Behavioral Ecology Blog

Welcome to the 4^th edition of Oekologie- the best new blog carnival focusing on the natural sciences- specifically the environmental sciences. We have a grand total of 35+ posts, this edition, making it the biggest edition yet, and rival in size to some of the other more well known carnivals.

If you are new to The Behavioral Ecology Blog- Welcome. Here I blog about behavior, mating systems, sex, evolution, some politics and other random stuff. Please visit again.

Ok- now on to the submissions…

Ecosystem Ecology/Climate Change
Niki presents The truth about our global climate posted on her “Shotgun Network Blog” The-A-TEAM. For those of you who are looking for a really accessible intro into the science, Niki has it for you. Niki- some explanation is in order thought about the Shotgun part…

Riversider presents Barrages and Wetland Ecosystems: the Environmental and Economic Impacts. At his (or her??) blog, Save The Ribble. It’s nice to see that the US is not the only nation with reckless abandon in regards to our natural resources. Riversider, I hope you have better luck that we have in the US.

New SciBling member and Oekologie co-founder Jeremy Bruno sent in Want the Truth about Climate Change? Ask a Catholic Cardinal… posted at his new hangout, The Voltage Gate.

John Feeney reminds us of the perils of non-renewable resource dependant economic growth in Ecocide for a quick buck, posted at Growth is Madness!.

Ananga relays a serious message in Steering Clear of the Dodos. The low-down: global warming is everyone’s responsibility- now go turn your lights off.

The Frugalist is blogging about ways we can offset our carbon emissions in All About the Visa GreenCard: RePay Your Carbon Emissions. Guys, this is a really good idea- we should all participate..

“Our man with the factor 30 sunscreen and the big umbrella” writes Climate change: Diversity the mother of invention? Too depressing for me to read- I hope it’s not all true what he says.

Zoology/Organismal Biology- OK, as a zoologist, this is by far my favorite section…
1^st up at bat is Mike, who gives us Seeking the Sacred Raven from 10,000 Birds. Any post that includes that phrase “obliterating tide of Christian religious conversion”, is a good one in my book. Go check out the story of this amazing bird.

GrrlScientist has been busy this past month, giving us 5 awesome submissions.1^st, there is: Evolution and Ecology in Soay Sheep, then Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Once More a Ghost, then Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted): Lice Provide Clues to Evolution of Humans, and Ancient Roadrunner-like Bird from the Age of Dinosaurs, finally, Just How Smart Are Ravens? all at her fantastic blog Living the Scientific Life. All very worthwhile reads- please go visit her. Wow Grrl, that is some serious submission!!!

Dan has a cool post entitled Icons of Migration: Arctic Tern posted at Migrations. These birds, Sterna paradisaea migrate from pole to pole every year- winning them the title of longest migration..

Sitta wins the prize for having the most interesting bird post. It is possible that I’m biased, having practically grown up at Sapsucker Woods, and am a behavioral ecologist. Anyway Newsworthy nuthatches at the contemplative nuthatch is highly recommended.

Brian writes about one of my favorite mammals, Ursos arctos. Grizzlies bounce back; the delisting continues? Can be found at his blog Laelaps. Can you believe that there are actually people out there who want to hunt these guys. What idiots!

Carel describes the natural history of a strange Peruvian Owl of the genus Xenoglaux in a post entitles THE STRANGE OWLET, posted at his place, Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding

Sarda submitted a post that describes how Bears Hunt Belugas and sometimes actually succeed. See the bloody photo for proof!

Australia based blogger Roger describes the very admirable effort of Captain Paul Watson to protect whales from whaling in Sea Shepherd in Antarctica (2006/07) or Nisshin Implausible? posted at typing is not activism….. I think that typing (er, blogging) IS a form of activism, as a blog post has the potential to reach people that might otherwise be unaware of a particular issue… I’m sure glad I found this blog- there are many many stories of interest…

Opossums are renowned for their small brains- so says Marcia Bonta in her post “White Face”. Despite their diminutive brain size, possum behavior is actually really cool, and is described in the posts listed above.

Dave Bonta presents Silver linings at Via Negativa, where he describes for us how bird, mammal, herp, and plant communities have changed over time where he lives. Dave, what City/State are you in?

Tim Erickson sent me 2 posts, one about the poor tick (Dermacentor albipictus) infested moose: Moose to be moved to the ?Hinterland Has Been? list?, the other, Hinterland Who?s Who - The Beaver. Can you believe ticks can consume approximately 40 litres of moose blood over the course of their lifecycle

Plants and stuff.

Yes, Kelp Forests are very cool. For those of you inland types, you should really check them out sometime.

Hanok ben Galutyah (not a prophet) links to the now famous List of Scientists Rejecting Macroevolution, I’m sorry to say that there are 2-3 scientists claiming affiliation to Berkeley on this list…

Greg Laden responds to Marta’s (good) questions, … continued. Marta is interesting in knowing the details of early human (Homo) ancestry, the evolution of large brain size (unlike Marcia’s poor possums), and a few other things to those of you interested. Clear and concise explanations as usual from Greg.

LATE ENTRY: Each Generation a New Forest and Morality is Not a Human Construct are both excellent posts, but were accidentally omitted in the original version of the carnival. Please check them out.

Jennifer Forman Orth depresses us with more bad news for natural communities in her post: In Plane View, basically, air travel is a nice way for seeds/spores/other plant material to get from one place to another.

Laurent has been busy too, sending in 4 posts. 1^st on the list- Darwin Was Right, and a bit about pollinator efficiency and pollination in wild radish. Interestingly, Laurents blog is bilingual, so for you French speakers- French Darwin, and French Pollination. Ewww, doesn’t French Pollination sound sexy—Hey baby, want to french pollinate with me…

Unsolicited Entries

Mice and earthworms, and Darwin. This is a pretty cool post that describes some of the ecosystem functions of non-native earthworms.. Hey, did you know there there was a Great Lakes Worm Watch?

Man and wolf have a history of harmonious relationship (AZ & NM)
People Make a Difference: Global Warming Challenge
Debate: Should We Continue to Eat Seafood?
Wikispecies
PENNSYLVANIA: Audubon Society Weighs in on Deer Population
Nest Update: House Finch This one is cool- she actually has a photo journal documenting nest/chick progression..
Are trophic cascades more likely in the North?
The Largest Single Organism on Earth
Why I don’t own an octopus
Evolution of symbiosis
Culling a Threat to Our Liberty
Sex Talk Redux

Well that is about it folks. Let me know about bad links, missing links, comments, complaints, or whatever. Make sure to submit your favorite posts here, and watch for them to be posted in next months edition, which is to be hosted at Direction not Destination