186 posts · 294,309 views
GrrlScientist is the blog pseudonym for an evolutionary biologist/ornithologist who writes about E3: Evolution, Ecology and Ethology, and the subtle relationships between these phenomena, especially in birds.
Sort by Latest Post, Most Popular
View by Condensed, Full
- October 27, 2010
- 05:49 AM
- 1,649 views
How the leopard got its spots
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
A new study shows why leopards and other big cats are spotted, striped or melanistic -- all black. In short, big cats' patterning and pattern attributes evolved in relation to their ecology and behaviors... Read more »
William L. Allen, Innes C. Cuthill, Nicholas E. Scott-Samuel, & Roland Baddeley. (2010) Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. info:/10.1098/rspb.2010.1734
- October 22, 2010
- 03:45 AM
- 1,346 views
The Physics of Wet Dogs
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
Dog owners no longer have to lay awake at night, wondering how rapidly a wet dog should oscillate its body to dry its fur. Presumably, dogs already know, and now, thanks to slo-mo photography, physicists know, too... Read more »
Andrew Dickerson, Grant Mills, Jay Bauman, Young-Hui Chang, & David Hu. (2010) The Wet-Dog Shake. Fluid Dynamics. info:/arxiv.org/abs/1010.3279
- October 12, 2010
- 09:23 AM
- 1,744 views
Colour My World: Red parrot feathers resist bacterial degradation
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
Why do parrots have such brightly colored feathers? ... Read more »
Burtt, E., Schroeder, M., Smith, L., Sroka, J., & McGraw, K. (2010) Colourful parrot feathers resist bacterial degradation. Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0716
McGraw, K.J., & Nogare, M.C. (2004) Carotenoid pigments and the selectivity of psittacofulvin-based coloration systems in parrots. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 138(3), 229-233. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2004.03.011
- October 6, 2010
- 09:06 AM
- 1,533 views
Nuclear receptors show evolution is the greatest tinkerer
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
An international team of researchers charted the one billion year evolutionary course that a protein family followed, finding that today's novelty and complexity came about through many small changes... Read more »
Bridgham, J., Eick, G., Larroux, C., Deshpande, K., Harms, M., Gauthier, M., Ortlund, E., Degnan, B., & Thornton, J. (2010) Protein Evolution by Molecular Tinkering: Diversification of the Nuclear Receptor Superfamily from a Ligand-Dependent Ancestor. PLoS Biology, 8(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000497
- October 2, 2010
- 05:07 AM
- 1,500 views
How the penguin got its tuxedo | GrrlScientist
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
Fossilised feathers from a giant, extinct penguin reveal this species' unusual coloration and offer clues to how modern penguin feathers evolved... Read more »
Clarke, J., Ksepka, D., Salas-Gismondi, R., Altamirano, A., Shawkey, M., D'Alba, L., Vinther, J., DeVries, T., & Baby, P. (2010) Fossil Evidence for Evolution of the Shape and Color of Penguin Feathers. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1193604
- September 29, 2010
- 03:29 AM
- 1,522 views
Songbird Genome Contains Fossil Virus: May Suggest New Ways to Predict Human Pandemics
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
Researchers have found a fossil virus hiding in the chromosomes of several songbird species. This virus is at least 19m years old and may help scientists learn how to predict human pandemics... Read more »
Gilbert C, & Feschotte C. (2010) Genomic Fossils Calibrate the Long-Term Evolution of Hepadnaviruses. PLoS Biology, 8(9). info:/
- September 27, 2010
- 05:08 AM
- 1,439 views
You've discovered a whacky wood-eating catfish? So what's new? | GrrlScientist
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
The press has recently been abuzz with news of a newly discovered species of catfish that eats wood, of all things... Read more »
Nelson, J., Wubah, D., Whitmer, M., Johnson, E., & Stewart, D. (1999) Wood-eating catfishes of the genus Panaque: gut microflora and cellulolytic enzyme activities. Journal of Fish Biology, 54(5), 1069-1082. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1999.tb00858.x
German, D. (2009) Inside the guts of wood-eating catfishes: can they digest wood?. Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 179(8), 1011-1023. DOI: 10.1007/s00360-009-0381-1
- August 5, 2010
- 08:24 AM
- 766 views
Foldit: Innovative Biology for Gamers
by GrrlScientist in This Scientific Life
Guessing how a protein will fold up based on its DNA sequence is often too difficult for even the most advanced computer programs. Now biochemists and computer scientists at my alma mater, the University of Washington, have collaborated to create Foldit, an online computer game where computer players do the work. ... Read more »
Cooper, S., Khatib, F., Treuille, A., Barbero, J., Lee, J., Beenen, M., Leaver-Fay, A., Baker, D., Popović, Z., & players, F. (2010) Predicting protein structures with a multiplayer online game. Nature, 466(7307), 756-760. DOI: 10.1038/nature09304
- August 4, 2010
- 05:12 PM
- 572 views
The Palin Effect
by Bob O'Hara in This Scientific Life
