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Musical spider 

5/29/2015

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ImagenPurring spider (Image: Alex Sweger/University of Cincinnati)
The purring wolf spider, it's music. For the first time, a spider has been recorded producing what appear to be audible courtship signals over and above pure vibrations. Many spider species rely heavily on vibrations to send signals to one another, by shaking leaves or strands of their webs. 

Uetz and Sweger found that males produce the sound and only females respond to a played recording of the purr, suggesting that the purr is used in courtship. The males only produce the sounds if they are standing on something that will vibrate, like a leaf, and females only respond when perched on a similar surface.

They think that the signal reaches the female by travelling as sound in air, which causes the leaves a female is standing on to vibrate. The purring spiders may help us better understand how communication by sound first evolved. Their findings were reported today at the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Sorce: newscientist.com

El ronroneo de la araña lobo, es música. Por primera vez, una araña ha sido registrada produciendo lo que parece ser señales de cortejo audibles por encima de puras vibraciones. Muchas especies de arañas dependen en gran medida las vibraciones para enviar señales a la otra, por agitación de hojas o hebras de sus telas.

Uetz y Sweger encontraron que los machos producen el sonido y sólo las hembras responden al ronroneo, lo que sugiere que el ronroneo se utiliza en el cortejo. Los machos sólo producen los sonidos si están de pie sobre algo que va a vibrar, como una hoja, y las hembras sólo responden cuando están paradas en una superficie similar.

Ellos piensan que la señal llega a la hembra viajando como sonido en el aire, lo que provoca que la hoja donde se encuentra parade la hembra vibre. El ronroneo de estas arañas pueden ayudarnos a entender mejor cómo la comunicación por sonido evolucionó. Sus resultados fueron publicados hoy en la reunión anual de la Sociedad Americana de Acústica en Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Fuente: newscientist.com

Click here to listen to the spider

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Injured sea turtle gets 3D printed jaw

5/23/2015

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Photos: BTech
The beak, made of medical-grade titanium, replaces the loggerhead turtle's jaws, half of which were sheared off in the accident, the turtle was injured by a boat's propeller and found nearly dead. The 45kg (99lb) creature was taken to the sea turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation centre at Pamukkale University in Denizli, Turkey.

The rehabilitation centre contacted Turkish company BTech Innovation, known for custom-making medical prosthetics and implants for humans, to see if it could help. BTech used CT scans taken by vets to produce a design that fitted perfectly to the injury site and restored the turtle's ability to feed. The turtle, named Akut-3, is currently convalescing at the recovery centre to ensure that it has adapted to its metal jaw.  If the prosthetic is not rejected by the turtle, the animal will be returned to the sea shortly.

Source: bbc.com


El pico, esta hecho de titanio médico, reemplaza mandíbulas de la tortuga boba, la mitad de la cual fue removida en el accidente, la tortuga fue herida por la hélice de un barco y la encontraron casi muerto. La criatura de 45 kg (99 libras) fue llevada al Centro de investigación, rescate y rehabilitación en en la Universidad de Pamukkale en Denizli, Turquía.

El centro de rehabilitación se puso en contacto con la empresa turca BTech Innovation, conocido por hacer prótesis e implantes médicos para los seres humanos, para ver si podía ayudar. BTech usó tomografías tomadas por los veterinarios para producir un diseño que se ajustaba perfectamente a la zona de la lesión y restauró la capacidad de la tortuga para alimentarse. La tortuga, llamada Akut-3, está convaleciente en el centro de recuperación para asegurarse de que se ha adaptado a la mandíbula de metal. Si la prótesis no es rechazada por la tortuga, el animal será devuelto al mar en breve.

Fuente: bbc.com
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An Extraordinary Glimpse into the First 21 Days of a Bee’s Life 

5/20/2015

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The first 21 days of a bee’s life are captured in this inspiring video by photographer Anand Varma. Bees pollinate 1/3 of the world’s food crop but are being threatened by the Varroa destructor mite; Varma was hired to document the process. Scientists have learned to breed mite-resistant bees which they are now trying to introduce into the wild.

