29 posts · 6,683 views

Ecologist, procrastinator, water polo-ist, beer snob, underfunded shopoholic, crazy cat lady, undocumented cinephile, and novice blogger extraordinaire.

Science Storiented
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April 26, 2013
01:53 PM
74 views

The Curious Case of the Earworm (Part 2)

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

In Part 1 of this topic, we explored the reasons why we like certain songs. But what transforms that likable melody into an earworm? Or is likability even a contributing factor? We took the biochemical/neurological route in Part 1, so now we’re gonna go all psychology for this one with a paper published in 2011 in Psychology of Music.Let’s get some terminology out of the way first. We all have internally-directed thought (all that stuff you think to yourself), and we also experience spontane........ Read more »

Williamson, V., Jilka, S., Fry, J., Finkel, S., Mullensiefen, D., & Stewart, L. (2011) How do "earworms" start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery. Psychology of Music, 40(3), 259-284. DOI: 10.1177/0305735611418553

Hyman, I., Burland, N., Duskin, H., Cook, M., Roy, C., McGrath, J., & Roundhill, R. (2013) Going Gaga: Investigating, Creating, and Manipulating the Song Stuck in My Head. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27(2), 204-215. DOI: 10.1002/acp.2897

April 19, 2013
03:16 PM
70 views

The Curious Case of the Earworm (Part 1)

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

I have had “Thrift Shop” stuck in my head for what seems like days.Yes, it is always on the radio, and yes, I usually listen to it when it is playing. Don't judge me. But why (*Stella scream* wwhhhhyyyyy!) has it established a permanent residence in my brain? I’m going to use a few studies to make the case that it isn’t my fault; I’m led around by my biochemistry. Basically, I’m blaming it on my neurons.Hmmm…where to start. Let’s try to figure out why we like a song (or music in ........ Read more »

Salimpoor, V., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. (2011) Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience, 14(2), 257-262. DOI: 10.1038/nn.2726

Salimpoor, V., van den Bosch, I., Kovacevic, N., McIntosh, A., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. (2013) Interactions Between the Nucleus Accumbens and Auditory Cortices Predict Music Reward Value. Science, 340(6129), 216-219. DOI: 10.1126/science.1231059

April 12, 2013
04:21 PM
75 views

Om Nom Nom: The Links Between Plant Diversity and Herbivory

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

I usually start a post with the reason why a particular article caught my eye. Today, I’m not sure why my eyeballs glommed on to this paper, but they did. As it turns out, they have a pretty good taste in articles. Who knew?An early view paper from the Journal of Ecology looks at how the large herbivores of the African savanna affect the diversity and community structure of plants. More and more studies these days are taking a phylogenetic approach to community ecology questions. That is, they........ Read more »

Kowiyou Yessoufou, T. Jonathan Davies, Olivier Maurin, Maria Kuzmina, Hanno Schaefer, Michelle van der Bank, & Vincent Savolainen. (2013) Large herbivores favour species diversity but have mixed impacts on phylogenetic community structure in an African savanna ecosystem. Journal of Ecology. info:/10.1111/1365-2745.12059

Biology

March 29, 2013
07:15 PM
131 views

Getting to the Roots (and Fungi) of Carbon Sequestration

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

This week, I found a paper that I’m calling the best of both worlds. Well, for me at least. This paper combines my past (and lingering) interest in island biogeography with a current interest in climate change and carbon storage.If you have been reading my blog long enough then you already know my love of islands. They are just so darn useful. In the past, I have focused on oceanic islands, but lake islands are also really neat. These types of islands typically form when lower lying land........ Read more »

Clemmensen, K., Bahr, A., Ovaskainen, O., Dahlberg, A., Ekblad, A., Wallander, H., Stenlid, J., Finlay, R., Wardle, D., & Lindahl, B. (2013) Roots and Associated Fungi Drive Long-Term Carbon Sequestration in Boreal Forest. Science, 339(6127), 1615-1618. DOI: 10.1126/science.1231923

