behavior
grrlscientist | January 20, 2010tags: Metaphorically Speaking, language, pattern recognition,conceptual synesthesia, cognitive dissonance, James Geary, TEDTalks, streaming video
Aphorism enthusiast and author James Geary waxes on a fascinating fixture of human language: the metaphor. Friend of scribes from Aristotle to Elvis, metaphor can subtly influence the decisions we make, Geary says. This talk is interesting for many reasons, not the least of which is because the speaker uses an extended metaphor to describe metaphors.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference,…
grrlscientist | January 19, 2010tags: neurobiology, The Neurons that Shaped Civilization, mirror neurons, Ghandi neurons, social behavior, Lamarkian evolution, Darwinian evolution, VS Ramachandran, TEDTalks, streaming video
Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran outlines the fascinating functions of mirror neurons. Only recently discovered, these neurons allow us to learn complex social behaviors, some of which formed the foundations of human civilization as we know it.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of…
grrlscientist | January 15, 2010tags: evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, life history, migration, long-distance migration,birds,ornithology,researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
White-rumped sandpiper, Calidris fuscicollis, chicks on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada.
Image: Laura McKinnon [larger view]
I recently told you about research that used new microtechnology to document the incredible journey of Arctic Terns, a small bird species that annually migrates from its wintering area in Antarctica to its breeding colonies in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America…
grrlscientist | January 13, 2010tags: evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, migration, microtechnology, geolocator, natural history, biological hotspots, longest migration, seabirds, Arctic Tern, Sterna paradisaea, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
Arctic Tern, Sterna paradisaea, Iceland.
Image: Arthur Morris, Birds as Art, 2007 [larger view].
Canon 400mm f/5.6L lens (handheld) with the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Manual Flash with Better Beamer at 1:1.
For decades, it was widely suspected that a small seabird, the…
grrlscientist | January 12, 2010tags: man drinking fat, NYC Health Anti-Soda Ad, Are You Pouring on the Pounds?, diet, nutrition, sports drinks, soda, sweetened drinks, television, disgusting, streaming video
Most people don't realize how easy it is to gain weight from drinking sugary sodas, juice drinks, sport drinks and sweetened tea and coffee drinks. Just one 20-ounce bottle of soda can pack 250 calories and more than 16 teaspoons of sugar. Is the lemon-flavored iced tea any better? Not by much with 210 calories and 14½ teaspoons of sugar. Sugar-sweetened beverages add hundreds of calories to your diet each day. Don't…
grrlscientist | January 11, 2010tags: King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius, Red-Capped Manakin, Yellow-Thighed Manakin, Pipra mentalis, courtship displays, behaviors, birds, ornithology, Kim Bostwick, streaming video
I recently showed you the oddly shaped iridescent tail plume from a King Bird of Paradise as the daily mystery bird, now watch this video to see how the birds use these plumes in courtship displays.
grrlscientist | January 9, 2010tags: Super Sunday: The Baptazia Dance Club, religion, dance, funny, weird, Baptazia, streaming video
Religion might be viewed by some as the modern dancing disease. Others might view Sunday morning church services as a cheap gym or dance club.
Audio from Clipz & Die with MC IC3 & MC Shabba - OneNation Valentines Festival 2007.
grrlscientist | January 7, 2010tags: politics, terrorism, economics, social psychology, Red Brigades, Italy, TEDTalks, TED Talks, Loretta Napoleoni, streaming video
Loretta Napoleoni details her rare opportunity to talk to the secretive Italian Red Brigades -- an experience that sparked a lifelong interest in terrorism. She gives a behind-the-scenes look at its complex economics, revealing a surprising connection between money laundering and the US Patriot Act.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their…
grrlscientist | December 25, 2009tags: Polar Bear Versus Walrus Colony, nature, global warming, climate change, BBC, Planet Earth, documentary, streaming video
This video documents an awesome fight for survival as a grown male polar bear takes on a walrus colony at the edge of the Arctic circle. This was a truly epic battle, phenomenally captured in high quality, from the BBC natural history masterpiece, Planet Earth.
