Ok, well maybe more like grunt or drum. Still, this recording comes from the first study to document that lionfishes—the invasive, venomous scourges of the Atlantic and Mediterranean—make sounds.
[audio wav="http://christiewilcox.com/lionfish_roar.wav"]
Many fish species use noise to communicate—so many, in fact, that their sounds can create a morning chorus on a reef akin to the wakening melodies of birds. There is even an entire family of fishes, the&n ...read more
Ofu Island – a speck of land emerging from the southwest Pacific Ocean – is a textbook paradise. Jagged, forest-covered peaks rise steeply from palm-fringed white sand beaches, as colorful birds sound off in the distance.
But beneath the waves, it’s a different story: Ofu Island’s coral reefs are suffering. As temperatures in some lagoons eclipse 35 °C on a daily basis, extensive coral bleaching is leaving a graveyard of rocky, spindly skeletons reaching into the war ...read more
Swimming in a pool of cannibals after being abandoned by one's parents is a pretty grim situation. But a tadpole that finds itself here doesn't passively await its fate. Instead, it tries to jump onto the back of any visiting frog and hitch a ride to safety. Even if the frog has no interest in a rescue, the tadpole is ready to rescue itself.
Not all Ranitomeya variabilis parents abandon their young. These Peruvian poison dart frogs lay two to six eggs at a time in ...read more
The thrill of a crime story is the unfolding of “whodunnit,” often against a backdrop of very little evidence. Positively identifying a suspect, even with a photo of her face, is challenging enough. But what if the only evidence available is a grainy image of a suspect’s hand?
Thanks to a group at the University of Dundee in the UK, that’s enough information to positively ID the perp.
The Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) can assess vein patterns, scar ...read more
Researchers to share knowledge and best practices in establishing high standards while engaging volunteer support St. Paul, MN
Scientists, community members, and educators from around the world will gather at the Citizen Science Association (CSA) “CitSci2017” Conference to share innovations and best practices for significant research collaborations between scientists and everyday citizens. CitSci2017 will be held in St. Paul, MN, May 17 - 20.
Even as the discipline of citizen scien ...read more
You can be a space scientist!
Take photos of the upcoming solar eclipse, help map the surface of the moon, document seal populations from satellite images, and more! Here are out-of-this-world citizen science projects we think you'll love. Find more projects and events on SciStarter, to do now or bookmark for later.
Cheers!
The SciStarter Team
Eclipse Megamovie
On August 2 ...read more
On Jupiter's moon Io, a huge lava-filled basin is home to dual tidal waves that regularly sweep across its surface.
The Loki Patera is a lake of molten rock some 8,300 square miles in size with a large island in the center, first imaged by the Voyager spacecraft that flew by Jupiter in 1979. Periodic swings in brightness, imaged both by spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes indicated that something was disturbing the surface on a semi-uniform basis.
Pulled In Different Directions
Io i ...read more
Though genetically modified crops may steal the spotlight, similarly reprogrammed insects may have just as big an effect on the agricultural industry.
Biotechnology company Oxitec is moving forward with plans to develop genetically engineered diamondback moths in an attempt to reduce populations of the invasive crop pest. Their plan is to release males that will pass on a gene preventing female offspring from reaching maturity and reproducing, eventually eradicating the moths in North Ame ...read more
Readers of this blog know that I'm a big fan of Quora, because it lets non-experts raise the kinds of speculative questions that don't normally come up in formal scientific discussions. One frequent theme that comes up is the issue of what we would do if we found intelligent life on a planet around another star. A recent posting in particular caught my eye: "What would we do if we found an Earthlike planet with intelligent life that is 500 years behind us in technology and advancements?" ...read more