In an attempt to better understand exactly what happens as a bee grows from an egg into an adult insect, photographer Anand Varma teamed up with the bee lab at UC Davis to film the first three weeks of a bee’s life in unprecedented detail, all condensed into a 60-second clip. The video above presented by National Geographic doesn’t include commentary, but Varma explains everything in a TED talk. The primary goal in photographing the bees was to learn how they interact with an invasive parasitic mite that has quickly become the greatest threat to bee colonies.  

Source: thisiscolossal.com

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Everyone is ‘Raven’ About Westeros!

5/19/2015

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By guest blogger: Katey Duffey 
ImagenImage: awoiaf.westeros.org
In the “Lands of Ice and Fire”, the most important member of the world’s bestiary is perhaps the raven.  It is said that the Children of the Forest taught the First Men to use ravens for a means of long distance communication. Those with gifts for prophetic visions and nature-based powers, the greenseers, could skinchange into ravens to communicate with people far away. Bran Stark is visited by the unusual three-eyed raven in his dreams, which guides him to a certain place to learn of his destiny. The ravens of Westeros are similar to real world ravens, except they are stronger and are more skilled at homing. They can also imitate human speech. Most ravens are trained to fly to only one location, but highly prized birds can be trained to fly to multiple locations to carry messages. White ravens from the Citadel are rare occurrences that mark the changing of seasons.

ImagenRaven, Photo: www.allaboutbirds.org
The common raven (Corvus corax) is part of the family Corvidae in the Passeriformes order that includes 120 species such as crows, magpies, jackdraws and jays. Ravens are large, black birds standing between 55-68cm (22-27in). They differ from crows in that they have a wedge-shaped tail, a heavier, longer bill, and thick, shaggy throat feathers. The call of a raven is also a much deeper, croaking sound. In short, ravens look and sound sort of like “crows on steroids”. Unlike crows, which fly by mostly continuous flapping, ravens fly more hawk-like, with little flapping and more soaring along thermals. 

Ravens can be found throughout much of North America, ranging from Alaska, Canada, the Midwest to western region of the lower forty-eight states, and in Mexico. Subspecies are also found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mountain forests, boreal forests, and coastal cliffs are the primary habitat for these birds. 

Crow, Photo: www.allaboutbirds.org
Raven, Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
ImagenImage: www.alamy.com
For those who may try to insult someone with the phrase “bird brained”, you may want to reconsider. Cognition refers to an animal’s ability to process information from its environment (ie: perception, memory, learning, decision making, and problem solving). High intelligence and problem solving skills are among the best traits of ravens. For example, most mammals encounter the concept of counting as a great challenge. Monkeys may take a prolonged training regime of up to 21,000 trials to learn to distinguish between different tones. Birds in general, master this much more easily. In controlled experiments, ravens can learn to count up to seven and ID a food box by counting objects in front of it with only a few trials. 

Although they are often solitary, ravens exhibit complex social systems with each other that help them to hunt cooperatively and communicate. Sub-adults frequently “recruit” other sub-adults to team up against adults in order to gain access to a carcass to scavenge from. Up to 100 allied birds may be recruited! Ravens will learn from others where to look for food and remember it for later. This type of behavior has been valuable knowledge for Inuit communities in finding caribou. Ravens follow wolves for a chance to scavenge off of a kill. Another interesting thing about ravens is their ability to play and create various social games similar to “Follow the Leader” by following others around or “King of the Mountain”, by trying to dominate a perch. They will also take turns manipulating and balancing sticks. 