March 22, 2013
05:48 PM
140 views

They're All Alike: The Giant Squid Conundrum

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

I wasn’t going to post on another paper this week but then two things happened: I saw the video of the first giant squid filmed in its natural habitat (those scientists get so excited!), and I saw the study about giant squid diversity. I posted the first above and now we'll take a look at the second.The giant squid (Architeuthis spp.) is one of the largest invertebrates and lives in the deep sea. It was first described as Architeuthis dux in 1857 by Danish naturalist Japetus Steenstrub, but s........ Read more »

Winkelmann, I., Campos, P., Strugnell, J., Cherel, Y., Smith, P., Kubodera, T., Allcock, L., Kampmann, M., Schroeder, H., Guerra, A.... (2013) Mitochondrial genome diversity and population structure of the giant squid Architeuthis: genetics sheds new light on one of the most enigmatic marine species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1759), 20130273-20130273. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.0273

March 18, 2013
05:39 PM
107 views

Biological Beta Testing: Altitudinal Edition

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

Spatial patterns in biodiversity have always been a popular topic in ecology, and understanding these patterns helps us to address the looming threats to biodiversity.Did you notice how I made the word ‘patterns’ plural? There isn’t a whole separate field of biogeography for nothin’. Biological diversity is difficult (some say impossible) to measure using a single metric. How do you count things? Simply by the number of species? How about rare versus common species? What about species t........ Read more »

Mori, A., Shiono, T., Koide, D., Kitagawa, R., Ota, A., & Mizumachi, E. (2013) Community assembly processes shape an altitudinal gradient of forest biodiversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/geb.12058

February 13, 2013
11:45 AM
208 views

Getting a Date for Valentine's Day: A Scientific Approach (Part 2)

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

Welcome to Part 2 of Getting a Date for Valentine’s Day: A Scientific Approach. This will make sense if you haven’t read Part 1, but to enjoy the full impact of this V-Day themed explosion of scientific knowledge, I suggest you read both. If that cramps your style then here’s a summary: (1) Just Ask, (2) Get Your Foot in the Door, and (3) Gaze Without Being Creepy. Now, let’s move on…4. Make Them LaughHow often do you hear that what people really want is someone with a sense of humor? ........ Read more »

Guéguen, N. (2010) Men's sense of humor and women's responses to courtship solicitations: an experimental field study . Psychological Reports, 107(1), 145-156. DOI: 10.2466/pr0.107.1.145-156

Elliot, A., Niesta Kayser, D., Greitemeyer, T., Lichtenfeld, S., Gramzow, R., Maier, M., & Liu, H. (2010) Red, rank, and romance in women viewing men. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 139(3), 399-417. DOI: 10.1037/a0019689

Elliot, A., & Niesta, D. (2008) Romantic red: Red enhances men's attraction to women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1150-1164. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1150

Guéguen, N. (2011) ‘‘Say it with flowers’’: The effect of flowers on mating attractiveness and behavior. Social Influence, 6(2), 105-112. info:/10.1080/15534510.2011.561556

Guéguen, N. (2012) “Say it … Near the Flower Shop”: Further Evidence of the Effect of Flowers on Mating. The Journal of Social Psychology, 152(5), 529-532. DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2012.683463

February 11, 2013
05:39 PM
215 views

Getting a Date for Valentine’s Day: A Scientific Approach (Part 1)

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

Quite frankly, most years I feel like kicking Valentine’s Day in the truffles. Do I recognize this as a single woman’s reaction to a mushy, lovey, couples' holiday? Sure, but the urge to kick remains. This year, however, I’ve decided to take a more lighthearted, less violent approach. Part of this approach is to recognize, and even revel in, the more ridiculous aspects of commercialism and human relationships. As such, I found a selection of papers that, when put together, loosely instruct........ Read more »

Guéguen, N. (2011) Effects of Solicitor Sex and Attractiveness on Receptivity to Sexual Offers: A Field Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(5), 915-919. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-011-9750-4

Gueguen, N. (2008) Foot-in-the-door technique using a courtship request: a field experiment. Psychological Reports, 103(6), 529. DOI: 10.2466/PR0.103.6.529-534

