For the love of all things slimy

Amphibians.

For a while now, I've been working/studying with a lab that researched a certain type chytrid fungus.  It's a herpetology lab (herpetology: the study of reptiles and amphibians, no one knows why they were lumped together, but they were), and the lab focuses on Bd.  That is going to change soon, as I am going to begin studying birds, but I'd like to share a little bit of information I've picked up at my current place of work.

In the vernacular, chytrid fungus is a very old type of fungus, and the species were thought to either be saprobes (they eat dead/decaying stuff) or parasites that live on plants and invertebrate animals.  Recently, however, and when I say recent I mean 1999, which in the world of science is very recent, a species was discovered that infected the skin of amphibians.  Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (shortened to Bd) was unusual because it was the only chytrid known that affected vertebrates, amphibians specifically.

This is important because Bd appears to be capable of infecting almost all of the worlds amphibian species. An infection with a large amount of Bd is called chytridiomycosis.  This disease causes the skin to become very thick, usually deadly in amphibians because they drink and absorb salts(electrolytes) through their skin, not their mouth.  Abnormal levels of electrolytes can cause heart failure.  In the lungless salamander, which uses its skin to breathe, chytridiomycosis can cause suffocation.

Since it was discovered, Bd has been found on every continent inhabited by amphibians in both wild and captive species.  So far, there is still debate over whether this has been historically present and infecting populations all along and recent environmental changes caused a spike in the disease, or because it was only recently introduced to populations which have no defense.    


This is a serious disease and has contributed to the recent global decline of amphibian populations.  Other factors include environmental change and pollution, and habitat destruction (always a huge and horrible factor, so we need to work on saving the rain forest!). 

Japanese Giant Salamander


Amphibians are critically important to our knowledge of the world around us.  They are the best indicator species.  An indicator species is a species whose presence/absence/health gives an indication of the health of the ecosystem as a whole.  Amphibians are excellent indicators because not only to they live on land and in the water, they also absorb the environment right into their skin: water, salts, toxins, everything in the ecosystem.  


Right now, their decline is telling us something very important.  Habitats and ecosystems are critically changing.  In the United States alone since just 1980, the number of native species suffering in severe population decline has doubled.  The current extinction rate of amphibians is calculated to be at least 200 times the normal rate of background extinction.


Amphibians require a plentiful supply of fresh water free from chemicals and microbes to survive.  So do humans.  Human population growth and climate change are combining to create a situation in which a large and increasing proportion of the human population is denied access to sufficient, clean water. The rapid decline of the world's amphibians is a warning that this most precious of natural resources is under serious threat.  Frogs aren't the ones contaminating said resources with chemicals.  We are.  


We need to wake up and get our shit together. 


Sources: 
Gagliardo, R., P.Crump , E. Griffith,et al. 2008. The principles of rapid response for amphibian conservation using the programmes in Panama as an example, International Zoo Yearbook 42: 125-135.


Hyatt, A.D., DG Boyle, Olsen V et al. 2007. Diagnostic assays and sampling protocols for the detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 73: 175–192.


Murray, K.A., L.F. Skerratt, R. Speare, and H. McCallum. 2009. Impact and dynamics of disease in species threatened by the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Conservation Biology:23:1242-52.


Rachowicz, L.J., J. Hero, R.A. Alford, J.W. Taylor, J.A.T. Morgan, V.T. Vrendenberg, J.P. Collins, & C.J. Briggs. 2005. The novel and endemic pathogen hypotheses: Competing explanations for the origin of emerging infectious diseases of wildlife. Conservation Biology 19: 1441-1448.


Skerratt, L.F., L. Berger, R. Speare, S. Cashins, K.R. Mcdonald, A. Phillott, H.Hines, and N. Kenyon. 2007. Spread of chytridiomycosis has caused the rapid global decline and extinction of frogs. EcoHealth 4:125-134.

Costa Rica

Is where I'll be this summer!  Researching avian ecology and the Chestnut-backed Antbird.  Specifically nest predation.

I have never been to Costa Rica, so today I am sharing what I'm teaching myself, and you're welcome to correct me if you know more.

