peer-reviewed research

tags: psychology, behavior, pedagogy, education, learning, teaching methods, model/rival technique, Avian Learning EXperiment, Avian Language EXperiment, ALEX, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, journal club ALEX the African Grey Parrot and Dr Irene Pepperberg. Image: The ALEX Foundation. Like anyone who has taught science courses, and probably like anyone who has ever taught anything to a classroom in the history of mankind, I've wondered how to motivate my students to really care about the material they are learning, beyond simply "studying for the test." For example, I have…
tags: The surprising truth about what motivates us, tasks, simple tasks, complex tasks, commissions, innovation, mastery, economics, financial rewards, purpose motive, blog writing, making the world a better place, RSA, streaming video This video is really interesting for two reasons: first, it's a hand-drawn animation that evolves in front of your eyes, and second, I think it explains why scientists like to write blogs for the public about science -- for free! Adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, this fascinating video illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home…
tags: vultures, Gyps species, conservation biology, endangered species, veterinary medicine, toxicology, physiology, evolutionary biology, pharmaceutical chemistry, epidemiology, mathematical modeling, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, journal club Only thirty years ago, tens of millions of White-rumped Vultures, Gyps bengalensis, were flying the skies of Asia. They are now classified as Critically Endangered. Image: Marek Jobda / rarebirdsyearbook.com [larger view] A zombie is another name for The Walking Dead -- those who are lifeless, apathetic, or totally lacking in…
tags: birds, ornithology, Common Raven, Northern Raven, Corvus corax, animal behavior, animal culture, aggression, dominance hierarchy, social groups, social conflict, post-conflict behavior, consolation, empathy, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, journal club Common Raven, Corvus corax, showing off at Bryce Canyon National Park, USA. Image: United States National Park Service (Public Domain) [larger view] Humans have long tried to distinguish themselves from other animals on the basis of characters that are perceived to be unique, such as tool design and use, planning for the…
tags: ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, endangered species, habitat preferences, Northern Bluefin Tuna, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus, Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares, fisheries, PLoS ONE, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, journal club An adult Atlantic (Northern) Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus. A recently published study, intended to provide data to commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico so they maximize their catch of Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares, whilst avoiding bycatch of critically endangered Atlantic (Northern) Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus…
tags: ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, endangered species, environmental toxicology, seabirds, marine mammals, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, journal club Bird rescue personnel Danene Birtell (L) and Heather Nevill (R) hold an oiled brown pelican, found on Storm Island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, that will be washed at the treatment facility at Fort Jackson, Louisiana, USA. BP has contracted bird rescue groups to rehabilitate wildlife affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The birds are examined, thoroughly washed and then allowed to…
tags: Eyjafjallajökull, volcanic particulate material, ash clouds, airborne-particle deposition, respiratory physiology, respiratory toxicology, medicine, veterinary medicine, birds, avian health, bioassay, anatomy, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, journal club Figure 1: The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, photographed by a farmer in Iceland. This eruption sent massive billowing clouds of volcanic ash several miles into the atmosphere. Image: Ãlafur Eggertsson (Newscom/Zuma) [larger view] April is the peak month of spring migration for millions of birds, so the ongoing…
tags: evolutionary biology, evolutionary biogeography, molecular biology, medicine, ectoparasite, orificial hirudiniasis, mucosal leech infestation, hirudinoids, leech, Tyrannobdella rex, public health, zoology, PLoS ONE, anatomy, phylogenetic analysis, taxonomy, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, journal club Figure 1. Mucosally invasive hirudinoid leeches. Known from a wide variety of anatomical sites including eyes (A) as in this case involving Dinobdella ferox (B), mucosal leech species, as in a case involving Myxobdella annandalei (C), more frequently feed from the…
tags: evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, molecular ecology, personality, novelty seeking, exploratory behavior, dopamine receptor, dopamine receptor D4 gene, DRD4 gene polymorphism, ornithology, birds, Great Tit, Parus major, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper Bold or cautious? Individuals with a particular gene variant are very curious -- but only in some populations. Image: Henk Dikkers. Research suggests that personality variations are heritable in humans and other animal species, and there are many hypotheses as to why differences in personality…
tags: writer's block, psychology, abnormal psychology, cognitive psychology, writing, publishing, career, publish or perish, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club Sources: Didden, R., Sigafoos, J., O'Reilly, M., Lancioni, G., & Sturmey, P. (2007). A Multisite Cross-Cultural Replication of Upper's (1974) Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of Writer's Block. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40 (4), 773-773 DOI: 10.1901/jaba.2007.773 Upper, D. (1974). The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of "writer's block". Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis…
tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, UV light, flight, dinosaur, dromaeosaur, theropods, Microraptor gui, paleontology, fossils, birds, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club Figure 1. The holotype of Microraptor gui, IVPP V 13352 under normal light. This shows the preserved feathers (white arrow) and the 'halo' around the specimen where they appear to be absent (black arrows). Scale bar at 5 cm. [larger view] DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009223 It has long been known that when exposed to ultraviolent light, fossilized bones and shells -- and even…
tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, animal behavior, molecular ecology, parental care, mating systems, monogamy, sexual selection, frogs, poison dart frogs, Dendrobatidae, Ranitomeya, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club Peruvian mimic poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator. Image: Jason Brown [larger view] To know the breeding system is to know the genetic architecture of a species. To know the evolution of a breeding system is to know how evolution works .. ~ Lewis & Crowe, Evolution (1955) Genetic tests have revealed the…
tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, gynandromorph, bilateral gynandromorph bird, half-sider, mixed-sex chimaera, sex determination, molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology, endocrinology, birds, chicken, Gallus gallus, ornithology, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club Half-sider. Almost exactly one year ago, hundreds of American birders were thrilled by sightings and photographs of this remarkable Northern Cardinal, or Redbird, Cardinalis cardinalis, photographed in Warrenton, VA. Image: DW Maiden, 2 March 2009. I'll never forget the…
tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, ancient DNA, aDNA, molecular biology, molecular ecology, archaeology, paleontology, fossil eggshell, extinct birds, giant moa, Dinornis robustus, elephant birds, Aepyornis maximus, Mullerornis, Thunderbirds, Genyornis, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club Elephant bird, Aepyornis maximus, egg compared to a human hand with a hummingbird egg balanced on a fingertip. To conduct my avian research, I've isolated and sequenced DNA from a variety of specimens, such as blood, muscle, skin and a variety of internal…
tags: faith-based birding, mass hysteria, endangered species, extinct species, conservation, politics, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Campephilus principalis, IBWO, ornithology, birds, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has posted a reward of $50,000 to be given to anyone who can provide "video, photographic, or other compelling information and lead a project scientist to a living wild Ivory-billed Woodpecker." Mass hysteria is that strange psychological phenomenon where a group of people experience the same hallucination at the same…
tags: evolutionary biology, molecular biology, Thoroughbred race horses, horses, aerobic capacity, muscle development, myostatin, MSTN, myostatin-suppressing C variant, myostatin-suppressing T variant, Horse Genome Project, Equinome, researchblogging.org, peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper Emerging from the mist is Rachel Alexandra, a champion American Thoroughbred who excels at winning both long and short distance races. Image: Rob Carr, 2009, Associated Press [larger view] If you've worked at or been around a racetrack very much, as I have, you'll quickly realize that everyone…
tags: evolutionary biology, paleontology, taphonomy, plumage color, feathers, color, melanin, eumelanin, phaeomelanin, dinosaurs, theropod, paravian, avialae, fossils, Anchiornis huxleyi, ornithology, birds, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper New research reveals that recently-described 155-million-year-old Anchiornis huxleyi, a woodpecker-like dinosaur the size of a modern-day domesticated chicken, had black-and-white spangled wings and a rusty red crown. Image: Michael DiGiorgio, Yale University [larger view] Fig. 4. Reconstruction of the plumage color of…
tags: evolutionary biology, paleontology, fossils, fossilization, fossil forensics, Taphonomy, taxonomy, zoology, deep time, paleoceanography, amphioxus, Branchiostoma lanceolatum, lamprey, Lampetra fluviatilis, chordates, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper Three rotting Amphioxus heads. A sequence of images showing how the characteristic features of the body of amphioxus, a close living relative of vertebrates, change during decay. Colours are caused by interference between the experimental equipment and the light illuminating the specimens. Image: Mark…
tags: evolutionary biology, convergent evolution, paleontology, taxonomy, zoology, basal birds, theropods, dinosaurs, ornithology, birds, Alvarezsauroidea, Haplocheirus sollers, Maniraptora, Archaeopteryx, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper A Newly Discovered Basal Alvarezsauroid Theropod from the Early Late Jurassic. Artwork: Portia Sloan [larger view] DOI: 10.1126/science.1182143 A long-standing scientific debate focuses on the origins of birds: did they evolve from reptiles or dinosaurs? Currently, most scientists think that birds are modern dinosaurs, but…
tags: evolutionary biology, fossils, feathers, plumage color, color, dinosaurs, theropods, Sinosauropteryx, Sinornithosaurus, birds, Confuciusornis, melanosomes, phaeomelanosomes, eumelanosomes, keratinocytes, SEM, scanning electron microscopy, 10.1038/nature08740, researchblogging.org, peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper Reconstruction of two Sinosauropteryx, sporting their orange and white striped tails. Artwork by Chuang Zhao and Lida Xing [larger view] DOI: 10.1038/nature08740 While looking at museum dioramas that feature dinosaurs, I often overhear people asking "How do they…