ImagenOdin and his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn. Image: galleryhip.com
Ravens are common throughout the folklore of many different cultures. For Native Americans, they are often a symbol for a trickster in stories, or could even be an honored hero who displays faults. Along the Pacific northwestern coast, Raven was the creator of the world. In Celtic legends, ravens are seen as a foreboding omen of death due to their association with scavenging. They are believed to be powerful messengers between the realms of the living and the dead. The Norse god, Odin, was referred to as the “Raven God” from his connection to his two ravens Huginn and Muninn who flew around the world gathering information. Norse stories depict ravens as female figures called Valkyries who fly through battle, choosing who lives or dies. 

Whether in Westeros or Earth, ravens have played a noteworthy role in mythology. Their intelligence and resilient nature have aided in their survival during difficult environmental conditions, ranking them as a most impressive bird indeed.

References
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_raven/id
Awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Raven
Gill, F.B. (2007). Ornithology, 3rd ed. W.H. Freeman and Company, NY,NY. pp: 207-208, 322-323, 331, 500-501.
www.transceltic.com/pan-celtic/ravens-celtic-and-norse-mythology
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 4th ed. National Geographic Society. pp: 318
www.native-languages.org/legends-raven.htm
Peterson, R.T. (2002). Peterson Field Guides: Birds of Eastern and Central North America, 5th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, NY, NY. pp: 252
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Realistic Animal Lollipops by Shinri Tezuka

5/18/2015

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A new candy shop in Tokyo called Ameshin offers traditional Japanese amezaiku, a form of artisinal candy making that dates back to the 8th century when the edible objects were offered at temples or given as gifts. The lollipops and other confectionary beasts are made by the shop’s owner, 26-year-old Shinri Tezuka, from a mixture of starch and sugary syrup that results in a translucent, almost glasslike candy. Tezuka shares more of his latest creations on the Ameshin website and Facebook page. 

Source: thisiscolossal.com
Una nueva tienda de dulces en Tokio llamado Ameshin ofrece amezaiku , una forma de fabricación de dulces artesanal que se remonta al siglo octavo, cuando se ofrecieron los objetos comestibles en los templos o como regalos. Las paletas y otras bestias de confitería son hechas por el propietario de la tienda, de 26 años de edad Shinri Tezuka, a partir de una mezcla de almidón y jarabe azucarado que se traduce en un caramelo translúcido, casi semejante al vidrio. Tezuka comparte más de sus últimas creaciones en la página web Ameshin y página de Facebook.

Fuente: thisiscolossal.com
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Scientists discover first warm-bodied fish

5/15/2015

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Imagen
NOAA FISHERIES WEST COAST
Researchers have discovered the first fish that can keep its entire body warm, much like mammals and birds. The opah, or moonfish, lives in deep, cold water, but it generates heat from its massive pectoral muscles. And it conserves that warmth thanks to body fat and the special structure of blood vessels in its gills.

The opah (Lampris guttatus) doesn’t look like a fierce predator. This tubby fish, about a meter long, swims by flapping its pectoral fins. It lives in oceans around the world, but little is known about its biology. It hunts squid and fish, typically 50 m to 200 m below the surface, where the water is just 10°C and colder. 

Source: news.sciencemag.org
Los investigadores han descubierto el primer pez que puede mantener todo su cuerpo caliente, al igual que los mamíferos y las aves. El opah o peces luna, vive en agua fría profunda, pero genera el calor de sus masivos músculos pectorales, conserva ese calor gracias a la grasa corporal y la estructura especial de los vasos sanguíneos en sus branquias.

El opah (Lampris guttatus) no se ve como un depredador feroz. Este pez rechoncho, de aproximadamente un metro de largo, nada batiendo sus aletas pectorales. Vive en los océanos de todo el mundo, pero poco se sabe sobre su biología. Caza calamares y peces, por lo general 50 ma 200 m por debajo de la superficie, donde el agua es de 10 ° C o más fría.

Fuente: news.sciencemag.org
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Oh, Deer! Here Comes Thranduil on His Megaloceros giganteus!