As attentive readers of the New York Times are aware, science bloggers are all about being noisy and shouting at people we don’t like. As most of us have liberal leanings, that means we can be obnoxious towards people on the political right. And this week we’ve got great fodder, in the shape of a [...]... Read more »
Elis, R., Hillygus, D., & Nie, N. (2010) The dynamics of candidate evaluations and vote choice in 2008: looking to the past or future?. Electoral Studies. DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2010.04.005
- July 16, 2010
- 08:59 AM
- 1,112 views
Parrots, People and Pedagogies: A Look at Teaching and Education
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
Like anyone who has taught science courses, and probably like anyone who has ever taught anything to a classroom in the history of mankind, I've wondered how to motivate my students to really care about the material they are learning, beyond simply "studying for the test." For example, I have used a group method of study where groups of 4 students are each assigned a specific task: to become an expert in a particular area and to share their knowledge with the other groups. This method is only partially successful since it is dependent upon good classroom rapport and careful management by the professor, otherwise, each group of "experts" can selectively withhold or misrepresent information that is important for developing a better understanding of the topic at hand. ... Read more »
McCallum, M. (2010) A Method for Encouraging Classroom Discussion of Scientific Papers. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 91(3), 363-366. DOI: 10.1890/0012-9623-91.3.363
- July 1, 2010
- 02:32 PM
- 1,642 views
Are Zombie Vultures In Our Future?
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
A zombie is another name for The Walking Dead -- those who are lifeless, apathetic, or totally lacking in independent judgment. But in an ecological sense, a zombie species no longer fulfills its ecological function because it is becoming extinct... Read more »
Shultz, S., Baral, H., Charman, S., Cunningham, A., Das, D., Ghalsasi, G., Goudar, M., Green, R., Jones, A., Nighot, P.... (2004) Diclofenac poisoning is widespread in declining vulture populations across the Indian subcontinent. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 271(Suppl_6). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2004.0223
Lemus, J., & Blanco, G. (2009) Cellular and humoral immunodepression in vultures feeding upon medicated livestock carrion. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1665), 2307-2313. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0071
Naidoo, V., Wolter, K., Cromarty, D., Diekmann, M., Duncan, N., Meharg, A., Taggart, M., Venter, L., & Cuthbert, R. (2009) Toxicity of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to Gyps vultures: a new threat from ketoprofen. Biology Letters, 6(3), 339-341. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0818
Jackson, A., Ruxton, G., & Houston, D. (2008) The effect of social facilitation on foraging success in vultures: a modelling study. Biology Letters, 4(3), 311-313. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0038
Swan, G., Cuthbert, R., Quevedo, M., Green, R., Pain, D., Bartels, P., Cunningham, A., Duncan, N., Meharg, A., Lindsay Oaks, J.... (2006) Toxicity of diclofenac to Gyps vultures. Biology Letters, 2(2), 279-282. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0425
Cuthbert, R., Parry-Jones, J., Green, R., & Pain, D. (2007) NSAIDs and scavenging birds: potential impacts beyond Asia's critically endangered vultures. Biology Letters, 3(1), 90-93. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0554
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Mathematics
- Health
- Carprofen
- Physiology
- Toxicology
- Flunixin
- Ornithology
- Behavioral Biology
- Vultures
- Conservation Biology
- Veterinary Medicine
- Endangered Species
- Epidemiology
- Applied Mathematics
- Biological Chemistry
- Diclofenac
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry
- NSAID
- Gyps species
- Birds
- Evolutionary Biology
- Zoology
- Ibuprofen
- Agriculture
- Medicine
- Phenylbutazone
- Ecology
- Immunology
- June 30, 2010
- 11:15 AM
- 1,006 views
Distressed Ravens Show That Consolation Is For The Birds, Too
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
Humans have long tried to separate themselves from other animals on the basis of characters that are perceived to be unique to us, such as tool design and use, planning for the future and our capacity for empathy.... Read more »
Fraser, O., & Bugnyar, T. (2010) Do Ravens Show Consolation? Responses to Distressed Others. PLoS ONE, 5(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010605
- June 9, 2010
- 05:59 PM
- 1,253 views
Gulf Oil Spill Disaster: Spawn of the Living Dead for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna?
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
A recently published study suggests that the Deepwater Horizon oil leak may devastate the endangered Atlantic bluefin population, causing it to completely collapse or possibly go extinct.... Read more »
Steven L. H. Teo, & Barbara A. Block. (2010) Comparative Influence of Ocean Conditions on Yellowfin and Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Catch from Longlines in the Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE, 5(5). info:/10.1371/journal.pone.0010756
- June 5, 2010
- 08:41 AM
- 1,100 views
Oiled SeaBirds: To Kill Or Not To Kill?