But first, the Chestnut-backed Antbird:

photo credit to: Jorge Chincilla

Puffy little thing.  Common in the understory of wet forests.  Like most antbirds, it doesn't actually survive solely by preying on army ant swarms, it just forages on them opportunistically.

This is a male, probably.  Like I said, I'm not completely familiar with the species, but the females are said to have brown coloration on their breast and belly, and males have black.

Other things I should look out for when I'm down there are venomous snakes (like bushmasters) and jaguars (I really want to see one, but if I couldn't live to talk about it, it wouldn't be worth seeing), all manner of really awesome bugs (check out the list here), and bird heaven.  I will be in tropical wet forest.

From what I've seen of species maps, Costa Rica is apparently home to two species of bushmaster, the Black-headed bushmaster and the Central American bushmaster.

Black-headed bushmaster (Lachesis melanocephala)

Central American bushmaster (Lachesis stenophrys)

Not a super great shot of the body, but the difference in head coloration is mainly what you need to see.  Genus Lachesis consist of three species of venomous pit vipers (not shown here is the South American bushmaster).  Bushmasters are the longest venomous snakes in the western hemisphere, and longest viper.  The venom can be fatal, but usually only causes sever pain, vomiting, nausea and the chills.  Thankfully the snake is most efficient as a nocturnal predator and it's contact with humans is limited because of this.  With regards to the myth that they hunt in pairs and are attracted to fire, I've found millions of statements denying both.

Another snake to fear would be the Fer-de-lance, or terciopelo (Bothrops asper).  Another viper.  You can research that one on your own.

As far as snakes in Costa Rica go, unless you know your stuff, leave them alone.  This is directed at myself.  Though hopefully I will meet an expert down there and benefit from their knowledge and wisdom.

As far as bugs go, I really want to see a Hercules Beetle (Spanish name: Cornizuelo, Dynastes hercules), and here is why:

That thing is awesome.  I want to hold it right by my face and take a very cliche photograph with it.

As far as mammals go, I haven't got anything specific in mind, but I will be on the lookout for pretty much everything.  I'm hoping to procure a couple field guides.  Not sure which are the greatest yet, but don't worry, I will do my research.

Also, on a related note, I'd like to make sure everybody knows how to differentiate between a venomous snake and non venomous snake.  The guideline I'm including is a rough guide, there are exceptions.  The part to pay most attention to is the head shape, because that's usually what you can see from a ways away.

Also, it says U.S. snakes, but it's pretty universal, and this chart also doesn't include sea snakes, simply because the one with sea snakes wasn't as well drawn.

Use wisely.

Age of Arthropods

Arthropods.

Segmented, jointed invertebrates with an exoskeleton.  They make up over 90% of all known living animal species.  Humans like to eat them, raise them, and kill them.  We like to love them and fear them.  We think some are tasty, and we think some are the most creepy things we've ever seen in our lives.

What we need to keep in mind, however, is that we need to respect them.  When it comes to humans and bugs, one might naturally think that because humans are bigger, they are better and more superior.

This would be a mistake.  Bugs are crazy awesome.  They are well adapted to almost every environment, and can survive a lot more than humans can.  We throw all our waste at them and they simply keep on trucking.  If any person on this earth is foolish enough to think that this is the age of man, and that humans are ruling the earth, they merely have to look at the facts.  Some studies estimate that there are over 200 million insects for every human.  That's not even including crustaceans, which are also in this category.  We're outnumbered.  Badly.

And we're amazingly lucky that their size is limited by their exoskeleton so that movies like this

will never actually happen.  (The weight of the exoskeleton would crush them if they were that large)

Thank God.  But please don't think that you shouldn't be afraid of bugs.  They're disease carriers, they're poisonous, venomous (yes there's a difference between poisonous and venomous, look it up) and all very well adapted to survive.  If you don't believe me, check out this link.  It's a hilarious but pretty accurate description of some truly terrifying arthropods.

It's not my intention to freak you out with that article, but I do wish to impress upon readers that arthropods are all extraordinarily impressive creatures, and we would do well to learn more about them before they take over the world.

Questionable... But awesome!!!

Bosco Verticale

Literally translated from Italian, that means 'Vertical Forest'  and it's a real idea, and it's being constructed in Milan, Italy.

