Endemism means that specific species of plants or animals live only in a particular location, which normally is quite small. An animal or plant doing that is an endemic. For birdwatchers and other wild life watchers endemism is a major issue, as many endemics are rare, hard to find and per Read more about The endemics – why care?
Survival in nature can be quite easy. Enough defenses invested, and one can make it quite safely through life. Examples are whales, roses and poison arrow frogs, investing in size, structures or chemistry in order to deter predators. The problem with these strategies is that they are costly, diverting energetic Read more about Faking it and making it
A visit to Lembeh would be unfulfilling, half full, unsatisfactory and almost not really a visit to Lembeh without parasites. And luckily this time I have seen a bunch of cool parasites. Some of them old acquaintances, some of them I have seen before but not in Lembeh, and some Read more about Parasites – old friends and new acquaintances
Being here in Lembeh this time I have been to a couple of mandarin dives. The site used now under Bianca is probably one of the best I have ever seen, with many males coming down before dusk to establish their territory and some minutes later, a bunch of females Read more about Mandarin fish – the winner takes it all
It is the world´s most venomous fish and it will kill you if you step on it! Die the most agonizing death. Lionfish sure are lethal, aren´t they. Lionfish kill by injecting air bubbles into your bloodstream, creating clots, which will kill you! Never touch a lionfish, they are extremely poisonous. These Read more about Why does it hurt much more than it is dangerous?
Competition between two species, analyzed in its most simple theoretical form, involves two variables. One is the efficiency with which the individuals of one species consume resources which the individuals of the other species need. The better a species will be at doing this, the higher its chances of winning Read more about Competing for real estate in Lembeh strait.
Some blog posts are pretty easy to write, as I am pretty certain that I know the answers to the problems I present. Of course, as a scientist, I realize that time might prove me wrong, but as far as I believe I have a reasonable explanation, I am fine Read more about Genera specializing on camouflage, with different species having different models
In contrast to plant material, meat and other animal products are very rare in nature. The ratio of meat to plants would be in the permilles, or even lower. Mainly that will be because plant matter mostly is bad food, while animal matter has all the nutrients in all the Read more about A sea star for lunch, maybe?
There are two main types of reproductive patterns in nature. One is the one we most likely find the “normal” one, with animals reproducing several times during their life time, and not exhausting themselves totally in the process (yeahyeah, I know, parents with small kids might beg to differ, but Read more about Why wouldn´t you want to be semelparous?
One of the questions biologists try to answer is the presence of variance among individuals in populations. Why would variance in genetic composition or looks even be an issue? To make a long story short, it is not to far stretched to interpret natural selection as leading to evolution favoring a specific Read more about What is the point of being different?