Good Stuff of the… month? 5/27/2011

 Posted by at 4:25 pm on June 25, 2011
Jun 252011
 

With the beginning of my field season (more on that soon), there hasn’t been much time for blogging. So there’s a lot to catch up on! First, here are some cool things on the web that you might have missed in the last few weeks.

The devastating tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri has all but disappeared from the news by now, but this op-ed from the Kansas City Star is definitely worth reading. The author compares the 2011 Joplin tornado with a huge tornado that caused the near-complete devastation of Greensburg, Kansas back in 2007. I just happened to drive through Greensburg a couple of months after the tornado, and the destruction was truly gut-wrenching. The resilient residents of Greensburg, however, have committed themselves not only to rebuilding their town, but to rebuilding it better. The new Greensburg might just be the “greenest” town in America.

The National Academies Press has taken the bold step of making ALL of their book titles downloadable — for free! — in PDF format. Many of these titles are aimed at scientists (things like “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals”), but there are plenty of others (like “Science, Evolution, and Creationism“) that will be accessible to any reader. Kudos to NAP for making such an impressive resource available to everyone!

Our friend Rob Sheppard posted some of his thoughts about what constitutes the “hand of man” in nature photographs. Rob’s blog is good reading, and this post is no exception.

If you haven’t already checked out the entries in the NESCent Evolution Film Festival, they’re worth a look. “Cold-blooded Cannibals” may have won the festival, but there are a number of really good entries. Check them all out here.

Finally, since I’m always on the lookout for good visual interpretations of science, this comic by cartoonist Darryl Cunningham caught my eye. Through an illustrated dialogue between a creationist and an evolutionary biologist, the comic addresses many of the common misconceptions about evolution and explains the evidence that supports the theory.

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Day’s Edge in the news

 Posted by at 11:33 am on June 24, 2011
Jun 242011
 

After winning the NESCent Evolution Film Festival this week in Norman, Oklahoma, Cold-blooded Cannibals got an excellent write-up in the Guardian science blog “Punctuated Equilibrium.” Check out the full blog entry here. Nice work, Nate and Joris!

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Cold-Blooded Cannibals wins NESCent film fest!

 Posted by at 7:19 pm on June 22, 2011
Jun 222011
 

Our last two blog posts have highlighted two videos that we (, Joris van Alphen and myself) created for the NESCent Evolution-themed Film festival, which happened on Monday, at the Annual Evolution meeting in Oklahoma. “Cold-Blooded Cannibals: Extreme Adaptations to Island Life” won first prize in the contest! Here is the announcement from NESCent, and if you still havn’t seen the film, check it out below!

from on .

Small island environments can be unforgiving, and their inhabitants have evolved extraordinary adaptations to survive the harsh conditions of island life.

Mediterranean island lizards have evolved the ability to drink nectar, and eat flowers and fruits. This adaptation not only allows them to survive in harsh island environments, but their interactions with plants have forever changed these island ecosystems. However, this isn’t the only dietary adaptation of island lizards…

“Cold-blooded Cannibals” — filmed, written, and edited by Nathan Dappen & Joris van Alphen; narrated by John Astbury — illustrates the amazing adaptations of these remarkable reptiles.

Produced by Days Edge Productions (daysedgeproductions.com) & Joris van Alphen photography (www.jorisvanalphen.com).

Filming assistance from Ryan McMinds, Hannah Peck & Marina Knize.

Filmed on a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon Rebel T3i.

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New video! Agonistic Character Displacement

 Posted by at 1:18 am on June 20, 2011
Jun 202011
 

Here’s another new video for you. In this video, my advisor () talks about a seldom-studied evolutionary process called agonistic character displacement, or ACD. Basically, ACD is a process by which aggressive interactions between species (like fighting) can drive evolution in those species. In the video, you’ll see a remarkable example of ACD in Mexican damselflies in the genus Hetaerina (the featured research was conducted by Dr. Chris Anderson, now a postdoc in our lab, and Dr. Grether).