Dolinski, D. (2012) The Nature of the First Small Request as a Decisive Factor in the Effectiveness of the Foot-in-the-Door Technique. Applied Psychology, 61(3), 437-453. DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00477.x

van Straaten, I., Holland, R., Finkenauer, C., Hollenstein, T., & Engels, R. (2009) Gazing Behavior During Mixed-Sex Interactions: Sex and Attractiveness Effects. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(5), 1055-1062. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-009-9482-x

January 28, 2013
04:16 PM
128 views

Dung Beetles and Ball-Rolling: Star Light, Star Bright

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

Lately, it seems that poo is a popular topic in science news sections, and the dung beetle seems to be up front and center. I suppose that, if you are a dung beetle, you've solved all sorts of poo-related problems. If you recall the dung beetles and ball-cooling post from November, you will remember that these insects use their dung balls to help cool off their feet on the blazing hot African sands. But what if you are a beetle that works at night? You can chuck out the hot feet problem and worr........ Read more »

Dacke, M., Baird, E., Byrne, M., Scholtz, C., & Warrant, E. (2013) Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way for Orientation. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.12.034

January 17, 2013
01:47 PM
145 views

No Death for Death Panels

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

On Halloween 2009, my costume was a Death Panel. No kidding. And no, I won't show you a picture. As with most political themed costumes, it was funny at the time but was one of those things I thought would melt into the annals of popular culture. I mean, I can't exactly pull that off this year in the way I did then. However, the term "death panel" is one that seems to have perpetuated in the social landscape."Death panel" is a political term that originated in an August 2009 debate about federal........ Read more »

Nyhan, B., Reifler, J., & Ubel, P. (2013) The Hazards of Correcting Myths About Health Care Reform. Medical Care, 51(2), 127-132. DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e318279486b

January 11, 2013
03:07 PM
148 views

The Silverback Playbook: Changing Climate and Ape Distribution

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

On occasion, I go back to my roots in biogeography and peruse that subset of journals for interesting articles. Admittedly, I now skip over some topics that I used to devour, such as the species-area relationship (the "most general, yet protean pattern" that has recently warranted a special virtual issue). These days, I tend to stop and read articles about distribution patterns, especially as they relate to current problems like climate change.There are an increasing number of studies that show ........ Read more »

Lehmann, J., Korstjens, A., & Dunbar, R. (2010) Apes in a changing world - the effects of global warming on the behaviour and distribution of African apes. Journal of Biogeography, 37(12), 2217-2231. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02373.x

January 4, 2013
05:22 PM
206 views

Burn Baby Burn: Fire, Forests, and Carbon

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

I know, I know. I've been a bit absent over the last few weeks. I'm going to call laying on the beach in South Florida at Christmas enough of an excuse. That and I was finishing up my Wildland Firefighter course. Yep, I'm now all certified to start and stop forest fires. Should you be afraid? Perhaps. But it got me to thinking about prescribed burning, an area of ecology that I know about but don't regularly keep up with the literature. So I decided to take a look at what has recently been publi........ Read more »

Yao, J., Murray, D., Adhikari, A., & White, J. (2012) Fire in a sub-humid woodland: The balance of carbon sequestration and habitat conservation. Forest Ecology and Management, 40-51. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2012.05.042

December 13, 2012
04:52 PM
213 views

Drinking the Clouds

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

I don’t often talk about water movement in plants even though I work in a lab that studies water movement in plants. I should probably ruminate on that but won’t. Instead, I’ll start out by putting a complex problem into the simplest of terms: Plants drink water with their roots. Alright, that’s true but perhaps it is a bit too elementary. I think that, in this case, I need to explain it in more detail so that you can really appreciate why a certain research paper caught my attention.Fo........ Read more »

Goldsmith, G., Matzke, N., & Dawson, T. (2012) The incidence and implications of clouds for cloud forest plant water relations. Ecology Letters. DOI: 10.1111/ele.12039

November 28, 2012
04:50 PM
224 views

The Gift of Regifting

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

Be honest: How bad is it to regift? We've all gotten gifts that are clearly items someone was given and didn't want. A Chia Pet, a fruitcake, or an ugly piece of jewelry. Some things you can just tell. No lie, I once got a set of used cassette tapes. I don't even own a cassette tape player. I considered rethinking a friendship.Most often, people regift things they will not use or gifts they do not like. If you want to stick a name on it, it is a problem researchers refer to as "deadweight loss."........ Read more »

Adams, G., Flynn, F., & Norton, M. (2012) The Gifts We Keep on Giving: Documenting and Destigmatizing the Regifting Taboo. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1145-1150. DOI: 10.1177/0956797612439718

November 21, 2012
04:10 PM
245 views

The Psychology of Gift Giving: Unique and Expensive or Ordinary but Useful?

