NaturalScience. Available at: http://naturalscience.com/ns/articles/01‐04/ns_hll.html….
Field Frame Friday: Crocodilian dances are better than middle school dances.
Did you know that many crocodilian species use behavioral displays to attract mates? American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) have nighttime “dances” where they will swim in pairs for hours before deciding whether or not to mate. Now that’s what I call a nice first date! [Photo by Grace Davis in Barro Colorado Island, Panama; Caption by…
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