It's either a great idea, or a disaster waiting to happen.  I've asked some architecture people I know about green buildings, and they always talk about how tricky it is to a) account for the weight of plants and watering and such, and b)make sure the plants don't destroy EVERYTHING.

The concept and idea came from an architect named Stefano Boeri, who wants to use it as a way to bring the forest back to an urban environment.

I like this idea.  I want to go see it, so it's a darn good thing I know some Italian, because I'm going to be there, gosh darn it.  My hang up is that plant roots are destructive.  There isn't a lot that can withstand it.  We've all seen cement upturned by growing tree roots (sidewalks, for example).  So I'm not sure how the architect is going to prevent that from happening.  I feel like it would be a serious concern.

Not sure how many people heard of this before me, I am rather late in the game on current news and this isn't even current.  The design was created way back in 2006.  The architect stated in one article that he actually tested trees in a wind tunnel to make sure they wouldn't get blown down by the wind if they were up at a great height.  I didn't even think of that, but now all I can picture is an oak tree falling down on my car as I'm driving in stop and go traffic.

I hope it works out.  I really do.  The apartments will cost a lot, but it's an awesome idea.

Quit calling my food cute

I have nothing against vegetarians.  Some of them are great.  But last weekend I was subjected to an hour long lecture on why I should stop eating meat, and I almost smacked one in the face.

Cows and pigs and sheep are cute.  I agree with this.  I have no problem admitting it.  But I also know that cute is a word we assigned for them because they had that winning combination of big eyes, big ears, big feet and silly noises.  That's anthropomorphizing.  Animals do not care if they are cute.  They did not evolve to be aesthetically pleasing to us.  That was not their purpose.  Big ears help control body temperature and hear better.  Big eyes help an animal to see better.

However, through our own hubris, we came to believe that they were.  It's easy to see how it came about.  These are the days of tea cup pigs, bred specifically for some twit who wants something adorable, and, apparently, so inbred it will die young in misery.  Cute sells, and cute is created by stunting normal growth.

Tea cup pigs are created by breeding the runts of runts.  They don't stay tea cup sized for long, either.  And you can buy them pretty cheap, but be prepared to shell out a fortune in vet bills, because these things are plagued with health issues.

I'm not saying that I'm eating your tea cup pig.  I am saying that to make the point that 'cute' isn't a word that should be used in an argument against eating animals.  They are two separate things.  I do not eat meat because I hate cute animals.  I eat it because it is tasty and I like it.

In that same vein, who are these vegetarians, to decide what plants live an die?  Cutting down plants means less oxygen for us heterotrophs!  You're killing us slowly with your plant eating!  At least I kill the methane and carbon dioxide producers as well!

Sorry for the rant, I'm just irritated.  And omnivorous.  And proud of it.

Also, if you're planning on getting a pet, get a mutt, not a breed.  People shouldn't have the right to breed animals to satisfy whims of the consumer.

Also FYI this is what those cute little porky things grown into:

Story on the DailyMail

Birds and why I should let go of my prejudice

Personally, I'm torn over the subject.  I love birds of prey.  I could watch them all day.  There is a peregrine falcon that lives nearby, and I look for it all the time, I even go over to where it roosts to check out the dead bodies it drops onto the ground.  Birds of prey are interesting.

However, I detest looking at songbirds.  They are tiny and they flit around like they have really bad cases of ADD, and it's terribly difficult to distinguish between them.  They are boring and silly.  They have chirps and tweets that are all too high pitched for my poor ears to distinguish between, and they are hard to focus on because they can't sit still.

I don't mind crows, or blue jays.  When they are making a huge fuss and a lot of noise, you can follow them and find cool things.  Blue jays and cows are known for mobbing things [read: predators higher on the food chain].  If you follow them, you may find some cool animals like hawks or owls.  If you follow a songbird, you'll probably only find berries, seeds, or more songbirds.

This little tale is to make a point.  We humans care a lot about things that we can eat, and things that can eat us.  I should also include things that we can use to benefit us, like things we can make into medicine or something comfy to sit on or what have you.  It's awful, but its true.  If you'd like proof, go to a museum and look at what they have fossils of on display.  Pay particular attention to what you are drawn to.  It will be something big, or with pointy teeth, or both.

