Ecology & Zoology

Squid Seeking Squid, Any Sex... Or Species?

Octopoteuthis is a curious animal. As the name suggests, it's a squid that looks like an octopus. Babies have eight arms and two tentacles, but they lose the tentacles as they grow up--becoming the only adult squid with eight appendages. They have ot ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Sep 23 2011 - 11:04am

The Squid Are Back!

To be specific, the Humboldt squid are back in California. Their opening act was a mass stranding on Black's Beach in San Diego last Saturday. A lifeguard had the most poetic commentary on the matter: "Of course, as you might imagine, there were ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Jan 15 2012 - 7:33pm

History Made Rainforests Diverse, Not Ecology

People concerned about climate change recently can look no farther than the world's rainforests to see the diversity that arises from different ecological conditions.   History and geology, not current ecology, are likely what has made tropical forest ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 25 2011 - 12:30pm

Better Problem-Solving In Groups

A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and performed by researchers at the university of Oxford, has shown that larger groups of birds are better at solving problems. The researchers suggest this effect may be expla ...

Article - Gunnar De Winter - Sep 27 2011 - 10:29am

Squid Pen Draws Current Biotech Progress

I'm so used to calling computers, phones, and all sorts of other devices "electronics" that I tend to forget that word means something very specific. It means those toys are manipulating the flow of electrons--everyone's favorite itty-b ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Sep 27 2011 - 1:15pm

Tool Use- By A Fish

The first video of tool use by a fish has been published in the journal Coral Reefs by Giacomo Bernardi, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  In the video, an orange-dotted tuskfish digs a clam out of ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 28 2011 - 1:59pm

Diving With Humboldt Squid (Without Chain Mail)

Drawn by the newly arrived throngs of Humboldt squid in Southern California, an underwater photographer hopped in the water with them to snap some photos. They're smallish for Humboldts, but note how he's grabbing this one--and he didn't get ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Sep 29 2011 - 11:43am

Caught on tape: Fish using tools.

A few months ago, the news of a tool-using fish was spread (for more information about it, as well as about tool-use in other animals and the definition of tool-use, check this post). Now, a closely related species, the orango-dotted tuskfish (Choerodon an ...

Blog Post - Gunnar De Winter - Sep 29 2011 - 9:04am

Giant Squid Charisma +2

Today I get a free pass on my blog, because an article I wrote about giant squid came out at Miller-McCune.com. Conservation efforts often rally around charismatic species like the African elephant or the bald eagle. Popular affection for these “flagship” ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Sep 29 2011 - 6:47pm

Squid, Sharks, and Rats, Oh My!

This is a pretty crazy story! Japanese planes spotted a fishing vessel engaged in illegal drift net fishing off the coast of Alaska, and the US Coast Guard boarded it. The offending vessel was not registered in any nation, an unusual situation, Francis sa ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Oct 1 2011 - 9:47pm