Archives: Predation

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

A microscopic predator-prey chase

In terms of behaviour, animals have plants beat – though some would argue that plants have their own brand of intelligence. Not all photosynthesizing beasts are firmly planted, though, and many that live in the water can move. Aquatic algae, for instance, often have whip-like structures (called cilia and flagella) that they can use to... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Cuttlefish strike a pose for 3D camouflage

In the game of hide and seek, cuttlefish have the upper hand. These chameleons of the sea are astonishingly good at disappearing: they can instantaneously change the colour of their skin to blend in with the background, matching even the finicky details like the pattern of coloured rocks on the ocean floor. Divers have long known... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

How I learned to respect the peahen

Written for the Los Angeles Arboretum. Meep meep? More like “Honk honk!” Arboretum regulars will no doubt recognize the call of a startled peahen, but you may not be aware of the clever ways they use it. Not that they try to boast or taunt the enemy, necessarily, but I’m starting to think that... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Cultured tastes

We drove halfway across the country for the party, but the main course alone was worth the trip. When the pig was finally hauled out by a crew of strapping male relatives, the guests at Anne-Claire and Martin’s wedding converged at the carving table. Small children, I’m told even a Jewish person or two – nobody... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

I can haz toxoplasmosis

In which you will learn why online cats are so attractive, and discover a new way to lose hours to the internet. First, the cats. Charlie and I were hashing out the finer points of Facebook, memes and internet superstars, when, in frustration, I brought up his most hated animal. “Look. Cute baby videos and LOLcats are... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Identity evolves

“Everyone is special.” The paradoxical refrain of baby boomer parents to their millenial offspring is true, so long as you’re a rodent living in a large, stable group of good communicators. I recently wrote about the phenomenon of identity signals in animals, where variable colours and patchy-looking patterns can provide signatures of... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

To kill bias, gather good data

I hate myself for this: I have the worst sense of direction. For the entire year when I was living in my first apartment in Kingston, I would take a circuitous route along King Street and then up Princess on my way home from the Kingston Yacht Club. Nearly two kilometers, when walking up... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Backpedalling on backwards evolution

In a recent post I wrote about irreversible colour changes in morning glory flowers, and how this was promoted as evidence that evolution does not work in reverse1. This is called Dollo’s Law, after the 19th century Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo. He spent most of his life digging up and reconstructing Iguanodons, but his name lives on... 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: Lek perspective

Males display in the “Wild Asia” exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, which can only be seen by riding the zoo monorail. The structure behind the birds is the monorail track. I’ve had some success on this trip after all. The weather was perfect for my model experiments yesterday (sunny, warm, not too much wind),... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Language Instincts: “Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me…”

From October 5, 2006 What does the racquet-shaped tail of a turquoise-browed motmot (the bird seen at right) have in common with the tail of a deer and the rhyming gingerbread man of fairy tale fame? They are all important signals in the communication with predators. The turquoise-browed motmot has a strange looking tail.... More

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