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

The holiday shopping season is almost upon us. Black Friday is but a couple of days away. The annual shopping explosion event when you start thinking how close the year is to being over, how you haven’t even thought about what you are going to buy anyone, and how much money you don’t have to spend. Actually, I tend to be a Cyber Monday kind of shopper, but the same tenets hold true.Gift giving: What do you get someone? Will they like it? What will they give you? Will you like it? Quite frank........ Read more »

Teigen, K., Olsen, M., & Solås, O. (2005) Giver-receiver asymmetries in gift preferences. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44(1), 125-144. DOI: 10.1348/014466604X23428

November 9, 2012
02:25 PM
213 views

Dung Beetles and Ball-Cooling: The Secret of the Poo

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

You’re a dung beetle. That isn’t an insult, it’s a visualization aid. You are a dung beetle, you live in South Africa, you roll up feces into balls, you push those balls to a storage location, and you use the balls as food or for brooding. Now, as a human visualizing yourself as a dung beetle, consider the environment you are rolling your dung ball across: the sands of the South African desert. Are your feet hot? How do you cool them down?The authors of a new paper in Current Biology asked........ Read more »

Smolka, J., Baird, E., Byrne, M., el Jundi, B., Warrant, E., & Dacke, M. (2012) Dung beetles use their dung ball as a mobile thermal refuge. Current Biology, 22(20). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.08.057

October 23, 2012
06:29 PM
219 views

The Rocky Mountain Parnassius Problem

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

Lately, I've been thinking about butterflies. I won't subject you to the interesting, if slightly convoluted, train of thought that led me to today's paper (this post is long enough as it is), but suffice it to say that we are back on the topic of butterflies and climate change. If you remember, back in March I wrote about a paper that explored how a single climate parameter can determine population dynamics in a butterfly species, the Mormon Fritillary (Speyeria mormonia) - An Early Spring Isn'........ Read more »

Roland, J., & Matter, S. (2012) Variability in winter climate, and winter extremes, reduce population growth of an alpine butterfly. Ecology. DOI: 10.1890/12-0611.1

October 9, 2012
02:45 PM
299 views

Dinosaurs, Diversity, Distribution, and the LBG

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

For some reason I am in the mood to read a biogeography paper. I didn’t really have a particular topic in mind when I started looking, just a few journals I occasionally peruse. Then I came across a paper about palaeodiversity and the distribution of dinosaurs. I like dinosaurs and I like biogeography. So this must be a win-win. I haven’t visited the idea of dinosaur community structure and distribution since my Dino Eco post back in 2010. That paper concluded that the entire Western Interio........ Read more »

Philip D. Mannion, Roger B. J. Benson, Paul Upchurch, Richard J. Butler, Matthew T. Carrano, & Paul M. Barrett7. (2012) A temperate palaeodiversity peak in Mesozoic dinosaurs and evidence for Late Cretaceous geographical partitioning. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 21(9), 898-908. DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00735.x

October 2, 2012
04:46 PM
279 views

Hey, I Could Be Your Girlfriend

by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented

In the immortal words of Avril Lavigne: “Hey hey, you you, I don't like your girlfriend / No way, no way, I think you need a new one / Hey hey, you you, I could be your girlfriend...”Do I need to apologize for subjecting you to that? I almost feel as if I do. But it serves my point, I swear. Let’s say that the song was not titled “Girlfriend,” but instead was called “Mate Poaching.” Admittedly, it doesn’t really have the same ring to it, but that is essentially what she’s talki........ Read more »

David P. Schmitt, & Todd K. Shackelford. (2003) Nifty Ways to Leave Your Lover: The Tactics People Use to Entice and Disguise the Process of Human Mate Poaching. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(8), 1018-1035. DOI: 10.1177/0146167203253471

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