We shouldn't let our interest limit us.  There are things out there that I never thought I would be interested in.  I'm writing this to encourage you and myself to break out of your tunnel vision.  You can do anything.  Next time you go outside, look up instead of down at your feet.  Next time you read a book, pick a genre you'd never normally read in your life.  Next time you search something lame on YouTube, search something on TED or AcademicEarth or 5min.  Learn something.

I spent hours on TED the other day because I was bored and came upon a brilliant video on the potential of focused ultrasound in surgery.  It's about non-invasive surgery.  It's nothing like what I'm normally interested in, and it's an absolutely fascinating talk.

I'm sharing it, in hopes that you'll click on it, and watch the whole thing, and get as excited about it as I am.

Ignore the cheesy introduction to TEDMED.  But the idea and concept is amazing.  Sometimes I just look around and I'm humbled by what the human race has managed to accomplish.  We have a responsibility that we need to keep in mind, because as a species, we are aware and cognizant and able to influence all other species on earth.  That's huge.  Huge.  So we shouldn't just be interested in whatever we want.  We should be interested in everything.

Keep in mind that things we might not be interested in now could save our lives in the future.  No one thought bacteria was very interesting, and yet now it's important because we found out it's capable of killing us.  No one thought fungi was very interesting until we realized we could use fungal chemicals to produce antibiotics.  Some of the things we don't care about right now could save our lives in the future.

No one might thinks horseshoe crabs are that critical, but their blood contains a reagent that clots around the endotoxins in bacteria.  They use this to test EVERYTHING in the medical industry to make sure it's free of bacteria.  Intravenous drugs, vaccines, medical devices, etc.  Everything.  So maybe we should be a little more considerate towards these creepy little things.

Anyway, my point with this rant is to make sure you guys realize how lucky we have it, and how narrow minded most people [including myself] are when it comes to the world around us.  So next time you take some time to yourself, do something unexpected, not for yourself, but for the world around you.

I'll show you vampires

This rant was prompted by a very dear friend who enjoys romance novels.  Specifically paranormal ones.  I have nothing against that.  Read whatever you want to read.  What I have an issue with is the moment in the book after the vampire bites his lover, where he licks the wound closed because their saliva is supposed to have amazing healing properties.

I understand that this is a very specific issue to have with vampires in books.  But I want to keep this post away from the normal "I hate Twilight" nonsense.  Dracula was the only vampire story for me, and that's the way it will always be.  I never even picked up another vampire book.  So I'm staying away from that potentially disastrous conversation.  Frankly I'm amazed people still talk about Twilight, if it was so horrible.

Anyway, back to my problem.  The licking to seal the wound closed.  Vampire bat saliva has anticoagulants in it to prolong bleeding.  Not to heal wounds.  I think all these authors wanted to pretend their vampires were more like other mammals in the sense that wound licking can have some healing properties.  Everybody has heard stories about some dog licking a wound, and it helps to heal, or whatever.  That's true, wound licking does sometimes help, through cleaning or whatever.  It also sometimes introduces bad oral bacteria into your system and can kill you.

In this case, the authors made their vampires more like this:

Than this:

And it's a tragedy.  Truly a tragedy.  

Why extinction is sometimes good

Extinction is natural.  Healthy even.  You can learn/research all about it.  It's called background extinction. That being said, extinction rates have shot up in modern times, increasing exponentially since the industrial revolution.  I am definitely not that smart, but even I can see the connections.  This is bad.  Even with our propensity to ruin habitats, we should be more careful about what species we destroy, especially in the tropics, because that biodiversity provides a lot of our medical resources.  So if you're too selfish to help animals and plants out of the kindness of your heart, do it for your health.  We get drugs from those things.

That being said, I'm also of the opinion that we should appreciate some of the things we never had to compete with.  Like Dunkleosteus.

Dunkleosteus is a prehistoric member of the extinct class Placodermi.  Placodermi means plate skinned, and you'll see why.

