Ecology & Zoology

Chitin is Pretty Cool

Eek, sorry, I kinda disappeared for a few days. There was really good powder, what can I say? I can at least draw a tenuous connection between driving up to the mountains and today's blog topic! If you've ever tried to change altitude with a cold ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Mar 2 2011 - 2:04pm

How'd You Like To Spawn One And A Half Times Your Body Weight?

My husband has an enormous head. Sometimes this concerns me, when I consider the degree to which skull size may have a genetic basis and the fact that we'll probably reproduce at some point. That has to fit through there? OW. But maybe I should be gra ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Mar 3 2011 - 11:35am

Sperm Injections, Anyone?

Squid sex is both discreet and discrete. Discreet, because usually the sexual organs remain hidden. The only visible activity looks more like a handshake than like intercourse, as the male uses one arm to pass sperm to the female. Discrete, because the spe ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Mar 6 2011 - 12:28am

Self-injecting Squid Sperm

José Marian, the author of this paper about sperm injection, very kindly and promptly provided me with a copy. I began reading with an enthusiasm which only increased as I proceeded through the article. It's short, clear, and tantalizing. ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Mar 8 2011 - 5:01pm

The Cartoon Guide To Squid Eyes

My friend and colleague Judit Pungor, a graduate student in Stuart Thompson's lab at Stanford's marine station, drew the most amazing poster of how squids see: It's so adorable, and so educational. Watch out Larry Gonick! ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Mar 14 2011 - 12:33am

Natural Born Killers Go Extinct

Polar bears’ noses are phenomenal. They smell a seal’s fart through a light year of snow and ice or something like that. Polar bears are cute, strong, beautiful, pure awesomeness all the way. Come on: they sleep on snow then swim a few rounds in ice water ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Mar 15 2011 - 5:45am

Musical Migration

This is the best song I have heard all year. (Thanks to i'm a chordata! for the shout out.) I might even go so far as to say it's the best song I will hear all year. What could possibly be more awesome than this beautiful, bluesy explanation of w ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Mar 18 2011 - 10:20am

I Like Whales Even Though They Eat Squid

I'll confess it. Even though they're the divas of the ocean, the quintessential charismatic megafauna, even though they overshadow all the other weird and wonderful marine life, I still like whales. And our oceans need them, just the way our land ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Mar 21 2011 - 7:26pm

Like The Everglades The Way They Are? Thank Garbage

Tree islands, patches of high, dry ground a meter high that dot the marshes of the Florida Everglades, are elevated enough to allow trees to grow and provide a nesting site for alligators and a refuge for birds, panthers, and other wildlife. And those crit ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 23 2011 - 8:32am

Some very cunning critters!

There's a paper out in ProcSoc B about aggressive mimicary, a very devious way to hunt by pretending to be prey or a mate, and then gobbling the hapless critter that comes to investigate. Here are some of my favourites! Photuris fireflies Female fire ...

Blog Post - Oliver Knevitt - Mar 28 2011 - 12:30am