Scientific American - Evolution

#SciAmBlogs Thursday - tsunami debris, groundhogs, apes in suits, kakapos, butterfly drones and more

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:56:00 EST

- Harold Johnson – Tsunami Debris & North America: Is the Tail Wagging the Dog?

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Temperatures--Not Acid--Could Cook Coral to Death

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:01:00 EST

One of the biggest natural tragedies of recent years is the deterioration of Australia's Great Barrier Reef , a vast structure of coral off the continent's east coast that supports a profusion of wildlife. In addition to overfishing and nutrient pollution, the world's largest natural structure has suffered from rising ocean temperatures. But, perhaps less well known, Australia's west coast has some massive reefs of its own, offshore in the southeastern Indian Ocean. Massive stony corals of the genus Porites swell to the surface, and new research published February 2 in Science suggests those located in the colder waters farthest south are growing better than ever --thanks to warming ocean temperatures.

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For Military Researchers, the Butterfly is the Ultimate Drone [Video]

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:36:00 EST

Butterflies are not merely beautiful. They use a complex pattern of rapid wing flapping and body deformation to execute impressive aerial acrobatics. This ability has not escaped the U.S. military, which is turning to these insects for ideas on how to create ever-smaller drone aircraft to execute reconnaissance, search-and-rescue and environmental monitoring missions. [View a slide show featuring different drones used by the U.S. military.]

The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is testing drones less than 60 centimeters long roughly the wingspan of an Atlantic Puffin with the hope they will be able to operate below rooftop levels in city streets.

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Accidental Kakapo Death Lowers Population of Rare, Flightless Parrots to 127 Birds

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:37:00 EST

The death of an adult female kakapo ( Strigops habroptila ) on New Zealand’s Anchor Island this past weekend brings the population of these rare flightless parrots down to just 127 birds.

The late kakapo, known as Sandra, was killed when her transmitter harness got entangled in a tree. All kakapos are outfitted with transmitters to help rangers in the Kakapo Recovery program keep track of the birds. Sandra’s death marked the first time in 31 years of transmitter use that the devices have injured a bird.

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Apes in the Suites and the Streets: Participatory Organizing from #Scio12 to #OccupyWallStreet

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 EST

"@BoraChimp" by Nathaniel Gold

Conferences are social grooming events for relatively hairless apes. A few will stand before the multitude, beaming with pride or shaking with nervousness (as the case may be), and present the latest research in contemporary ape thought. As their vocalizations reach a crescendo, those sitting demurely below will produce flesh-slapping noises that indicate they were paying attention (even if they weren t). Another ape will then rise and this process will continue repeatedly and at length. It looks a lot like the modern political stump speech.

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#SciAmBlogs Wednesday - #scio12 art and video, pigmy hippos, spider webs, sunfish, synchronized eating and more.

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:34:00 EST

Wednesday, the new Video of the Week day – have fun!

LOTS of good reading today:

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A symbiotic relationship between sunfish and albatrosses? Say what?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:28:00 EST

Image by Keiko Sekiguchi, from Abe et al. (2012).

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New Map Shows that Most Lyme-Infected Ticks Are in Northeast, Northern Midwest

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Female blacklegged tick courtesy of Graham Hickling/University of Tennessee

Lyme disease is notoriously tough to diagnose. The symptoms often don’t appear for one or two weeks after a bite and can vary from feeling flu-ish to longer-term neurological damage. And ticks seem to lie in wait throughout much of the U.S., prepared to pounce and infect a passerby.

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Satellites to Track Rare Royal Turtle in Cambodia [Video]

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:40:00 EST

A member of one of the world’s most endangered turtle species is being tracked by satellites as it swims the rivers of Cambodia, helping scientists to learn more about how it navigates and the threats it faces in its native waters. With a satellite transmitter glued to her shell, the female southern river terrapin ( Batagur affinis edwardmolli ) one of the last 200 wild members of a species which was once treasured by Cambodian royalty was released into the Sre Ambel River on January 16 in a ceremony attended by dozens of cheering local residents, government officials and international conservationists.

The terrapin’s travels will be monitored by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in conjunction with Wildlife Reserves Singapore and Cambodia’s Fisheries Administration. This is the first satellite study of the southern river terrapin, offering a rare opportunity to learn more about this species, which was named one of the world’s 25 most endangered turtle species in February 2011.