5/11/2015

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By guest blogger: Katey Duffey 
ImagenImage: lotr.wikia.com
Leave it to the mighty elven king of the Woodland realm to enter battle in style - not on some robust destrier, but on an enormous, graceful elk. Although King Thranduil’s mount is not specified in the book, the film adaptions use a giant elk as the elven king’s war steed. The elk can be seen in the prologue of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and during The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as Thranduil’s method of transportation. Throughout the final battle, the elk aided in fighting off the orcs by kicking, and using its huge antlers to crush and fling the enemy.




Incredibly, this massive elk existed outside of Middle-earth. In fact, despite its common name (Irish elk), it was not actually an elk, but was the largest species of deer to have ever lived. Standing at 2.1m (7ft) at the shoulder, weighing around 680kg (1500lbs), and having an antler spread of up to 3.9m (13ft), the Megaloceros giganteus was a formidable herbivore. Through the Pleistocene and into the early Holocene epochs, 2,000 years after the extinction of other megafauna 10,000 years ago, this animal persisted within grassland habitats. Although the first remains were found in peat bog deposits in Ireland, adding to the other part of the common name, Irish elk ranged all over Europe, N. Asia, N. Africa, and Siberia. A similar species was even found in China.

Photo: www.amnh.org
Image: www.exhibitionroad.com
ImagenImage: www.geology.ohio-state.edu/~vonfrese/gs100/lect33/
Why the ridiculously enormous antlers? As with the antlered or horned species of today, the antlers of the Irish elk were probably used in combat between males to show off their strength to earn breeding rights with females. Another possibility is that the antlers were a visual display for sexual selection. The antlers face forward, showing maximum surface area. This would signal to the ladies, “Look how impressive my antlers are! Aren’t I such a stud?” If they were used for sexual selection, then the larger, stronger antlers would become a favored trait among males, which would then continue to be passed on to offspring.

When it came to selecting a war mount, Thranduil chose wisely. Other than the ability to crush orcs, those powerful, scooping antlers would have been an excellent set of weapons in defense against predators as well. If that did not work, the skeleton of the Irish elk indicates that the animal was an endurance runner. Therefore, it could out pace even the swiftest carnivores.

ImagenPhoto: Fallow deer, www.dreamstime.com
An analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) places Irish elk within the “Old World deer” family, and in the subfamily Cervinae. Its closest living relatives today are the fallow deer species (Dama dama and D. mesopotamica), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and wapiti (C. canadensis). The fallow deer, however, have the most common characteristics which links the ancient deer more to the Dama clad. There are 2 points on the antlers, 1 point on the skull, 2 dental characteristics, 1 key similarity in the vertebrae and 2 limb-bone related traits that are shared between Irish elk and fallow deer. Another trait that the deer share is an enlarged larynx, or a “swollen Adam’s apple”. From these characteristics, fallow deer are considered to be the last representatives of this unique deer group. 

There are a couple main theories on why this large deer went extinct. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the most common theory was due to orthogenesis. Orthogenesis is the result of a change in some sort of internal trend within a lineage, as opposed to natural selection.  In the case of the Irish elk, it was believed that the evolution of such massive antlers as a favorable trait was the animal’s downfall, because it was unable to support the weight on its head or avoid entanglement through forests. The second extinction theory is that the animal could not adapt to the environmental changes from the receding ice. It simply lost its habitat. Without a place to live, there were no resources to live on, and so ends the Irish elk.

