Posts

February 13, 2013

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4:32 PM | Friends Without Benefits: A Guest Post

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 […]

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

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7:00 AM | Well-Nigh Wordless Wednesday: 4 Views of a Cicada

A while back I went collecting with a friend in one of my favorite places in Arizona right when the very large cicadas in the area (Tibicen cultriformis) were active. You could hear their grand songs sweeping up the … Continue reading →

February 12, 2013

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10:44 PM | This service will resume shortly…

Due to an impending deadline, I am unable to write a blog that would make any sense at present but wanted to let you know that I haven’t gone anywhere and intend to return later in the week. Here are some newsy things I’m not going to talk about today: 1. Urban foxes. Exasperating. For [...]

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7:56 PM | Salmon ACTUALLY use Earth’s magnetic field to find their way home

Five years ago, it was hypothesized that marine migrants, such as salmon and turtles, travelling long distances to reach their natal waters to spawn (a process known as natal homing) use geomagnetic cues to navigate to the correct area (Lohmann, … Continue reading →

February 11, 2013

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3:29 PM | Bat Survey!

I went out this last weekend to check up on my home counties bats that are currently hibernating away in their various cosy crevices, cracks and wholes. Our survey took us everywhere from underground unused animal dens, old Victorian structures to swampy caves! The species that we found were; Barbastelle, Natterer’s, Daubenton’s and the Brown long-eared bat. Here is a few pictures [...]

February 10, 2013

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6:10 PM | My nerdy love story

Zach and I were invited by The Story Collider to come to NYC to tell our nerdy love story to a live audience. The performance was turned into a podcast, which can be heard below, on The Story Collider website, … Continue reading →

February 09, 2013

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5:56 AM | Friday 5: Things I Think About When Teaching Kids About Bugs

I love my job, but one of the very best parts is getting to teach kids on a semi-regular basis. There are many ways that I do this, but recently I’ve been presenting information at a cart out on the … Continue reading →

February 08, 2013

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9:49 PM | How Do You Play with Your Dog?

Surely our mutual love of play is one of the reasons that dogs and people get along so well. As Karen London and I write in Play Together, Stay Together, “Play is powerful stuff. It influences so many things, including development, motivation, emotions, physiology, communication and behavior. Wow! That’s an impressive list.” After years working as Applied Behaviorists, it was clear to Karen and I that play has the power to strengthen one’s relationship with a dog, or […]

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12:24 AM | The Rescuers – the pitfalls and potential of interspecies altruism

Since I published my blog about morality, I’ve been noticing lots of instances of humans demonstrating our extensive capacity for altruism (re-cap: acts that help others without any significant gain to ourselves). Particularly, me being me, I’ve noticed how far we extend our altruism – far outside of our own social group, to include strangers, [...]

February 06, 2013

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8:07 PM | Dogs helping cats: February is ‘Lend A Paw’ month

(Source) Hi Mia! Cats chilling with working dogs? I’ve never heard of that, and it’s the best idea! It's possible working dog organizations here in the States do that, and I’m just out of the loop. Clearly that experience/exposure is important for dogs and cats alike! Yes, Josh had a bit of a run in with block of cheese and a tea kettle. Not to worry; he is healthy and happy, although the cheese felt violated and the tea kettle is out of commission. Science Online 2013 Conference […]

Hsu Y. & Serpell J.A. (2003). Development and validation of a questionnaire for measuring behavior and temperament traits in pet dogs, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 223 (9) 1293-1300. DOI: 10.2460/javma.2003.223.1293

Boissy A., Manteuffel G., Jensen M.B., Moe R.O., Spruijt B., Keeling L.J., Winckler C., Forkman B., Dimitrov I. & Langbein J. & (2007). Assessment of positive emotions in animals to improve their welfare, Physiology & Behavior, 92 (3) 375-397. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.02.003

Branson N.J. & Rogers L.J. (2006). Relationship between paw preference strength and noise phobia in Canis familiaris., Journal of Comparative Psychology, 120 (3) 176-183. DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.120.3.176

Cottam N., Dodman N.H. & Ha J.C. (2012). The effectiveness of the Anxiety Wrap in the treatment of canine thunderstorm phobia: An open-label trial, Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2012.09.001

Daniels D.M., Ritzi R.B.S., O’Neil J. & “Tres Scherer L.R. (2009). Analysis of Nonfatal Dog Bites in Children, The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 66 (Supplement) S17-S22. DOI: 10.1097/TA.0b013e3181937925

Schalamon J. (2006). Analysis of Dog Bites in Children Who Are Younger Than 17 Years, PEDIATRICS, 117 (3) e374-e379. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2005-1451

Horowitz A.C. & Bekoff M. (2007). Naturalizing Anthropomorphism: Behavioral Prompts to Our Humanizing of Animals, Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 20 (1) 35. DOI: 10.2752/089279307780216650

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3:21 PM | Birds, Vitamin E, and the Race Against Time: A Guest Post

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 […]

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

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7:00 AM | Well-Nigh Wordless Wednesday: Leggy

When I went to Bug Shot in August, I came across dozens of different spiders. I almost walked into the web of this one, and caught sight of it just before I ended up with a spider on my face: … Continue reading →

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12:04 AM | My dirty mammal secret

Anyone who knows me, or follows me on twitter, will be aware that I continue to fight a losing battle against the mainstream and its hideous mammal bias. The joy I felt when I found a twitter account named ‘Mammals Suck‘! The despair when it turned out to be a pun, because the person running [...]

