48 posts · 19,286 views
Rats giggle when they’re tickled and flatworms fence with their penises. Who knew? Explore the science behind animal behavior and see where we fit in this quirky world.
Miss Behavior
48 posts
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- May 15, 2013
- 09:46 AM
- 37 views
Male Black Widows Sniff Out Femme Fatales
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
I am thrilled to announce that this month I am joining a new top-notch science blogging team at Scitable, Nature Education’s award-winning science education website! (But don’t worry, friends. I will continue to post here about animal physiology and behavior every Wednesday). Next week, Scitable will be launching eleven new blogs covering topics like neuroscience, genetics, oceanography, physics and more. I will be co-authoring an evolution blog called Accumulating Glitches together with Se........ Read more »
Johnson, J., Trubl, P., Blackmore, V., & Miles, L. (2011) Male black widows court well-fed females more than starved females: silken cues indicate sexual cannibalism risk. Animal Behaviour, 82(2), 383-390. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.05.018
- May 8, 2013
- 09:50 AM
- 54 views
Thanks Mom!
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Like Mother, like baby! Photo from freedigitalphotos.net.Moms give us so much more than we ever give them credit for. Biologically speaking, we all have a mom and a dad (unless you’re a flatworm or some other species that can reproduce without sex) that provide us with one of each chromosome type (our chromosomes contain our genes, commonly thought of as our “biological blueprints”). So it makes sense that we tend to think of ourselves as being half-our-mom and half-our-dad. But not so! Al........ Read more »
BERNARDO, J. (1996) Maternal Effects in Animal Ecology. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 36(2), 83-105. DOI: 10.1093/icb/36.2.83
Wolf, J., & Wade, M.J. (2009) What are maternal effects (and what are they not)?. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 1107-1115. info:/
- May 1, 2013
- 09:27 AM
- 79 views
The Craptastic Conversations of the Black Rhinoceros
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
What are you saying with your smells? Image by freedigitalphotos.net.Animals communicate in all kinds of ways: with vocalizations, body language, vibrations, and even odors. In fact, compared to most species, we are pathetic in our abilities to communicate with body odor. With just a whiff of eau de crotch, many animals can decipher that individual’s species, sex, age, health status, reproductive status, emotional state, and dietary history. Some species can go so far as to make out that indiv........ Read more »
Linklater, W., Mayer, K., & Swaisgood, R. (2013) Chemical signals of age, sex and identity in black rhinoceros. Animal Behaviour, 85(3), 671-677. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.12.034
- April 10, 2013
- 09:40 AM
- 119 views
Not Quite Like a Rolling Stone
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Dung beetles are competitive little critters. And who can blame them? When a fresh pile of poo is at stake, wouldn’t we all be a bit competitive? …Okay, maybe not. But animal dung is actually chock-full of nutrients, which makes it a precious resource to the animals that can make use of them. The approximately 6,000 species of dung beetles and their babies are among the animals that make excellent use of those resources.Mmmm... A poo-pile worth fighting for! Image by Duwwel at Wikimedia.But........ Read more »
Dacke M, Byrne M, Smolka J, Warrant E, & Baird E. (2013) Dung beetles ignore landmarks for straight-line orientation. Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, 199(1), 17-23. PMID: 23076443
- April 3, 2013
- 10:53 AM
- 133 views
Risky Business: Ape Style
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
The decisions of this chimpanzee living in the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Sanctuary are affected by his social situation. Photo by Alex Rosati.If you have a choice between a prize that is awesome half the time and totally lame the other half of the time or a mediocre prize that is a sure-thing, which would you choose? Your choice probably depends on your personality somewhat. It may also depend on your needs and your mood. And it can depend on social contexts, like if you’re competing with someone........ Read more »
Rosati, A., & Hare, B. (2012) Decision making across social contexts: competition increases preferences for risk in chimpanzees and bonobos. Animal Behaviour, 84(4), 869-879. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.07.010
- March 6, 2013
- 11:20 AM
- 182 views
Hey Hey! We’re The Monkeys!
