Ecology & Zoology

The largest fish species in the ocean, the whale shark, is spectacular for lots of reasons, not the least is that their motion is an astonishing feat of mathematics and energy conservation.  In…

Yesterday I finished two novels. One was Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and I have babbled about it here. The other was my own invention. The working title is A Girl and her Squid…

Will polar bears survive in a warmer world?   New evidence says their numbers are likely to dwindle.  As polar bears lose habitat due to global warming, biologists say, they will be forced…

§ Suborder: Haplorrhini § Infraorder: Tarsiiformes § Family: Tarsiidae § Genus: Tarsius § Species: T. bancanus, T. dentatus, T. lariang, T. pelengensis, T. pumilus, T. sangirensis, T.…

It used to be that broader understanding of zoology meant intuitively that new species would be harder to find and so it followed that there would be fewer of them when found - that is the nature of…

A study by Wageningen University says radiation from wi-fi networks may be harmful to trees.    The researchers note that trees in urban areas in recent years have shown an increasing…

I am 26,160 words into my squid racing novel, about halfway through the plot, and enjoying NaNoWriMo quite thoroughly. But I just had to pop out of my month of hibernation to link a few really cool…

Plants often get shorted on attention among biologists.  Don't get me wrong -- there is a huge scientific community of plant biologists, field botanists, and agronomists out there, and plenty of…

Let's be honest; life began on land.  I know, I know, that is blasphemy and Neil Shubin will stand on high and strike me down with my inner fish for saying such a thing, but while life began in…

Because society demanded to know, researchers have discovered which species has the largest testicles in relation to body weight on the planet – and it's Tuberous Bush Cricket (Platycleis affinis)…