February 05, 2013

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5:01 AM | 2012 Dragonfly Swarm Project Year-End Report: Conclusions

It’s time for part 3 of the yearly Dragonfly Swarm Project report! Today, I present the results of the predictions I made last year based on the data you all have contributed over the last 3 years, plus I’m proposing … Continue reading →

February 04, 2013

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11:39 PM | For the Love of Camels

Anyone who knows me will by now have learned that I have an unusual fondness for camels. As I’ve picked up some new readers (thank you all, by the way, for stopping by), I decided I should probably bring this up to, you know, put my cards on the table. I love camels. Of course, [...]

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11:05 PM | Zebra affairs – flies and stripes

Whether you think zebras are white with black stripes, or black with white stripes, will depend much on your way of looking at things, although DNA tests confirmed that zebras were originally a dark color and evolved the lighter shades. You would surely agree that the most obvious characteristic of zebras are their striking striped […]

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3:14 PM | Saga of the Sea Turtle Part II: The Epic Migration

Loggerhead sea turtles are born equipped with an internal compass and map to find their way across thousands of miles of ocean. What's behind these expert navigators' sophisticated sense of direction?read more

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3:40 AM | Lend a Paw: Help scientists design a cat behavior questionnaire

(Source)Those in the field of canine behavior and cognition see the word “C-BARQ”, and that means something to us. We know it is not short for “See Spot bark.” Instead it stands for Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire — a questionnaire providing dog owners and dog professionals with standardized evaluations of canine temperament and behavior.Dog Behavior QuestionnaireThe C-BARQ was developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the […]

February 03, 2013

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3:16 PM | What do Guinea pigs have to do with horses?

Guinea Pigs, Cavia porcellus, are best known as cuddly rodents, and despite the fact that many children have at some point in their lives enjoyed their company as pets, little is known about what Guinea Pigs really are. These “pigs” are social prey animals, which mean that they are generally nervous of new sights, sounds […]

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1:57 PM | Altruistic dolphins help lost seal. Now with extra genital-buzzing!

The ocean is choc-a-block full of random acts of kindness these days. Recently we’ve heard about sperm whales adopting a deformed bottlenose dolphin, a dolphin that sought aid from a friendly diver, and now the latest offering; “altruistic” dolphins that help a lost seal find its way back home (video below). It’s hard to tell [...]

February 02, 2013

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3:39 AM | Friday 5: Things I’ve Learned at Science Online 2013

Science Online started Wednesday and hundreds of incredibly talented science writers descended on my city for it. This is my first year at Science Online and I’m having a blast! I’ve gotten to meet a few of my science writing … Continue reading →

February 01, 2013

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5:27 PM | Pukka’s Promise: Book Review

One of the best things about being an author is being sent pre-publication copies of books. It’s great fun to see what’s going to be out on the bookshelves and eReaders in a couple of months. (Of course, one of the worst things about being an author is being sent pre-pub copies of books. They pile up. They sit on your desk looking at you, begging in some passive, rectangular way for endorsements.) Most of the books are somewhat interesting, a few of them are ... Read the Rest

January 31, 2013

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11:46 PM | Dogs & Cats, Cats & Working Dogs, Working Dogs & Emotions

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 […]

Mellor D.J. & Bayvel A.C.D. (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 D. (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

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11:01 PM | Breaking News: Cats are Carnivores

The human-cat relationship appears to have hit a rough patch. Recent research estimates that free-ranging cats in the US kill up to 3.7 billion birds and 20.7 billion mammals each year. A quick Google News search of the term ‘killer cats’ brought back thousands of results, with headlines like, “That Cuddly Kitty is Deadlier Than [...]

January 30, 2013

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6:55 PM | Origins of The Scorpion and The Frog and the Social Brain

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 […]

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

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7:00 AM | Well-Nigh Wordless Wednesday: Cactus Bugs

This is one of my favorite shots from Bug Shot 2012: Someone had brought in a prickly pear cactus paddle with a bunch of these bugs on them and I thought they were quite beautiful. This species (Chelinidea vittiger, the cactus … Continue reading →

January 29, 2013

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4:41 AM | Update on Part 3

The last few weeks… Well, they’ve been really busy. REALLY busy. I am rather happy when I get to sleep at a decent hour so I can get up early the next morning and start another long day full of … Continue reading →

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12:47 AM | Moral(animal)ity

“Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals.” - E. O. Wilson On Thursday night I started to write a post about eating meat. It is still saved in my box of drafts, but it will [...]

January 27, 2013

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7:25 PM | The tale of the boy who saw without eyes

I don’t know if you have already heard about the human echolocation phenomenom. For those of you who haven’t, this post’s title probably has left you a bit astonished, but human echolocation in an ability that has been known for at least the 1950s. We could say that human echolocation its a process similar, in [...]

January 26, 2013

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12:07 AM | Friday 5: SciOnline Art Show Entries

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen my note earlier this week mentioning that I’d submitted photos for consideration for inclusion in the Science OnlineScience Art show (because I’m attending SciOnline next week – woooooooo!!!!), all photos that … Continue reading →

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