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
A tamarin rock star (photographed by Ltshears at Wikimedia)Our moods change when we hear music, but not all music affects us the same way. Slow, soft, higher-pitched, melodic songs soothe us; upbeat classical music makes us more alert and active; and fast, harsh, lower-pitched, dissonant music can rev us up and stress us out. Why would certain sounds affect us in specific emotional ways? One possibility is because of an overlap between how we perceive music and how we perceive human voic........ Read more »
Snowdon, C., & Teie, D. (2009) Affective responses in tamarins elicited by species-specific music. Biology Letters, 6(1), 30-32. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0593
- February 20, 2013
- 01:14 PM
- 178 views
Did that Rock Just Ink on Me? (A Guest Post)
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
By Sam Brunner and Ian Straus Cephalopods, like octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish, are well known for their ability to alter the color and patterns on their bodies for better camouflage, mimicry, and even communication. By developing a unique set of camouflage tools, cephalopods excel at not being seen or being seen but not detected as a cephalopod. There are videos all over the internet showcasing how squid can terrify divers with their flashing red displays, or how some octopuses avoid their p........ Read more »
Froesch, D. (1973) Projection of chromatophore nerves on the body surface of Octopus vulgaris. Marine Biology, 19(2), 153-155. DOI: 10.1007/BF00353586
Messenger JB. (2001) Cephalopod chromatophores: neurobiology and natural history. Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 76(4), 473-528. PMID: 11762491
- February 13, 2013
- 11:32 AM
- 239 views
Friends Without Benefits: A Guest Post
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
By Joseph McDonaldDo you want to avoid the friend zone? Photo by freedigitalphotos.net.Guys DREAD the friend zone. That heart-aching moment when the girl you’ve been fawning over for years says you’re the best listener, the sister she never had, or so much better than a diary! You’ve been so nice to her and her friends, listening to all their drama. But that’s just the problem... you’re too nice to too many people. Research performed by Aaron Lukaszewski and Jim Roney at the Universit........ Read more »
Lukaszewski, A., & Roney, J. (2010) Kind toward whom? Mate preferences for personality traits are target specific. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(1), 29-38. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.06.008
- February 6, 2013
- 10:21 AM
- 293 views
Birds, Vitamin E, and the Race Against Time: A Guest Post
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
By Alyssa DeRubeis The long and tapered wings on this young Peregrine Falcon means it was built for some serious speed! Photo by Alyssa DeRubeis.Maybe you’ve been put under the false assumption that humans are cool. Don’t get me wrong; our bodies can do some pretty neat physiological stuff. But I’m gonna burst your bubble: humans are lame. Just think of how fast we can run compared to a Peregrine Falcon in a full stoop: 27 MPH versus 242 MPH. Keep thinking about all the cool things birds c........ Read more »
Møller, A., Biard, C., Karadas, F., Rubolini, D., Saino, N., & Surai, P. (2011) Maternal effects and changing phenology of bird migration. Climate Research, 49(3), 201-210. DOI: 10.3354/cr01030
Møller AP, Erritzøe J, & Karadas F. (2010) Levels of antioxidants in rural and urban birds and their consequences. Oecologia, 163(1), 35-45. PMID: 20012100
Cohen, A., McGraw, K., & Robinson, W. (2009) Serum antioxidant levels in wild birds vary in relation to diet, season, life history strategy, and species. Oecologia, 161(4), 673-683. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-009-1423-9
- January 30, 2013
- 01:55 PM
- 314 views
Origins of The Scorpion and The Frog and the Social Brain
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Starting a weekly journalistic-type blog is a daunting task, especially for someone who is holding down other jobs (as most bloggers do). But I can't be happier that I started down this path in order to share with you all these wonderfully quirky stories of animal behavior and physiology. This week, I am happy to announce that The Scorpion and the Frog turns 1! It has been a remarkable first year: We've covered topics from whale dialects, to birds that kill their "siblings", to steroids and domi........ Read more »
O'Connell, L., & Hofmann, H. (2011) The Vertebrate mesolimbic reward system and social behavior network: A comparative synthesis. The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 519(18), 3599-3639. DOI: 10.1002/cne.22735
O’Connell, L., & Hofmann, H. (2011) Genes, hormones, and circuits: An integrative approach to study the evolution of social behavior. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 32(3), 320-335. DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2010.12.004
- January 23, 2013
- 02:28 PM
- 187 views
The Real Catfish of Lake Tanganyika
