Natural Selection can be difficult to observe in natural populations. In the video linked below I examine a fascinating example of possible adaptation via natural selection of cliff swallows to the challenge of fast-moving vehicles in their environment. In the paper we will examine it was observed that over a period of 30 years, the... Continue Reading →
Paleontologists can get excited about fossils even if they are not dinosaurs, mammoths and hominids though this story has a Jurassic Park dino connection which helps. In this case several tiny fossil mosquitos had scientists abuzz in 2013. Fossils of mosquitoes are known from amber (fossilized tree sap) but are extremely rare in sedimentary rock... Continue Reading →
Phrenology, essential oils, homeopathy, reflexology, ESP, astrology, creation science, climate change denial, blood-type diet, vaccinations cause autism, quantum computing, smoking causes cancer, dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid impact, HIV causes AIDS, low-carb diet. Which of the above would you classify as the products of good scientific research and which would you classify as pseudoscience? ... Continue Reading →
We are currently in the midst of an extinction crisis.  Species are disappearing at an ever-accelerating pace. It is striking that not long ago the idea that any species could go extinct was unthinkable.  Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) was one of the first to suggest that extinction was a possibility. But during Leclerc’s... Continue Reading →
Birds, like all organisms, employ many strategies to ensure that their offspring will survive, thereby allowing the continued existence of the species. Some birds produce elaborate nests high in trees, on rocky ledges or even inside caves to protect them from ground-dwelling predators. Others, like penguins and many shorebirds, nest together, overwhelming predators by sheer... Continue Reading →
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) birds are masters of deception. They lay eggs on the ground—right in plain sight—except that they are hard to see.  If their nest is approached, the killdeer parent will distract the intruder by running along the ground, sometimes calling loudly—hence the vociferous portion of the Latin name provided to them by Carl... Continue Reading →
Evidence that some features of earth's landscape are the product of processes acting over longer periods of time can be found everywhere we look. Some of this evidence, such as that from the Grand Canyon, may be familiar to us but other evidence is far less familiar but tells the same story. For example, high... Continue Reading →
Ostriches are curious creatures. They are very large birds that, although they have large wings, are incapable of flight. They make themselves at home in some of the most inhospitable places.  They lay their eggs in simple dirt nests and behave in ways that have perplexed our ancestors since they first laid eyes on them. ... Continue Reading →
We use present day observations to infer past events every day.  I look out and see the patio is wet and a large dark cloud has just passed overhead. From this I derive a very reasonable hypothesis despite not being an eyewitness to the history: my wet patio was caused by a rain shower. I... Continue Reading →
Thousands of footprints preserved in a windswept eroded rock surface deep in an isolated desert region of the Arabian peninsula tell the story of an ancient herd of elephants walking across an ancient muddy landscape.  These are possibly the longest continuous set of footprints in the world and have been described in an article in the journal,... Continue Reading →
In remote western Kansas, groups of rock pillars stand like a natural Stonehenge over the grassy plains.  One such group of these pillars south of Oakley is named Monument Rocks.  Returning from our Wyoming and Colorado adventure, we stopped overnight in Scott City, Kansas just south of this interesting rock formation. The following morning we made our way along many... Continue Reading →
So many highlights from our vacation but I am going to hold off on some of my favorites until I am able to work through my images and develop more back story to go with them.  Instead, I will start with a short stop we made at Badlands National Park in South Dakota.  We were there all... Continue Reading →
Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the interactions of organisms with each other and their environment.  The animals and plants around you are living in relationship with each other and the environment, including yourself. Around your home you may have considerable control over the environment - moisture, nutrients, lawn-mowing, week control, pest removal - and thus you are probably... Continue Reading →
When do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one, as Spock suggested in Star Trek II? I have no interest in defending the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham, especially as a guide for understanding human moral psychology, but it is interesting to observe that some simple organisms display... Continue Reading →
What is the largest animal to have ever lived on the Earth? Most people will answer "dinosaurs" or "sauropods" in particular.  While some titanosaurs may have been the heaviest land animals they were not the largest animals to have lived on Earth. That distinction goes to an animal that is very much alive today:  the... Continue Reading →
Naturalis Historia 