Archives: Invertebrate

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Innovative, naturally

Chandra Rodgers sampling bluegill sunfish on Lake Opinicon. This spring I had the opportunity to write a feature article on the Queen’s University Biological Station, a site just north of Kingston where researchers have a long history of major scientific breakthroughs involving modest Ontario wildlife. Several of these discoveries have proved to... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

What the?!

Check out the video below (source link). The peacock jumping spider is definitely worth your time, but skip to 2:45 if you’re in a hurry. Unbelievable! Thanks to Barrie Frost for sending this. From May 1,... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

The ancient mariner

I drove a tractor for the first time a few weeks ago, when we were furiously collecting the last of the sap run for maple syrup. A small triumph for me since it seemed so terrifying at first. Trying to hide my confusion, I waited until the last moment to ask, “Which pedal is... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

A case of mistaken celebrity

They all look the same to us. Celebrities, that is. And by us, I mean academics. The proof starts with peacocks. Last fall, I was working on some measurements I took of the crest ornament in these birds. Peafowl have this funky little fan of feathers on top of their heads, and though it’s... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

How to raise a science major

The newspapers have been abuzz lately about a controversial book: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua, is a memoir on the rewards and perils of stereotypically strict Asian-American parenting. This week I asked students in my 4th-year biology class to tell me about their earliest memory of being fascinated with something biological,... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Beware of the blob

It creeps, and it might be more like us than we care to admit. That was a lesson I learned last fall when trying to choose between pigeons and slime moulds for our lab journal club. The birds, it seems, are on a different level. It started with the Monty Hall problem and a... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Reaching the other side, in synchrony

It’s a familiar site on campus here during the first week of class: packs of jaywalkers moving in tight co-ordination, in sync with the flow of oncoming cars. From traffic lights and power grids to stereo sound and cinema, synchrony is so common in our environment that we usually only notice it when it... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Honed

We brought home a new kitchen knife from my parents last month. The knife block was full, but Charlie exchanged the new one for what was previously our smallest and dullest. He wasted no time wrapping the old one up in plastic and hiding it from me. My hand naturally gravitates towards whichever tool... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Deep archives: Iridescence: From insect crystals to nature’s transformers

Now that I’ve given my talk at the iridescence conference, I feel like I can relax and reflect on the last few days. The biggest success of this trip so far was undoubtedly making it across the border. When I arrived at the airport, I was informed by a rather sour US customs lady... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Language Instincts: A bug’s life

From September 30, 2006 The colony of the leafcutter ant is a strange parallel to human civilization. These ants can often be seen in tropical America parading down trails they create in the forest carrying small leaf clippings. When they return to their nest mound, the ants use these clippings as a substrate for... More

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