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, endangered species, environmental toxicology, seabirds, marine mammals, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, journal club
Bird rescue personnel Danene Birtell (L) and Heather Nevill (R) hold an oiled brown pelican, found on Storm Island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, that will be washed at the treatment facility at Fort Jackson, Louisiana, USA. BP has contracted bird rescue groups to rehabilitate wildlife affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The birds are examined, thoroughly washed and then allowed to recover.
Image: Paul Buck/EPA.
British Petroleum's current disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is unfortunately one of many oil spill events that occur every year due to rampant corporate greed and systemic corner-cutting. These events result in the slow agonized deaths of millions of animals, birds and fish in addition to damage and destruction to entire ecosystems. After dead and dying animals start washing up on public beaches, the public becomes alarmed and rushes to their aid, setting up rescue stations to clean and rehabilitate oiled birds and marine mammals. At least a few experts have openly advocated killing all oiled wildlife immediately, claiming that animal lovers are merely prolonging their distress and suffering. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
TSENG, F. (1999) Considerations in care for birds affected by oil spills. Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 8(1), 21-31. DOI: 10.1016/S1055-937X(99)80032-2
David A. Jessup, & Jonna A. K. Mazet. (1999) Rehabilitation of Oiled Wildlife: Why Do It?. 1999 International Oil Spill Conference. info:/
Stowe, T. (1982) An oil spillage at a Guillemot colony. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 13(7), 237-239. DOI: 10.1016/0025-326X(82)90346-0
- April 20, 2010
- 01:11 PM
- 1,712 views
(How) Are Birds Affected by Volcanic Ash?
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: Eyjafjallajökull, volcanic particulate material, ash clouds, airborne-particle deposition, respiratory physiology, respiratory toxicology, medicine, veterinary medicine, birds, avian health, bioassay, anatomy, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, journal club
Figure 1: The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, photographed by an unidentified farmer in Iceland. This eruption sent massive billowing clouds of volcanic ash several miles into the atmosphere.
Image: Newscom/Zuma [larger view]
April is the peak month of spring migration for millions of birds, so the ongoing eruption of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, presents hundreds of millions of birds with an unusually challenging set of circumstances as they fly to their northerly breeding grounds. But when a reader asked me how volcanic ash affects birds, I had no ready answer. The best I can do is to say that the ash is affecting birds, but I cannot say precisely how -- so I decided to investigate this issue in more depth and share the studies I found. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Brown, R., Brain, J., & Wang, N. (1997) The Avian Respiratory System: A Unique Model for Studies of Respiratory Toxicosis and for Monitoring Air Quality. Environmental Health Perspectives, 105(2), 188. DOI: 10.2307/3433242
Llacuna S, Gorriz A, Riera M, & Nadal J. (1996) Effects of air pollution on hematological parameters in passerine birds. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology, 31(1), 148-52. PMID: 8688002
McArn GE, Boardman ML, Munn R, & Wellings SR. (1974) Relationship of pulmonary particulates in English sparrows to gross air pollution. Journal of wildlife diseases, 10(4), 335-40. PMID: 4373586
Clark, L. (1998) Contribution of particulates and pH on cowbirds' (Molothrus ater) avoidance of grain treated with agricultural lime. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 57(1-2), 133-144. DOI: 10.1016/S0168-1591(97)00121-4
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Geosciences
- Health
- Epidemiology
- Ornithology
- Environmental Health
- Zoology
- Toxicology
- Environmental Chemistry
- Physiology
- Immunology
- Respiration
- Behavioral Biology
- Birds
- Agriculture
- Gas Uptake
- Repellents
- Particle Deposition
- Anatomy
- Air Quality
- Biophysics
- Bioassay
- Public Health
- physiology
- April 19, 2010
- 10:00 AM
- 1,181 views
Is That A T. rex Up Your Nose? New Species of Nose-dwelling Leech Discovered
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: evolutionary biology, evolutionary biogeography, molecular biology, medicine, ectoparasite, orificial hirudiniasis, mucosal leech infestation, hirudinoids, leech, Tyrannobdella rex, public health, zoology, PLoS ONE, anatomy, phylogenetic analysis, taxonomy, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, journal club
Figure 1. Mucosally invasive hirudinoid leeches. Known from a wide variety of anatomical sites including eyes (A) as in this case involving Dinobdella ferox (B), mucosal leech species, as in a case involving Myxobdella annandalei (C), more frequently feed from the nasopharyngeal surfaces of mammals (D). [larger (and more repulsive) picture.]