What surprised you most about this footage? I was surprised that the walruses did not work together to defeat/get rid of the polar bear.
grrlscientist | December 15, 2009tags: peer-reviewed paper, psychology, gift wrapping, wrapping paper, behavior, holidays, holidaze
Besides bright lights, my favorite thing about the holidays is wrapping gifts. I love covering a boxed gift with colored papers (or even with plain brown paper bags), I get tremendous satisfaction from folding the paper so it makes precise corners and then I especially enjoy decorating the wrapped gift with bows, ribbons and toy flowers and birds, christmas ornaments or other decorations. I also enjoy figuring out how to wrap unusually shaped objects. However, my most favorite thing to do is…
grrlscientist | December 12, 2009tags: Woodpecker vs Snake, behavior, birds, Giant Bird Snake, Pseustes sulphureus, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Campephilus melanoleucos, streaming video
Here is some remarkable footage from somewhere in the Amazon (Peru?) of a Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Campephilus melanoleucos, taking on a "Giant bird snake" or "puffing snake", Pseustes sulphureus, that has raided its nest and swallowed its eggs.
grrlscientist | December 11, 2009tags: El Baile del Perrito, Un Perro Bailando Merengue, stupid pet tricks, animal training, humor, funny, streaming video
This video documents a Merengue-dancing dog. Despite its cheesiness, it's really an interesting study in excellent animal training as well as a demonstration of how well an animal observes human body movements and body language.
laelaps | November 18, 2009Via NatureBreak.org, a capuchin monkey bathes using a stolen orange;
I think she is correct. Capuchin monkeys regularly rub citrus fruits on their fur and this activity appears to keep them free of parasites and keep some of the biting insects away.
grrlscientist | November 14, 2009tags: birds, flock behavior, denmark, wildlife, wow, streaming video
This astonishing video from Denmark documents a flock of 300,000 birds in flight. I've seen flocks of as many as a million (or more) shorebirds in flight, but despite that, the sight never ceases to amaze me. For example, how do birds fly at such high speeds in such close quarters, changing directions seemingly at random, without crashing into each other?
What is the largest flock of birds you've ever seen? What species were in this flock? Do mixed-species flocks move differently than same-species flocks?
grrlscientist | October 31, 2009tags: piano stairway, Sweden, behavior, social experiment, streaming video
This video documents an interesting social experiment in Stockholm, Sweden, where students changed stairs into a piano, and compared before-and-after video of stairway use to escalator use. Brilliant!
grrlscientist | October 30, 2009tags: Phidippus putnami, Jumping Spider, macro video, animal behavior, streaming video
This remarkable video is of (probably) a sub-adult female Phidippus putnami Jumping Spider ..
Video: Thomas Shahan [Thomas Shahan's photostream]
grrlscientist | October 29, 2009tags: Paraphidippus aurantius, Jumping Spider, macro video, animal behavior, streaming video
After taking the video of an adult male Paraphidippus aurantius eating a cricket and waving his arms threateningly at the videographer's finger, both the male and an adult female P. aurantius were released on a nearby plant.
As stated in the video, the videographer did not intentionally cause the female to kill the male. The videographer says, "I was actually a little concerned that the female might try to get him, so I put them about three or four feet apart and went back inside for a little bit to…
grrlscientist | October 28, 2009tags: Tutelina species, Jumping Spider, macro video, animal behavior, streaming video
Here is some video (and stabilized from some really shakey footage using Deshaker, a plugin for Virtualdub) of male and female jumping spiders from the genus Tutelina. Not sure on the species, but the videographer's best guess is Tutelina elegans. The female could be mimicking the antennae movements of an ant. The music was recorded by the videographer.
Video: Thomas Shahan [Thomas Shahan's photostream]
grrlscientist | October 27, 2009tags: Phidippus princeps, Jumping Spider, macro video, animal behavior, streaming video
A nice little Phidippus princeps "chewing" on her (his?) feet, cleaning her eyes, and her fangs. Lots of fun palp movement, and a few glimpses of fang.
Video: Thomas Shahan [Thomas Shahan's photostream]
grrlscientist | October 26, 2009tags: ant mimic, Jumping Spider, macro video, animal behavior, streaming video
Unfortunately, no species ID yet (can you ID this spider?), but the mimicry in both form and behavior is truly beautiful, astonishing, really.
Video: Thomas Shahan [Thomas Shahan's photostream]