This is what Dunkleosteus looked like:

Would you go swimming in the ocean if you knew that thing was down there somewhere?  No.  That thing is terrifying.  The force of that bite would be around 8000lbs/square inch [right in league with T-rex].  It was over 30 feet long and found in shallow seas, right where you'd want to swim.

Dunkleosteus made a guest appearance in Dinotopia, for those of us who can't contain our nerdiness [It is an awesome book, I hope all of you have].  The Fish that guarded the Diamond cave, which was the entrance to the World Beneath, was a dunkleosteus [and please don't judge me for not even having to look that up].  It attacked the Remora.

A lot of extinct species are being revived in awful movies, like Megalodon.  This giant shark was made to look truly ridiculous in Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus and Mega Shark versus Crocosaurus.  Painful.  The shark wouldn't have had the brain capacity to realize it should be embarrassed, so I will have to be embarrassed for it.

Moral of this, if you're going to revive extinct species in the entertainment business, do it like Dinotopia, not like Mega Shark.  You will turn an impressive predator into a laughing stock.

Cycads and why we should care more

Another plant post!

Rare, for sure, but I just got to see a guest lecture done by Dr. Paul Alan Cox, who is an Ethnobotanist. A truly brilliant man, who I just enjoyed so much, and he's doing mind blowing research with Cycads, specifically, on how cycads can cause ALS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.  This work is done as the Institute for EthnoMedicine, and if you want the smart version, go check it out here.

In a nutshell, he discovered this protein [called BMAA] when he was checking out a village in Guam that had a really high percentage of all these diseases.  He found out that it was produced by a known group of cyanobacteria [which are really cool themselves, their photosynthetic and nitrogen fixing, and they created Earth's oxygen atmosphere, they're one of the reasons we live on this planet, so before you think I'm blaming all these diseases on cyanobacteria, take that into account], and that these cyanobacteria can be found in the roots of cycads.  Anything that eats cycad seeds gets some of this BMAA protein.  Over time the accumulation increases risk of or causes these diseases.

This means that exposure to cyanobacteria may be one of the causes of ALS/Alzheimer's/Parkinson's.  So that means that no matter where you live, don't eat things that eat cycad seeds.  For the Chamorro people in Guam, that means no more fruit bats and deer, as well as the flour they make from the seeds themselves.  Cycads aren't commonly consumed in such high quantities, and they're a largely tropical species, so most people don't have to worry about it, and all these diseases are probably cause by other things anyway, but it's worth the heads up.  And don't just willy nilly chop your cycad down because you think it's trying to kill you.  As long as you're not eating/licking it, you're fine.

The important stuff I'm hoping you'll take away from this article is that plants, while not cognizant like we are, have a far superior arsenal than we have.  It's called biochemistry.  BMAA protein is thought to have been developed as a defense against the dinosaurs [the herbivorous ones].  These plants have been around far longer than us, and we should be aware that their defenses are just as complicated and beautiful as ours.  Also, this research has the potential to develop into drugs and cures, so you guys should really check it out.  It's an extraordinary discovery.

Photo Credit to nybg.org

Disney, Pixar, and Sharks

I was watching Finding Nemo with several small children, and I was finding it a bit more interesting since I've now taken a Marine Biology class, and I'm currently enrolled in a class called Sharks.  It is an awesome class, and I'm enjoying it a great deal.  Then we got to the part where Marlin (the daddy Clown Fish) meets Bruce (the Great White Shark), Anchor (the Hammerhead Shark), and Chum (the Mako Shark).  This part was fine for everyone else, but I discovered something.  Bruce, who was undoubtedly intended to be a male shark, is, in fact, female.

Male cartilaginous fishes have claspers, sort of modified reproductive fins, formed from the posterior part of their pelvic fins.

Compare:

Bruce

To a real Great White Shark

The animators probably thought that was too obscene, or something ridiculous, and didn't want kids asking about it.  But if my sharks class ruined Finding Nemo for me, I'm going to ruin it for everybody else.

Willem Dafoe bringing it back...

It's related to animals, I promise.  Not that Willem Dafoe isn't completely awesome, but this just makes him even more so.  Dafoe is in a movie  I am just now hearing about.  It came out a while ago in Australia. It's called "The Hunter," and it's about thylacines.  For those of you who appreciate the vernacular, the Tasmanian Tiger.