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010057.
Most people are repulsed by leeches -- those spineless blood sucking animals that are not only ugly, but can, in extreme cases, pose a threat to the host's life. But most people are blissfully unaware that some species of leeches specialize in attacking mammalian mucous membranes -- those hairless, smooth and moist tissues that line the mouth, intestines, eyes and urinary and reproductive tracts (Figure 1).
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Phillips, A., Arauco-Brown, R., Oceguera-Figueroa, A., Gomez, G., Beltrán, M., Lai, Y., & Siddall, M. (2010) Tyrannobdella rex N. Gen. N. Sp. and the Evolutionary Origins of Mucosal Leech Infestations. PLoS ONE, 5(4). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010057
- April 8, 2010
- 12:26 PM
- 1,369 views
What do Great Tits Reveal about the Genetics of Personality?
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, molecular ecology, personality, novelty seeking, exploratory behavior, dopamine receptor, dopamine receptor D4 gene, DRD4 gene polymorphism, ornithology, birds, Great Tit, Parus major, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
Bold or cautious? Individuals with a particular gene variant are very curious --
but only in some populations.
Image: Henk Dikkers.
Research shows that personality variations are heritable in humans and other animal species, and there are many hypotheses as to why differences in personality exist and are maintained. One approach for investigating the heritability of personality lies in identifying which genes underlie specific personality traits so scientists can then determine how the frequencies of specific variants of personality-related genes change in both space and time as well as in relation to changing environmental influences. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
KORSTEN, P., MUELLER, J., HERMANNSTÄDTER, C., BOUWMAN, K., DINGEMANSE, N., DRENT, P., LIEDVOGEL, M., MATTHYSEN, E., van OERS, K., van OVERVELD, T.... (2010) Association between DRD4 gene polymorphism and personality variation in great tits: a test across four wild populations. Molecular Ecology, 19(4), 832-843. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04518.x
- April 1, 2010
- 09:59 AM
- 1,261 views
Publish or Perish: A Brief Review of Unsuccessful Attempts to Treat Writer's Block
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: writer's block, psychology, abnormal psychology, cognitive psychology, writing, publishing, career, publish or perish, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Didden, R., Sigafoos, J., O'Reilly, M., Lancioni, G., & Sturmey, P. (2007) A Multisite Cross-Cultural Replication of Upper's (1974) Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of Writer's Block. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40(4), 773-773. DOI: 10.1901/jaba.2007.773
Upper, D. (1974) The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of “writer's block”. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 7(3), 497-497. DOI: 10.1901/jaba.1974.7-497a
- March 30, 2010
- 02:51 PM
- 1,434 views
UV, You See? Black Light Reveals Secrets in Fossils
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, UV light, flight, dinosaur, dromaeosaur, theropods, Microraptor gui, paleontology, fossils, birds, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Figure 1. The holotype of Microraptor gui, IVPP V 13352 under normal light. This shows the preserved feathers (white arrow) and the 'halo' around the specimen where they appear to be absent (black arrows). Scale bar at 5 cm. [larger view]
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009223
It has long been known that when exposed to ultraviolent light, fossilized bones and shells -- and even tissues -- will fluoresce, thus rendering undetectable details visible. But inexplicably, this technique has been used mostly to visualize fossilized invertebrates, and has rarely been used to investigate hidden structures in most vertebrate fossils. But a team of paleontologists recently studied the Microraptor gui holotype using UV light.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Hone, D., Tischlinger, H., Xu, X., & Zhang, F. (2010) The Extent of the Preserved Feathers on the Four-Winged Dinosaur Microraptor gui under Ultraviolet Light. PLoS ONE, 5(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009223
- March 29, 2010
- 09:47 AM
- 1,217 views
Made for Each Other: Evolution of Monogamy in Poison Frogs
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, animal behavior, molecular ecology, parental care, mating systems, monogamy, sexual selection, frogs, poison dart frogs, Dendrobatidae, Ranitomeya, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Peruvian mimic poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator.
Image: Jason Brown [larger view]
To know the breeding system is to know the genetic architecture of a species.
To know the evolution of a breeding system is to know how evolution works ..
~ Lewis & Crowe, Evolution (1955)
Genetic tests have revealed the secret sex life of a tiny poison dart frog species that lives in the Peruvian rain forests: remarkably, it turns out that these frogs are monogamous. But the reason this species is monogamous is surprising: it's all about the size of the pools that their tadpoles mature in. This is the best evidence yet that just a single cause can affect evolution of a major life history trait, such as a species' mating system.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Brown JL, Morales V, & Summers K. (2010) A key ecological trait drove the evolution of biparental care and monogamy in an amphibian. The American Naturalist, 175(4), 436-46. PMID: 20180700
topics
join us!
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
