Ecology / Conservation posts
- May 29, 2012
- 04:47 PM
- 536 views
Help Build an Arctic Food Web
by Chris Buddle in Arthropod Ecology
A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to be able to attend a workshop about monitoring terrestrial arthropod biodiversity in the Arctic. In advance of that workshop, I offered to prepare a draft of a food-web that was ‘Arthropod-centric’. There … Continue reading →... Read more »
D. Hodkinson, I., & J. Coulson, S. (2004) Are high Arctic terrestrial food chains really that simple? - The Bear Island food web revisited. Oikos, 106(2), 427-431. DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.13091.x
- May 29, 2012
- 10:58 AM
- 557 views
Flowers Use Velcro Cells to Keep Bees from Blowing Away
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
When a pollinator is at your front steps about to come in for a drink of nectar, you'd be foolish to let a gust of wind blow her away. That's why most flowers have installed velcro doormats. Pointy cells give their petals an extra-grippy surface that encourages bees, even in the middle of a windstorm, to stop and stay a while.
Flowers such as roses, tomatoes, and petunias have cone-shaped cells in the surface of their petals. In fact, about 80 percent of flowers with traditional petals have ........ Read more »
Alcorn, K., Whitney, H., & Glover, B. (2012) Flower movement increases pollinator preference for flowers with better grip. Functional Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.02009.x
- May 28, 2012
- 04:53 AM
- 632 views
Do nonspiral spirochetes help clean our environment?
by Microbe Fan in Spirochetes Unwound
Members of the spirochete phylum Spirochaetes are recognized easily by their long spiral shape, which allows their periplasmic flagella to power them through viscous environments. But scientists are discovering that not all spirochetes share this peculiar shape. Two bacterial isolates recovered from freshwater sediments in Michigan were spherical and lacked flagella, yet phylogenetic analysis of their 16S rRNA and other genes placed them firmly within Spirochaetes. The genus Sp........ Read more »
Caro-Quintero, A., Ritalahti, K.M., Cusick, K.D., Loffler, F.E., & Konstantinidis, K.T. (2012) The chimeric genome of Sphaerochaeta: Nonspiral spirochetes that break with the prevalent dogma in spirochete biology. mBio, 3(3). DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00025-12
Ritalahti, K.M., Justicia-Leon, S.D., Cusick, K.D., Ramos-Hernandez, N., Rubin, M., Dornbush, J., & Loffler, F.E. (2011) Sphaerochaeta globosa gen. nov., sp. nov. and Sphaerochaeta pleomorpha sp. nov., free-living, spherical spirochaetes. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY, 62(1), 210-216. DOI: 10.1099/ijs.0.023986-0
Alban P.S., Johnson P.W., & Nelson D.R. (2000) Serum-starvation-induced changes in protein synthesis and morphology of Borrelia burgdorferi. Microbiology (Reading, England), 119-127. PMID: 10658658
Franzmann P.D., & Dobson S.J. (1992) Cell wall-less, free-living spirochetes in Antarctica. FEMS microbiology letters, 76(3), 289-292. PMID: 1385265
Dröge S., Fröhlich J., Radek R., & König H. (2006) Spirochaeta coccoides sp. nov., a novel coccoid spirochete from the hindgut of the termite Neotermes castaneus. Applied and environmental microbiology, 72(1), 392-397. PMID: 16391069
Abt, B., Han, C., Scheuner, C., Lu, M., Lapidus, A., Nolan, M., Lucas, S., Hammon, N., Deshpande, S., Cheng, J.... (2012) Complete genome sequence of the termite hindgut bacterium Spirochaeta coccoides type strain (SPN1T), reclassification in the genus Sphaerochaeta as Sphaerochaeta coccoides comb. nov. and emendations of the family Spirochaetaceae and the genus Sphaerochaet. Standards in Genomic Sciences, 6(2), 194-209. DOI: 10.4056/sigs.2796069
Taş, N., van Eekert, M.H.A., de Vos, W.M., & Smidt, H. (2009) The little bacteria that can - diversity, genomics and ecophysiology of ‘Dehalococcoides’ spp. in contaminated environments. Microbial Biotechnology, 3(4), 389-402. DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-7915.2009.00147.x
- May 25, 2012
- 03:32 PM
- 466 views
Neuroscientists should study Zombie Ants
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Zombie ant controlled by fungus (source)The fungus-controlled zombie ant is one of natures' greatest wonders. A fungus (e.g. O. Unilateralis) is inhaled by an ant (e.g. Camponotus Leonardi), and begins to grow inside its body. Eventually the fungus infests the brain of the ant, causing it to drunkenly wander, periodically convulse, climb up a leaf and clamp down on its ridge. Once the ant is securely in place, the fungus devours the brain and innards of the ant and grows out the ........ Read more »
Hughes DP, Andersen SB, Hywel-Jones NL, Himaman W, Billen J, & Boomsma JJ. (2011) Behavioral mechanisms and morphological symptoms of zombie ants dying from fungal infection. BMC ecology, 11(1), 13. PMID: 21554670
- May 25, 2012
- 11:02 AM
- 691 views
Octopuses Host a Masterclass on Hiding
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
When you're surrounded by an ocean full of potential predators, the best way to avoid seeing the inside of one's stomach is to make sure none of them see you in the first place. Octopuses and some other cephalopods are experts at camouflage, manipulating the colors and textures of their skin to hide in plain sight. But their strategy, it turns out, has nothing to do with disappearing into the background.