This was an interesting piece to make – other than the interview footage and the animations, the content of the video came from other sources. There are some beautiful still images by Dr. Grether, Chris Anderson, J. P. Drury, Andrew Chao, and Patrick Green. The video clips were shot by Dr. Grether. And the music, once again, was graciously provided by the talented Dan Warren. Here’s the video:

from on .

Despite the disparate sources of content, I think the video came together well. I’d love to know what you think! This video, like Nate’s recent video with Joris van Alphen about dietary adaptation in Ibiza Wall Lizards (Podarcis pityusensis), was submitted to the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) video contest, and both videos will be shown at the NESCent Evolution Film Festival, which will take place at the annual Evolution meeting in Norman, Oklahoma tomorrow night! If you’re at the meeting, please be sure to check out the film festival and vote for our films if you like them! The film festival takes place tomorrow (Monday 6/20) from 6:30 to 7:30 in Boomer Room A&B.

If you aren’t at the meeting, you can see all of the videos entered in the NESCent Evolution Film Festival here. There are some great entries (including “Climate Change and Evolution in the Columbian Ground Squirrel” by our friend )!

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New video! Cold-Blooded Cannibals: Extreme Adaptations to Island Life

 Posted by at 1:28 pm on June 10, 2011
Jun 102011
 

When we think about pollinators, we generally imagine little flying insects, birds, and some mammals traveling from flower to flower in search of nectar. We don’t, generally, think about reptiles. Similarly, considerable research on frugivory and seed dispersal has mostly focused on birds, primates, ungulates and bats. Yet research shows that lizards—particularly island lizards—may be major players in the transfer of pollen and in the dispersal of seeds in a variety of ecosystems. The lack of resources on islands forced lizards to change their diets, and plants are not the only things that island lizards have evolved to eat (hint: see the title of our film below).

I just returned home from a two-month field season on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Formentera. As many of you know, I study lizards on these islands. A little more than a month ago, my friend and colleague, Joris van Alphen, another biologist and an amazing photographer, flew to visit me and to work on a film together.

Our goal was to create a 3-minute film for the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center’s (NESCent) Evolution Video Contest. While neither of us actually work on research about dietary adaptations in lizards, we decided it would be a story that people should know. Joris and I spent an intense week filming, talking, and writing. Over the last month, we’ve been editing in between research and the film is finally done. Check it out below, and if you have time, please let us know what you think!

from on .

Small island environments can be unforgiving, and their inhabitants have evolved extraordinary adaptations to survive the harsh conditions of island life.

Mediterranean island lizards have evolved the ability to drink nectar, and eat flowers and fruits. This adaptation not only allows them to survive in harsh island environments, but their interactions with plants have forever changed these island ecosystems. However, this isn’t the only dietary adaptation of island lizards…

“Cold-blooded Cannibals” — filmed, written, and edited by Nathan Dappen & Joris van Alphen; narrated by John Astbury — illustrates the amazing adaptations of these remarkable reptiles.

Produced by Days Edge Productions (daysedgeproductions.com) & Joris van Alphen photography (www.jorisvanalphen.com).

Filmed on a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon Rebel T3i.

References:
Olesen, J.M. & Valido, A. 2003. Lizards as pollinators and seed dispersers: an island phenomenon. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Vol. 18 No.4.
Valido, A. & Olesen, J.M. 2007. The Importance of Lizards as Frugivors and Seed Dispersers. Seed Dispersal. Chapter 6.
Perez-Mellado, V., Ortega, F., Martin-Garcia, S., Perera, A., Cortazar, G. 2000. Pollen Load and Transport by the Insular Lizard Podarcis lilfordi in Costal Islets of menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Israel Journal of Zoology, Vol. 46, 2000, pp. 193-200.
Perez-Mellado, V. & Corti, C. 1993. Dietary Adaptations & herbivory in lacertid lizards of the genus Podarcis fron Western Mediterranean islands. Bonn. Zool. Beitr. Bd. 44, H. 3-4. Pp. 193-220.

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