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Photo of Manti Te'o by Shotgun Spratling and Neon Tommy at WikimediaPoor Manti Te’o may just be the most gullible schlub on the planet. For those of you that haven’t heard the story, the Notre Dame linebacker and runner-up for the 2012 Heisman Trophy led his team to the BCS National Championship Game, despite (or perhaps inspired by) the tremendous personal losses he has suffered this season. Last September, Te’o learned first of the death of his grandmother, and then within hours learned ........ Read more »
Wright, J. (2011) CONSERVATIVE COEVOLUTION OF MÜLLERIAN MIMICRY IN A GROUP OF RIFT LAKE CATFISH. Evolution, 65(2), 395-407. DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01149.x
- January 2, 2013
- 11:18 AM
- 293 views
When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Become Babies
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
We celebrate the New Year as a time of rebirth, renewal, and do-overs. We join gyms, swear off our bad habits, and promise to be better people. This is especially true for those of us that have had a rough 2012… Our 2013-version-of-us has got to be better, right? But what if you could get a real do-over? What if you could be a kid again, grow up again, and become a brand new person? As far-fetched as it may sound, some animals do exactly that.Cnidarians (the “C” is silent) are a huge group........ Read more »
Piraino, S., De Vito, D., Schmich, J., Bouillon, J., & Boero, F. (2004) Reverse development in Cnidaria. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 82(11), 1748-1754. DOI: 10.1139/z04-174
Miglietta, M., & Lessios, H. (2008) A silent invasion. Biological Invasions, 11(4), 825-834. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-008-9296-0
- December 19, 2012
- 10:23 AM
- 238 views
Not Fair! Even Dogs Know the Importance of Gift-Equity
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Don't leave out your best friend whengift-giving this holiday season! Photo by Ohsaywhat at Wikimedia.When I was a child, I think one of the things that stressed my mom out most about the holidays was making sure that all of us kids got Christmas gifts worth the exact same amount. Why all the fuss? Because if the value of the gifts wasn’t equal, we were guaranteed to spend our holidays in a chorus of “Not fair!” cries rather than appreciating the holiday bounty and cheer around us. As a sp........ Read more »
Range F, Horn L, Viranyi Z, & Huber L. (2009) The absence of reward induces inequity aversion in dogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(1), 340-5. PMID: 19064923
Range, F., Leitner, K., & Virányi, Z. (2012) The Influence of the Relationship and Motivation on Inequity Aversion in Dogs. Social Justice Research, 25(2), 170-194. DOI: 10.1007/s11211-012-0155-x
- November 28, 2012
- 10:19 AM
- 223 views
Mr. Nanny Makes Mr. Right
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Quick! Introduce yourself to this guy before his baby-high wears off! Photo by David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net. What happens if you take a wrestler or action star and force him to babysit obnoxious but lovable kids? Well, if you’ve seen movies like The Pacifier with Vin Diesel, The Tooth Fairy with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger, or The Spy Next Door with Jackie Chan, you know that he will fall madly in love both with his young ........ Read more »
Kenkel, W., Paredes, J., Yee, J., Pournajafi-Nazarloo, H., Bales, K., & Carter, C. (2012) Neuroendocrine and Behavioural Responses to Exposure to an Infant in Male Prairie Voles. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 24(6), 874-886. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2012.02301.x
- November 21, 2012
- 01:10 PM
- 303 views
Competitive Females
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Paula Broadwell, the aggressive competitor. Photo from her Facebook page. By now, you’ve probably heard all about Paula Broadwell, the woman that seduced the notoriously disciplined CIA director, four-star US Army general, husband and father, General David Petraeus. What kind of a woman might be able to sway a man that has such admirable self-control? Broadwell was Petraeus’ biographer, a West Point graduate with a Harvard graduate degree, an Army Reservist thrice recalled to active duty, a ........ Read more »
Cain, K., & Ketterson, E. (2011) Competitive females are successful females; phenotype, mechanism, and selection in a common songbird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66(2), 241-252. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1272-5
- November 7, 2012
- 10:10 AM
- 358 views
Political Animals
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Now that we are finally on the other side of one of the longest, most expensive political campaign seasons of United States history, we find ourselves with a new mixed-bag of leaders. Our nation’s decision-makers include career politicians and new freshman politicians; they include lawyers, military members, doctors, businessmen, farmers, ministers, educators, scientists, pilots, and entertainers; they include Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Quakers, Mormons, Buddhists and Muslims; they include ........ Read more »
Couzin, I. (2009) Collective cognition in animal groups. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(1), 36-43. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.10.002