To learn the camouflaging secrets of the masters, researchers led by Noam Josef at Ben-........ Read more »
Josef, N., Amodio, P., Fiorito, G., & Shashar, N. (2012) Camouflaging in a Complex Environment—Octopuses Use Specific Features of Their Surroundings for Background Matching. PLoS ONE, 7(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037579
- May 25, 2012
- 09:09 AM
- 359 views
When introductions go bad
by Sarah Stephen in An ecological oratorio
My first sighting of the red squirrel was in Camperdown Park in Dundee in 2003. I remember that scene vividly. I had since tried desperately to see this elusive animal again but to no avail, save a brief sighting, again in Camperdown Park, in Autumn 2010. This is because although red squirrel, which is native to UK and is protected in Europe, is outnumbered by its foreign relative, the grey squirrel that was introduced to the UK from America. G........ Read more »
Vitule JR. (2012) Ecology: Preserve Brazil's aquatic biodiversity. Nature, 485(7398), 309. PMID: 22596145
Eisenhauer N, Scheu S, & Jousset A. (2012) Bacterial diversity stabilizes community productivity. PloS one, 7(3). PMID: 22470577
- May 25, 2012
- 04:54 AM
- 28 views
The evolution of baleen: evidence from molecules and morphology
by Sam Hardman in Ecologica
Dolphins, porpoises and whales together comprise the order Cetacea. This order can be further split into two suborders; the odontocetes (“toothed whales” such as orca), and the mysticetes (“baleen whales” [...]... Read more »
Demere T. A., McGowen M. R., Berta A., & Gatesy J. (2008) Morphological and Molecular Evidence for a Stepwise Evolutionary Transition from Teeth to Baleen in Mysticete Whales. Systematic Biology, 57(1), 15-37. DOI: 10.1080/10635150701884632
- May 24, 2012
- 09:52 PM
- 358 views
Dragonfly Migration Watch
by bug_girl in Bug Girl's Blog
Most people know about monarch butterfly migration, but there are actually other insects in the US that migrate. That includes 16 species of American dragonflies! Some researchers actually attached tiny radio transmitters to some Green Darners and followed their migration. The average distance migrated was 58 km (about 36 miles), but some dragonflies traveled twice [...]... Read more »
Wikelski, M., Moskowitz, D., Adelman, J., Cochran, J., Wilcove, D., & May, M. (2006) Simple rules guide dragonfly migration. Biology Letters, 2(3), 325-329. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0487
Russell, R., May, M., Soltesz, K., & Fitzpatrick, J. (1998) Massive Swarm Migrations of Dragonflies (Odonata) in Eastern North America. The American Midland Naturalist, 140(2), 325-342. DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031(1998)140[0325:MSMODO]2.0.CO;2
- May 23, 2012
- 02:09 PM
- 588 views
Snakes Deceive to Get a Little Snuggle
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
A lone red-sided garter snake. Photo by Tracy Langkilde.The red-sided garter snake is a small snake species with the largest and most northern distribution of all reptiles in North America. These northern ranges can get quite cold for any animal, let alone a reptile. Like most reptiles, they are ectotherms, meaning they regulate their body temperature largely by exchanging heat with their environment. If an animal gets almost all of its body heat from a cold environment, its body is also going t........ Read more »
Shine, R., Langkilde, T., & Mason, R. (2012) Facultative pheromonal mimicry in snakes: “she-males” attract courtship only when it is useful. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66(5), 691-695. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1317-4
Parker, M., & Mason, R. (2012) How to make a sexy snake: estrogen activation of female sex pheromone in male red-sided garter snakes. Journal of Experimental Biology, 215(5), 723-730. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.064923
Parker, M., & Mason, R. (2009) Low Temperature Dormancy Affects the Quantity and Quality of the Female Sexual Attractiveness Pheromone in Red-sided Garter Snakes. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 35(10), 1234-1241. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-009-9699-0
- May 22, 2012
- 02:41 PM
- 367 views
Opening an ecological black box: entomopathogenic fungi in the Arctic