I have not seen this movie.  I am excited for a couple reasons.  First, it has Willem Dafoe in it.  Second, it's about thylacines, and not enough people in the world know about thylacines.  I am worried for only one reason.  I don't know if they get all the information right.  This is a huge problem in the movie industry, they will bend facts to fit their plot, and won't care about the rest of it, or they'll take one example and act like that is the norm for the species.

On that note, let's discuss the thylacine so that everyone knows what's what.

Thylacinus cynocephalus is extinct.  People may not think so, but everyone is pretty sure they are, which is a huge disappointment.  There are sightings all the time, but no confirmations.  I find this to be a horrible loss.  Thylacines are probably one of the most awesome mammals this earth has produced.  These things are so cool, Chuck Norris pales in comparison.

Thylacines are carnivorous marsupials.  Historically they occupied Tasmania, Australia, and Papua New Guinea, and were quite wide spread.  They are roughly the size of an adult German Shepard dog, but the limb-length ratio is different.  Dogs have long legs in proportion to their trunk [spinal column minus tail], thylacine legs are shorter, suggesting that they stalk their prey.  They have yellow-brown or grey-brown fur, with 15-20 black/dark brow stripes from the back of the shoulder blades to just before the tail.  The tail itself is not abruptly separated from the body, but tapers, like the tail of a kangaroo.  They have 46 teeth adapted for slicing and crushing.  They could open their jaw ridiculously wide, lowering their bottom jaw to an angle of (SOME SAY) almost 180 degrees.  This, however, would be anatomically impossible for them to do without dislocating the mandible.

The female marsupial had a back-opening pouch, unlike other marsupials, namely the kangaroo, who has a front-opening pouch.  Estimated life span in the wild is 8-12 years.  They can jump  6-8 feet.  Their preferred habitat is unknown, as well as their hunting methods and preferred prey.  Blood samples suggest that they are closely related to dasyurids [read: Tasmanian Devil, but other things too].

Please look up more about the thylacine, the more you read, the more you'll be pissed that they're extinct and we can't go to a zoo and look at them, or tag one and see if they actually do hunt in packs.

You can do more research on your own, there's about a million websites for the thylacine.  Here's a list of papers written about them, too:

ABC Video (1994). Clash of The Carnivores. Natural History Unit.

Guiler, E. (1985). Thylacine: The Tragedy of The Tasmanian Tiger. Oxford Uni. Press.

Guiler, E. & Godard, P. (1998). Tasmanian Tiger: A lesson to be learnt. Abrolhos Publishing.

Park, A. (1986). A Tasmanian Tiger Extinct or Merely Elusive. Aust Geographic. Vol. 1 No 3.

Smith, S. J. (1980). The Tasmanian Tiger. NPWS, Tas.

Classifying Woody the Woodpecker

I should state, before I continue with my rant, that I am not an ornithologist.

Woody the Woodpecker.  He is a beloved character with a Wikipedia article miles long.  The reason I am bringing him up is because Wikipedia says that he is an "anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker."  I completely disagree with this claim.  Any person with eyes will tell you that the two simply do not match, no matter how anthropomorphous Woody gets.

This is Woody.

This is an Acorn Woodpecker.

This is a Red-headed Woodpecker, and what I believe Woody should be classified as an anthropomorphized version of.  I am basing this entirely on the head.  Truthfully Woody doesn't look like any species of woodpecker I've ever seen.

Botany of Desire

I am not a fan of plants. I'm just not. The coolest ones are the carnivorous ones, and once the plant stops killing insects and small frogs and cool things, I run out of interest. That being said, plants are kind of important. I suggest reading The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. To be sure, it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but plants are important. I am learning. Also, I broke down and bought a field guide to trees. It's ruining my life, because I'm not good enough to classify anything without the help of flower blooms.

Anyway, if you want the short version, Michael Pollan also gives a truly wonderful talk on TED [GREAT WEBSITE, CHECK IT OUT] which I'm including a link to, so that way you can be lazy and take the easy way out.

Please do consider actually reading it, though, Michael Pollan is a brilliant guy, and we should all appreciate plants a little bit more.