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ScienceOnline2012: The Music Video

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:39:00 EST

Video of the Week #28 February 1st, 2012

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A Proposal to Introduce Elephants to Australia: Really?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:31:00 EST

Why not bring elephants to Australia ? That’s the proposal made by biologist David Bowman of the University of Tasmania in a comment published February 2 in Nature . ( Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.)

The pachyderms could help to polish off gamba grass, introduced from Africa to Australia in the 1930s as fodder for cattle. Nowadays, it also provides fuel for devastating fires, such the one that killed 173 people and burned 400,000 hectares on February 7, 2009. Neither local cattle nor kangaroos consume enough of the weedy grass to keep it in check.

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Elegance of Spider Webs Helps Make Them Strong [Video]

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST

Orb webs image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Bj rn Christian T rrissen

Spiders’ silk has been the envy of materials engineers for decades. Its combination of flexibility and durability has been difficult to match with even the most advanced technology.

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Conflicts and Cooperation in Conservation: Adventures in Researching the Pygmy Hippopotamus on Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:53:00 EST

CamTrapTeam (Left to right): Bockary, Kenewa, April and Alusine at a camera trap on Tiwai Island

Our vehicle pulled into the village late one rainy night. Dozens of my new neighbors, Sierra Leone s Mende people, emerged from their thatch-roof houses, looking cross at being woken up and not exactly welcoming. We unloaded some of my gear underneath the dripping eaves, and as I tried to find something dry to wear, I realized that all my equipment: books, electronics, and gear, were soaking wet in the back of the truck. I had spent the entire day with a driver whose accent was so thick that several minutes into a conversation about cheese, I realized we were discussing chiefs, not cheddar. I had eaten entrails soup for lunch, been bounced over dirt roads for over 10 hours, and knew not a single person around me. I was suddenly glad it was dark so that nobody could see the silent tears streaming down my face.

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Penetrating Piscine Patterns: X-Rays Reveal What's Beneath Fishes' Scales [Slide Show]

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:30:00 EST

X-rays of fish skeletons that scientists use to study evolutionary development are now displayed as art. A new exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History will feature 40 x-rays of sea creatures laid out in evolutionary sequence. X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside-Out showcases the work of the museum’s scientists. X-rays allow researchers to study fish structures without dissections. The exhibition opens to the public on February 4 and runs until August 5.

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#SciAmBlogs Tuesday - Cotard's syndrome, pigeon parasite, Haeckel, clumped bacteria, aurorae, `polite' sexism, and more.

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:19:00 EST

You may have noticed a little improvement installed today – now you can see each blog post in a print-friendly form and then print it that way. Just click on the “Print” button, like this:

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Spider Parting Gift Makes Him Sterile Father

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:11:08 EST

To a female orb web spider, a suitable male can look like a mate--and a meal. For these spiders, the dating game has turned into a deadly dance of evolutionary one-upsmanship.

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Proteus: How Radiolarians Saved Ernst Haeckel

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:48:00 EST

Ernst Haeckel around Christmas 1860, when he was 26, the year after he returned from Italy.

Ernst Haeckel had spent an unhappy year practicing medicine when his parents finally consented to pay for a year of scientific study and travel in Italy. It was 1859, and he was 25. He had discovered a passion for biology and a talent for art during his college years, but his parents had pushed for practicality. If there was ever an antidote for practicality, it’s Italy.

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A Wildlife Vet, a Pigeon, a Groundbreaking Discovery

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:54:00 EST

One of the reasons I love my job as a wildlife veterinarian so much is the variety of my days. No two days are the same; each is filled with different animals with different problems, and I love the anticipation of what my day may bring. I never know what kind of animal will come through the door, what challenges I ll face, and what skills I ll get to use it s very unpredictable and that makes it so fun and exciting! My job is very fast-paced, keeps me on my toes, and there s never a dull moment emergency medicine at its finest! It is also full of new discoveries, as I found out last spring.

A wild pigeon with S. calchasi. Note the characteristic head tilt (torticollis). Photo by WRC

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#SciAmBlogs Monday - MIN awards, Quantum Entanglement, Neglected Tropical Diseases, living dirty, mimic spiders, coffee and more...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:18:00 EST

Welcome back. As it is Monday, we have the new Image of the Week – it is just one of a series, so make sure to click through to the original blog post where that one came from.

I don’t know much about all those media awards (I am much more aware of the good old Kaufax Awards, ResearchBlogging Awards, 3 Quarks Daily Awards and such), but it seems this one is big as everyone is so excited about it. Scientific American is a finalist in four categories:

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An Enemy in the Ranks

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:34:00 EST

Image of the Week #28, January 30th, 2012:

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