by Chris Buddle in Arthropod Ecology
While visiting Alaska last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Niels M. Schmidt. He is a community ecologist (from Aarhus University, Denmark), who studies Arctic sytems and he is one of the key people behind the Zackenberg Research Station in … Continue reading →... Read more »
Holmes, R. (1966) Feeding Ecology of the Red-Backed Sandpiper (Calidris Alpina) in Arctic Alaska. Ecology, 47(1), 32. DOI: 10.2307/1935742
Meyling, N., Schmidt, N., & Eilenberg, J. (2012) Occurrence and diversity of fungal entomopathogens in soils of low and high Arctic Greenland. Polar Biology. DOI: 10.1007/s00300-012-1183-6
Witter, L., Johnson, C., Croft, B., Gunn, A., & Gillingham, M. (2012) Behavioural trade-offs in response to external stimuli: time allocation of an Arctic ungulate during varying intensities of harassment by parasitic flies. Journal of Animal Ecology, 81(1), 284-295. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01905.x
- May 22, 2012
- 07:32 AM
- 482 views
Rattling Nature’s Chains
by gunnardw in The Beast, the Bard and the Bot
To start with a cliché: in nature, everything is connected. Organisms are eaten by each other, waste material (including dead organisms) is used by others, and the impact of animals, plants and other life forms on the environment alters their … Continue reading →... Read more »
McCauley, D., DeSalles, P., Young, H., Dunbar, R., Dirzo, R., Mills, M., & Micheli, F. (2012) From wing to wing: the persistence of long ecological interaction chains in less-disturbed ecosystems. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep00409
- May 21, 2012
- 03:09 PM
- 719 views
Having a Water Bottle for a Mom Not Ideal
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
In the wild, young rhesus macaques can reasonably expect not to have their mothers replaced by kitchen props. The monkeys depend on their moms to nurse them and tote them through tree branches while they're small, just like other primates. But a laboratory experiment in Maryland took these babies from their mothers and had them raised alone or in groups of their peers. The monkeys' strange infancies had physical and mental effects that lasted into adulthood.
At the National Institute of Chil........ Read more »
Gabriella Conti, Christopher Hansman, James J. Heckman, Matthew F. X. Novak, Angela Ruggiero, & Stephen J. Suomi. (2012) Primate evidence on the late health effects of early-life adversity. PNAS. info:/10.1073/pnas.1205340109
- May 21, 2012
- 02:33 AM
- 263 views
Bees, pesticides, and CCD: what’s the evidence?
by bug_girl in Bug Girl's Blog
When you apply epidemiology methods to CCD, you might be surprised at the answers you get.... Read more »
Cresswell, J., Desneux, N., & vanEngelsdorp, D. (2012) Dietary traces of neonicotinoid pesticides as a cause of population declines in honey bees: an evaluation by Hill's epidemiological criteria. Pest Management Science, 68(6), 819-827. DOI: 10.1002/ps.3290
- May 20, 2012
- 10:32 PM
- 367 views
Phosphorus, detergent, and Canada's Experimental Lakes
by Patrick in Evidence and Error
“I'm angry at the people who decided that phosphate was growing algae. I'm not sure that I believe that.” –Sue Wright, Texas
Sue Wright, quoted above, was upset because in 2010, sixteen American states banned the sale of dishwashing detergent containing high levels of phosphorous, an aquatic pollutant that sometimes causes eutrophication (algal blooms). Unfortunately, phosphorous is a rather effective component of detergent, so phosphorous-free dishwashing detergents did not immediate........ Read more »
Schindler, D. (1974) Eutrophication and Recovery in Experimental Lakes: Implications for Lake Management. Science, 184(4139), 897-899. DOI: 10.1126/science.184.4139.897
- May 18, 2012
- 10:55 AM
- 654 views
The Secret to Success Is Giant-Jawed Snake Babies
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
When coming face-to-face with a wriggling, freshly born pile of poisonous snakes, most of us wouldn't linger for a close look. But it was by looking into these living linguini platters that one biologist found a new answer to an old question: Why does island life make animals such freak shows?