List, C., Elsholtz, C., & Seeley, T. (2009) Independence and interdependence in collective decision making: an agent-based model of nest-site choice by honeybee swarms. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1518), 755-762. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0277
Seeley, T., Visscher, P., Schlegel, T., Hogan, P., Franks, N., & Marshall, J. (2011) Stop Signals Provide Cross Inhibition in Collective Decision-Making by Honeybee Swarms. Science, 335(6064), 108-111. DOI: 10.1126/science.1210361
Dell'Ariccia, G., Dell'Omo, G., Wolfer, D., & Lipp, H. (2008) Flock flying improves pigeons' homing: GPS track analysis of individual flyers versus small groups. Animal Behaviour, 76(4), 1165-1172. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.05.022
- October 31, 2012
- 11:48 AM
- 297 views
True Blood: Vampires Among Us
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Who is your favorite vampire? Are you a fan of Edward Cullen, Bill Compton or Stefan Salvatore? Or do you prefer the classic Dracula, elegant Lestat, or butt-kicking Selene?Vampires have fascinated us since the Middle Ages, when a hysteria of vampire sightings spread across Eastern Europe. We now know that many of these “vampires” were actually victims of diseases like tuberculosis or bubonic plague that cause bleeding in the lungs (and elsewhere), resulting in the disturbing effect of blood........ Read more »
SCHLUTER, D., & GRANT, P.R. (1984) ECOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION IN A DARWINS FINCH, GEOSPIZA-DIFFICILIS. EVOLUTION, 38(4), 856-869. info:/
Francischetti, I. (2010) Platelet aggregation inhibitors from hematophagous animals. Toxicon, 56(7), 1130-1144. DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2009.12.003
- October 24, 2012
- 11:32 AM
- 397 views
The Smell of Fear
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Several animals, many of them insects, crustaceans and fish, can smell when their fellow peers are scared. A kind of superpower for superwimps, this is an especially useful ability for prey species. An animal that can smell that its neighbor is scared is more likely to be able to avoid predators it hasn’t detected yet. Who can smell when you're scared? Photo provided by Freedigitalphotos.net.“What does fear smell like?” you ask. Pee, of course. I mean, that has to be the answer, right? It........ Read more »
Brown, G.E., Jackson, C.D., Malka, P.H., Jacques, É., & Couturier, M-A.,. (2012) Disturbance cues in freshwater prey fishes: Does urea function as an ‘early warning cue’ in juvenile convict cichlids and rainbow trout?. Current Zoology, 58(2), 250-259. info:/
- October 10, 2012
- 11:54 AM
- 385 views
Mind-Manipulating Slave-Making Ants!
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
An entire colony enslaved by an alien species to care for their young. Slave rebellions quelled by mind manipulation. It sounds like science fiction, right? But it really happens!Myrmoxenus ravouxi (called M. ravouxi for “short”) is a slave-making ant species in which the queen probably wears a chemical mask, matching the scent of a host species in order to invade their nest without detection. Once inside, she lays her eggs for the host species workers to care for. Armies of M. ravouxi worke........ Read more »
Delattre, O., Chȃline, N., Chameron, S., Lecoutey, E., & Jaisson, P. (2012) Social parasite pressure affects brood discrimination of host species in Temnothorax ants. Animal Behaviour, 445-450. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.05.020
- October 3, 2012
- 11:44 AM
- 322 views
It Feels Good When You Sing a Song (In Fall)
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
Most male songbirds will sing when they see a pretty female during the breeding season. But some male songbirds sing even when it’s not the breeding season. Why do so many birds sing in fall at all? Maybe singing feels good… But how do you ask a bird if it feels good to sing? European starlings are one of those bird species that sing both in spring (the breeding season) and in fall (not the breeding season). Lauren Riters, Cindi Kelm-Nelson, and Sharon Stevenson at the University of Wiscons........ Read more »
Riters LV, & Stevenson SA. (2012) Reward and vocal production: song-associated place preference in songbirds. Physiology , 106(2), 87-94. PMID: 22285212
Kelm-Nelson, C.A., Stevenson, S.A., & Riters, L.V. (2012) Context-dependent links between song production 1 and opioid-mediated analgesia in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). PLOS One, 7(10). info:/
Riters LV, Schroeder MB, Auger CJ, Eens M, Pinxten R, & Ball GF. (2005) Evidence for opioid involvement in the regulation of song production in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Behavioral neuroscience, 119(1), 245-55. PMID: 15727529
Kelm CA, Forbes-Lorman RM, Auger CJ, & Riters LV. (2011) Mu-opioid receptor densities are depleted in regions implicated in agonistic and sexual behavior in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) defending nest sites and courting females. Behavioural brain research, 219(1), 15-22. PMID: 21147175
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