Ecology / Conservation posts
- February 18, 2013
- 02:05 PM
- 34 views
Equid Consumption in the Palaeolithic
by Pia Spry-Marques in Bones and Skulls
A few weeks ago I began writing about horse burgers with the intention of discussing prehistoric eating habits in Britain. I, however, got sidetracked and ended up with a rather philosophical piece on how equid meat appears to represent British…Read more ›... Read more »
Holmes, J., Atkinson, T., Fiona Darbyshire, D., Horne, D., Joordens, J., Roberts, M., Sinka, K., & Whittaker, J. (2010) Middle Pleistocene climate and hydrological environment at the Boxgrove hominin site (West Sussex, UK) from ostracod records. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29(13-14), 1515-1527. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.02.024
- February 17, 2013
- 07:04 AM
- 37 views
The enigmatic fossa and the evolution of sociality
by Sam Hardman in Ecologica
Madagascar is a land filled with wonderful creatures, from charismatic lemurs to chameleons so small they can stand on the tip of a pencil. It is also home to the [...]... Read more »
Luhrs M.-L., Dammhahn M., & Kappeler P. (2012) Strength in numbers: males in a carnivore grow bigger when they associate and hunt cooperatively. Behavioral Ecology, 24(1), 21-28. DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ars150
- February 16, 2013
- 08:33 AM
- 258 views
Fighting Disease with Biodiversity
by gunnardw in The Beast, the Bard and the Bot
Biodiversity is, in most cases, good. And, as I’ve written before, biodiversity matters. In general, a healthy dose of biodiversity is something to strive for. It can, as a recent study in Nature shows, even help fighting disease. (Warning: modest bullet point bonanza below.) The researchers performed their investigation on three levels: First, sampling ‘in [...]... Read more »
Johnson PT, Preston DL, Hoverman JT, & Richgels KL. (2013) Biodiversity decreases disease through predictable changes in host community competence. Nature, 494(7436), 230-233. PMID: 23407539
Díaz, S., Fargione, J., Chapin, F., & Tilman, D. (2006) Biodiversity Loss Threatens Human Well-Being. PLoS Biology, 4(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040277
- February 16, 2013
- 08:06 AM
- 259 views
Biodiversity Protects Against Disease, Scientists Find
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The richer the assortment of amphibian species in a pond, the more protection that community of frogs, toads and salamanders has against a parasitic infection that can cause severe deformities, including the growth of extra legs.
The findings, published in a paper in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, support the idea that greater biodiversity in large-scale ecosystems, such as forests or grasslands, may also provide greater protection against diseases, including those that affect........ Read more »
NSF. (2013) Biodiversity Protects Against Disease, Scientists Find. National Science Foundation. info:/
- February 13, 2013
- 06:31 PM
- 220 views
Evolution happens, and it matters.
by B Koskella in Nature's microcosm
Whether it’s microbes, plants, or animals, there is no question as to whether populations evolve in response to the environment they are in and the species with which they are interacting. Evolution happened, is happening, and will continue to happen. ... Read more »
Pérez-Cobas AE, Gosalbes MJ, Friedrichs A, Knecht H, Artacho A, Eismann K, Otto W, Rojo D, Bargiela R, von Bergen M.... (2012) Gut microbiota disturbance during antibiotic therapy: a multi-omic approach. Gut. PMID: 23236009
Wakamoto Y, Dhar N, Chait R, Schneider K, Signorino-Gelo F, Leibler S, & McKinney JD. (2013) Dynamic persistence of antibiotic-stressed mycobacteria. Science (New York, N.Y.), 339(6115), 91-5. PMID: 23288538
- February 13, 2013
- 04:32 PM
- 293 views
Dog poo turning green – the power of science
by Cobb & Hecht in Do You Believe In Dog?
Hey Julie,Thanks for the run down on ScienceOnline and ‘Lend a Paw’ month. I completed the survey about my cat’s behaviour, it was quick and easy to do. I also liked your stroking video, but I’ll get back to that later, right now I need to tell you how dog poo (I think you usually say ‘poop’ in the USA?) is turning green.Dog poo is turning greenIt’s turning green and it’s thanks to the power of science. Or perhaps it’s the science of power? It’s easy to ........ Read more »
Miller Rohan, & Howell Gwyneth V.J. (2008) Regulating consumption with bite: Building a contemporary framework for urban dog management. Journal of Business Research, 61(5), 525-531. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.07.006
Wells D. L. (2006) Factors Influencing Owners' Reactions to Their Dogs' Fouling. Environment and Behavior, 38(5), 707-714. DOI: 10.1177/0013916505284794
Okoroigwe E.C., Ibeto C.N., & Okpara C.G. (2010) Comparative Study of the Potential of Dog Waste for Biogas Production. Trends in Applied Sciences Research, 5(1), 71-77. DOI: 10.3923/tasr.2010.71.77
Nemiroff Leah. (2007) Design, Testing and Implementation of a Large-Scale Urban Dog Waste Composting Program. Compost Science , 15(4), 237-242. info:other/http://montrealndgdogrun.org/image/downloads/compost studies.pdf
- February 8, 2013
- 01:29 PM
- 251 views
What’s Killing Our Honey Bees – And What’s at Stake?