Some big-bodied species shrink when they move from the mainland to an island habitat, a phenomenon that's created pygmy sloths, miniature mammoths, and possibly even a dwarf hominid that's now extinct......... Read more »
Fabien Aubret. (2012) Body-Size Evolution on Islands: Are Adult Size Variations in Tiger Snakes a Nonadaptive Consequence of Selection on Birth Size?. The American Naturalist, 169(6). info:/
- May 18, 2012
- 08:56 AM
- 286 views
Decay Fungi: Eaters of Forests, Painters of Wood
by Kimberly Moynahan in Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Decay fungi are generally disdained, but wood is held in high regard. The meeting of both can create emotional conflict and challenges the viewer to reevaluate their position on functional wood and natural ornamentation processes. – Dr. Sara C. Robinson Gene handed me a small block of maple, maybe an inch across. “This is spalted [...]... Read more »
Rayner, A., & Todd, N. (1977) Intraspecific Antagonism in Natural Populations of Wood-decaying Basidiomycetes. Microbiology, 103(1), 85-90. DOI: 10.1099/00221287-103-1-85
Worrall, J. (2004) Armillaria root disease. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2004-0706-01
- May 18, 2012
- 07:56 AM
- 236 views
Decay Fungi: Eaters of Forests, Painters of Wood
by Kimberly Moynahan in Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Decay Fungi: Eaters of Forests, Painters of Wood... Read more »
Rayner, A., & Todd, N. (1977) Intraspecific Antagonism in Natural Populations of Wood-decaying Basidiomycetes. Microbiology, 103(1), 85-90. DOI: 10.1099/00221287-103-1-85
Worrall, J. (2004) Armillaria root disease. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2004-0706-01
- May 17, 2012
- 05:46 PM
- 252 views
Bees and STDs
by bug_girl in Bug Girl's Blog
Solitary bees have parasites too.... Read more »
Miloje KRUNIĆ, Ljubiša STANISAVLJEVIĆ, Mauro PINZAUTI, & Antonio FELICIOLI. (2005) The accompanying fauna of Osmia cornuta and Osmia rufa and effective measures of protection. Bulletin of Insectology, 58(2), 141-152. info:/
- May 17, 2012
- 11:58 AM
- 252 views
■ Urban trees reveal income inequality
by Tim De Chant in Per Square Mile
Wealthy cities seem to have it all. Expansive, well-manicured parks. Fine dining. Renowned orchestras and theaters. More trees. Wait, trees? I’m afraid so. Research published a few years ago shows a tight relationship between per capita income and forest cover. The study’s authors tallied total forest cover for 210 cities over 100,000 people in the [...]... Read more »
Zhu, P., & Zhang, Y. (2008) Demand for urban forests in United States cities. Landscape and Urban Planning, 84(3-4), 293-300. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.09.005
- May 17, 2012
- 11:26 AM
- 516 views
Genomics, Open Access, and China
by Daniel Koboldt in Massgenomics
The associate editor of the journal Genomics has resigned, stating that he can no longer work for a system that puts profit over access to research. In an article in The Guardian, Winston Hide announced his resignation from “system that provides solid profits for the publisher while effectively denying colleagues in developing countries access to [...]... Read more »
Miller RD, Phillips MS, Jo I, Donaldson MA, Studebaker JF, Addleman N, Alfisi SV, Ankener WM, Bhatti HA, Callahan CE.... (2005) High-density single-nucleotide polymorphism maps of the human genome. Genomics, 86(2), 117-26. PMID: 15961272
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