References

Gonzolez, S., Kitchener, A.C. & Lister, A.M. (2000). Survival of the Irish elk into the Holocene. Nature, 405(6788): 753-754.
Stewart, W. (2015). Giant Prehistoric Deer Lived 2,000 years after ‘Extinction’: Population of Irish Elk Thrived in Siberia after the Ice Age. www.dailymail.co.uk/
Lister, A.M., Edwards, C.J., Nock, D.A.W., Bunce, M., van Pijlen, I.A., Bradley, D.G., Thomas, M.G. & Barnes, I. (2005). The Phylogenic position of the ‘giant deer’ Magaloceros giganteus. Nature, 438(8): 850-853.  
Lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Thranduil’s_elk
Pitra, C., Fickel, J., Meijaard, E. & Groves, C. (2004). Evolution and phylogeny of old world deer. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 33: 880-895.
www.amnh.org
www.ucmp.berkeley.edu
www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/irish-elk



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Double Exposure Animal Portraits 

5/9/2015

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Norwegian visual artist Andreas Lie merges verdant landscapes and photographs of animals to creates subtle double exposure portraits. Snowy mountain peaks and thick forests become the shaggy fur of wolves and foxes, and even the northern lights appear through the silhouette of a polar bear. Lie is undoubtedly influenced by his surroundings in Bergen, Norway, a coastal city surrounded by seven mountains. Many of these are available as prints and other objects on Society6. 

Source:
thisiscolossal.com
El artista visual noruego Andreas Lie combina paisajes y fotografías de animales para crear sutiles retratos de doble exposición. Desde los picos de las montañas nevadas y frondosos bosques se convierten en la piel peluda de lobos y zorros, y hasta las luces del norte aparecen a través de la silueta de un oso polar. Sin duda, Lie está influenciado por su entorno en Bergen, Noruega, una ciudad costera rodeada por siete montañas. Muchos de estas fotos están disponibles como grabados y otros objetos en Society6.


Fuente:
thisiscolossal.com
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Glowing green larvae

5/8/2015

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Photos: © Jeff Cremer
Los animales que producen y emiten su propia luz han sido de gran interés para los biólogos y químicos, y casi cualquier amante de la naturaleza que ha tenido el privilegio de encontrarse con una de las muchas criaturas que brillan intensamente por ahí.

Estas larvas pegan sus cabezas brillantes a la tierra con sus mandíbulas extendidos. Esto inmediatamente alertó a los entomólogos lo que parecía ser una estrategia depredadora de sentarse y esperar, o de emboscada. La producción de luz en estos gusanos brillantes es probablemente debido a una molécula conocida como luciferina, que es también el compuesto que muchas especies de luciérnaga utilizan para emitir luz.

Los científicos creen que  éstos pertenecen a una familia de escarabajos llamada Elateridae, que se conocen comúnmente como "click beetles". Pero más allá de eso, no estamos del todo seguro de qué especie se trata o si han sido pero descritas (tal vez a través del poder de la internet podemos obtener una respuesta). La familia Elateridae es muy grande, con alrededor de 10.000 especies descritas en el mundo y sólo alrededor de 200 especies han sido documentados para mostrar bioluminiscencia

Fuente:
blog.perunature.com
Animals that produce and emit their own light have been of great interest to biologists, chemists, and pretty much any nature lover who has had the privilege of encountering one of the many glowing critters out there. 

These larvae are sticking their glowing heads out of the dirt wall with their freakish looking mandibles outstretched. This immediately tipped off the entomologists that this appeared to be a sit-and-wait, or ambush, predatory strategy. The light production in these glow worms is likely due to a molecule known as Luciferin, which is also the compound that many firefly species use to emit light.

Scientist believe these belong to a family of beetles called Elateridae, which are commonly known as click beetles. But beyond that, we are not entirely sure what species this is or if it has been described yet (perhaps through the power of the internet we can get an answer). Elateridae is a very large family with around 10,000 described species in the world and only about 200 species have been documented to display bioluminescence


Source:
blog.perunature.com
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Intimate Portraits of Bees 

5/6/2015

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Researchers take advantage of photography technology developed by the U.S. Army to capture beautiful portraits of bees native to North America.


Los investigadores aprovechan la tecnología fotográfica desarrollada por el ejército estadounidense para capturar hermosos retratos de abejas nativas de América del Norte.

Read more 


Photography by Sam Droege, USGS
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