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Along with other pollinators (which include hoverflies, butterflies and moths), honey bees perform a crucial role in the production of one-third of all the food we eat. Honey bees alone pollinate roughly fourteen billion dollars’ worth of food crops annually. They comprise a necessary part of the living ecosystem, and we would be hard-pressed to [...]... Read more »
Ellis, J., Evans, J., & Pettis, J. (2010) Colony losses, managed colony population decline, and Colony Collapse Disorder in the United States. Journal of Apicultural Research, 49(1), 134-136. DOI: 10.3896/IBRA.1.49.1.30
Tokarz, R., Firth, C., Street, C., Cox-Foster, D., & Lipkin, W. (2011) Lack of Evidence for an Association between Iridovirus and Colony Collapse Disorder. PLoS ONE, 6(6). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021844
- February 8, 2013
- 02:13 AM
- 221 views
Friday Fellow: Corpse Flower
by Piter Boll in Earthling Nature
by Piter Kehoma Boll I guess most of you already know Rafflesia arnoldii, the corpse flower, as it is quite popular for a lot of reasons. But sometimes it’s nice to show the classics too, right? Described in 1822 by Robert … Continue reading →... Read more »
Brown, R. (1821) XV. An Account of a new Genus of Plants, named Rafflesia. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 13(1), 201-234. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1821.tb00062.x
- February 6, 2013
- 08:23 PM
- 243 views
Got Milk? – zebras stealing and sharing milk
by Wayne Linklater in Perissodactyla
Lactating and nursing is a major investment by mothers in their offspring. Milk is nutrient-rich and imposes extreme demands on the mother. It seems intuitive, therefore, that mothers should be very careful to make sure their offspring benefit from their milk and none is wasted. For the same reason it seems intuitive that young should …Read More... Read more »
Olléová, M., Pluháček, J., & King, S. (2012) Effect of social system on allosuckling and adoption in zebras. Journal of Zoology, 288(2), 127-134. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2012.00930.x
- February 6, 2013
- 11:01 AM
- 103 views
The List of Explanations for Ocean Acidification Keeps Getting Smaller
by Matt Wood in ScienceLife
Over the past 20 years, Cathy Pfister and her husband Tim Wootton, both biologists in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, have been traveling to Tatoosh Island off the northwestern tip of Washington state to study the rich variety of plant and animal life in and around its coastal waters. And while they have turned [...]... Read more »
Wootton, J., & Pfister, C. (2012) Carbon System Measurements and Potential Climatic Drivers at a Site of Rapidly Declining Ocean pH. PLoS ONE, 7(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053396
- February 6, 2013
- 10:21 AM
- 317 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
- February 6, 2013
- 01:33 AM
- 198 views
Automobile exhausts and heart disease. Is an inflammatory molecule the link?
by Sarah Stephen in An ecological oratorio
A recent study in America found evidence for increased levels of IL-1 beta, a marker associated with inflammation in the blood of people who lived near the highways and had high exposures to vehicular exhausts.As our consumption of vehicles grows, our roads constantly brew more particulate matter, black carbon, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur-di-oxide and carbon monoxide, all emitted from automobile exhausts.The danger about these emissions is that they don’t just stay there, but d........ Read more »
Fearon, W., & Fearon, D. (2008) Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease: Role of the Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist. Circulation, 117(20), 2577-2579. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.772491
Brugge, D., Durant, J., & Rioux, C. (2007) Near-highway pollutants in motor vehicle exhaust: A review of epidemiologic evidence of cardiac and pulmonary health risks. Environmental Health, 6(1), 23. DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-6-23
Brugge, D., Lane, K., Stewart, A., Tai, A., & Woodin, M. (2013) Highway Proximity Associations with Blood Markers of Inflammation: Evidence for a Role for IL-1β. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 76(3), 201-205. DOI: 10.1080/15287394.2013.752325
- February 1, 2013
- 12:31 PM
- 25 views
Predatory Prawns
by Emarkham in GeneticCuckoo
A new ecological method of control for an African parasitic disease, an analysis of the benefits and limitations of this approach. ... Read more »
E Markham. (2013) Predatory Prawns. Blogspot. info:/
- January 31, 2013
- 06:46 PM
- 289 views
Dogs & Cats, Cats & Working Dogs, Working Dogs & Emotions
by Cobb & Hecht in Do You Believe In Dog?
Hi Julie!What a busy week I’ve found myself having! Very productive indeed, with a lot of this:and some more of that: Fuelled by a ton of this:But I did take time to notice that your cat Josh broke something new. Oh Josh! Thanks for telling me about your ISHAR presentation about dogs and cats in the home. I can definitely relate to the importance of early socialisation = best chance at harmony. Take my dog Elke, for example.As a pup, she met and spent time aroun........ Read more »
Mellor David J., & Bayvel Angus Campbell David. (2008) New Zealand's inclusive science-based system for setting animal welfare standards. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 113(4), 313-329. DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.01.010
Mellor DJ. (2012) Animal emotions, behaviour and the promotion of positive welfare states. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 60(1), 1-8. DOI: 10.1080/00480169.2011.619047
- January 31, 2013
- 04:19 PM
- 161 views
Common Birds: the case of the Baglafecht Weaver and missing forests
by Colin Beale in Safari Ecology
Male Baglafecht Weaver, Mt Kilimanjaro If you live on or near an East African mountain, you're very likely to have Baglafecht Weavers in your garden. Like most of the other true weavers, they're a basic black and yellow colour. The first thing to look at in weavers is usually the colour of the eyes and legs: in Baglafecht weavers you'll always see a yellow eye (easy to see against the surrounding black feathers) and pink legs. Males and females differ slightly: males in the population in n........ Read more »
Bowie, R., Fjeldså, J., Hackett, S., Bates, J., & Crowe, T. (2006) Coalescent models reveal the relative roles of ancestral polymorphism, vicariance, and dispersal in shaping phylogeographical structure of an African montane forest robin. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 38(1), 171-188. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.06.001
Elenga, H., Peyron, O., Bonnefille, R., Jolly, D., Cheddadi, R., Guiot, J., Andrieu, V., Bottema, S., Buchet, G., De Beaulieu, J.... (2000) Pollen-based biome reconstruction for southern Europe and Africa 18,000 yr bp. Journal of Biogeography, 27(3), 621-634. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00430.x
- January 31, 2013
- 02:46 AM
- 144 views
Pussy Cat, Pussy cat what have you killed?
by Sarah Stephen in An ecological oratorio
In the early eighties, our parents rescued two abandoned stray kittens from the road, which started a long line of cat dynasty in our house and the neighbourhood. Our house gained the reputation of being a sanctuary for abandoned cats, that we had people stealthily abandoning their cats outside our house gates. At one point, we had about 12 cats in the house. We loved these animals dearly; but despite being fed adequately, we were horrified to note that they killed squirrels, birds, bats, bandic........ Read more »
Loss, S., Will, T., & Marra, P. (2013) The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States. Nature Communications, 1396. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2380
- January 30, 2013
- 11:15 PM
- 221 views
To Branch, Or Not To Branch – Plant Hormones Help Turn A Stem Into A Bush
by Jalees Rehman in The Next Regeneration
When we hear the expression "stem cells", we tend to think of cells from animals or patients that are used to treat for diseases or promote regeneration. However, stem cells are also present in plants. The growing tips of plants are called meristems and they are reservoirs of plant stem cells. A meristem is formed at the base of each leaf and can remain dormant as a small bud or be activated and give rise to a whole new branch. Gardeners know that pruning leaves can activate the buds and help tr........ Read more »
Shinohara, N., Taylor, C., & Leyser, O. (2013) Strigolactone Can Promote or Inhibit Shoot Branching by Triggering Rapid Depletion of the Auxin Efflux Protein PIN1 from the Plasma Membrane. PLoS Biology, 11(1). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001474
- January 30, 2013
- 01:55 PM
- 345 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 27, 2013
- 06:25 PM
- 125 views
When coping is not enough
by Cobb & Hecht in Do You Believe In Dog?
Hi Julie,Snapshot from Project: Play with your Dog's 'Wall of Contributors'I’m so pleased to hear that Project: Play with Your Dog is going well. I’ve enjoyed watching the wall of contributors grow and it’s awesome that The Bark featured the research project – but then, why wouldn't they? It’s a fantastic project!As you mentioned, I’ve been keeping busy getting organised for my presentation at next month’s RSPCA Australia Scientific Seminar. This event is held annual........ Read more »
Yeates James. (2011) Is 'a life worth living' a concept worth having?. Animal Welfare, 20(3), 397-406. info:other/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ufaw/aw/2011/00000020/00000003/art00009
Yeates James. (2012) Quality Time: Temporal and Other Aspects of Ethical Principles Based on a “Life Worth Living”. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 25(4), 607-624. DOI: 10.1007/s10806-011-9317-3
- January 26, 2013
- 12:00 PM
- 114 views
The Paradox of the Phytoplankton: Why do we have so many species?
by Jon Lefcheck in Biodiverse Perspectives
In this one sentence, which he calls the paradox of the plankton, G.E. Hutchinson has captured the crux of the problem that has perplexed community ecologists for nearly a century: why does diversity exist in nature? Why is everything not just replaced by one or two species that are really good at what they do?... Read more »
Hutchinson, G. (1961) The Paradox of the Plankton. The American Naturalist, 95(882), 137. DOI: 10.1086/282171
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