Tangled Bank #105

The Beagle Project is the latest host for The Tangled Bank - a great collection of biology-laden posts.

While you're there buy a t-shirt or make a donation to their project!

Circus of the Spineless

Kevin Zelnio has the latest edition of the Circus of the Spineless up at Deep Sea News. Go check it out.

Linnaeus' Legacy #6

Better late than never, right?

The Invertebrate Battle Royal and the Circus of the Spineless has taken its toll, and I have not been able to give this month's Linnaeus' Legacy the attention it deserves. So, since the month is almost half over, I figured I needed to get something down ASAP. So, without further delay or, unfortunately, pomp and circumstance, I give you the 6th edition of Linnaeus' Legacy.

Matt at Birder's World introduces us (or at least me) to the mostly-forgotten flightless seaduck of California and the fact that it may be one of the earliest examples of the catastrophe rained down by humans on flightless birds

Nimravid has a report on recent research into the evolution of ant agriculture. A very interesting read as it turns out the various types of fungal farming done by ants align very nicely with the ant phylogeny. Nimravid also has an excellent summary for understanding evolutionary trees - a must read for the cladogramatically-challenged.

Mike at 10,000 birds muses about horned larks, populations, subspecies, and clines. And Great Tits. Mustn't forget the Great Tits.

PodBlack Cat discusses the taxonomic crisis (taxonomist crisis?) in general and the "Michael McRae" crisis in particular (go read it and find out). (PodBlack Cat also submitted a post on the gender gap in education, which, while I do not think fits with this carnival, is an excellent read. Does the fact that I just linked to it mean that it fits with this carnival?)

Speaking of crises in taxonomy, Christopher Taylor, founding father of Linnaeus' Legacy, reports on biopiracy policies in India adversely affecting entomological research there as well as some naming issues revolving around the protist genus Monas

GrrlScientist reports on a newly discovered bird species in Indonesia.

Greg Laden brings us up to date on the Flores "Hobbit" saga with a summary of some statistical work which suggests that the Flores hominids were not diseased humans, as some suggest, but a separate species. (if you need a refresher, check out Carl Zimmer's timeline of hobbit-related events)

John at A DC Birding Blog implicates political meddling in the difficulty of getting new endangered species listed under the Bush (v.2) administration.

The World We Don't Live In (a blog new to me, but one that I will be checking out regularly from now on) had several posts nominated by Christopher Taylor, including a nice descriptions of the ostracodesque Tuzoia and the elaborately-adorned protoceratids.

OK, folks, that's it for this edition of Linnaeus' Legacy - my apologies for its tardiness. The next edition will be hosted by The Ethical Palaeontologist (does this imply that other palaeontologists are unethical?) - hopefully, Julia will be more punctual than I.

Coming soon - yet another Carnival

As I have pointed out, I managed to get myself involved in two carnivals back to back. The Circus of the Spineless is hardly cold, yet I need to move on to the April edition of Linnaeus' Legacy. So, once again, I am sending out a request for posts - if you have something suitable for Linnaeus' Legacy please email them to me at jim{dot}lemire{at}gmail{dot}com. This time around, I'll try to keep my mollusc-bashing to a minimum. I promise.

Circus of the Spineless

Welcome to the March edition of the Circus of the Spineless. Yeah, yeah, I know it's April already....give me a break. If Major League Baseball wants to say that the Red Sox season began a week ago, I can say this is the March edition.

Actually, this moth's celebration of all things spineless couldn't have come at a better time. With the blogosphere currently embroiled in the Invertebrate Battle Royal, what better time to bring us all together in the spirit of peace and harmony, united behind our wonder and love for the entirety of invertebrate diversity, to stand arm in arm, putting our petty differences aside to celebrate the natural world to stick it the mollusc camp and prove once and for all the superiority of the echinoderms and all things unmolluscan (well, maybe not all things unmolluscan)? What can I say, I'm a divider, not a unifier. Forces are being divvied up and what was once a simple Holothoroidea vs. Mollusca battle is becoming a war between the all-mighty, wicked cool deuterostomes and the pathetic protostomes. Yes, I said wicked cool. Choose your allegiances wisely - no one likes a turncoat.

With a dearth of submissions a day ago, this was looking like it was going to be an all-urchin carnival, but a flurry of emails over the past 24 hours has beefed it up considerably, though predictably heavy on the arthropod front. It is possible that some submissions were inadvertently dumped by my spam filter - if so, I apologize. Unless they were about molluscs. On an only tangentially related note, in honor of Gibbon Jockey, I'd like to nominate the Indiana men's basketball team as the spineless champion of the month.

Now on to the Circus.

Phylum Echinodermata:

Kevin Zelnio, in a moment of sanity that he later renounces, gives us a great post about how the remarkable ability of sea cucumbers to quickly change the stiffness of their skin by rearranging collagen nanofibers has inspired some far-thinking scientists to use this biological marvel to help treat Parkinson's. How cool is that? Man, those echinoderms never cease to amaze.

In anticipation of a short vacation to the Domincan Republic, yours truly offered up a post on the remarkable sea urchin Diadema antillarum and the fate that has befallen it. And speaking of ultra-cool echinoderms, you can also find my foray into the Battle Royal with a brief description of the coolest feeding structure in all of Animaldom. And while I'm self-promoting, check out this urchin-themed music video I found. Does calamari have such a thing? I think not!

Phylum Urochordata:

Jumping in on the deuterostome side of the war is Miriam at The Oyster's Garter (what an unfortunately blog name) with her delineation of all the cool things about tunicates

.

Phylum Cnidaria:

Reporting on a phylum only slightly less cool than Echinodermata (but light-years ahead of those bilateral molluscan schmucks), Rick of Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets reports on yet another threat to the increasingly-vulnerable corals - other corals.

Phylum Annelida:

Budak needs some help IDing this polychaete. Nice photo.

Phylum Endoprocta:

Christopher at Catalogue of Organisms gets his first look at the endoprocts. Personally, I haven't had the privilege, but based on Christopher's description I can tell they're way cooler than molluscs.

Phylum Arthropoda:
Class Insecta

Duncan has a very nice journal-like account of a dragonfly expedition - part 1, part 2. The description and details provided by Duncan make you feel like you're there. And best of all, not a snail in sight!

Both Ed at Not Exactly Rocket Science and John at a DC Birding Blog discuss how moths can remember lessons learned as a caterpillar. Yes, that's right, moths retain memories from their larval stages.

Doug at Gossamer Tapestry makes a case for considering addding the Swamp Metalmark to the endangered species list.

RPM at evolgen explains that sleep-deprived male Drosophila are less interested in sex than their well-rested counterparts. The question I have though is how does one deprive fruit vinegar flies of sleep?

Susannah (AKA Wanderin' Weeta) offers up some tips on photographing carpet beetles and wonders if they get hangovers. To quote Susannah from her email, "Not a mollusc, fortunately." See, Wanderin' Weeta gets it.

Budak offers us two poetic insect posts. First on the Diptera-like Bembix wasp and another on the softer side of assassin bugs. You should definitely follow the image links to his Flickr account for some wonderful images.

Rurality gives us some pics of and musings on the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Must be nice to have insects flitting about flowers this time of year. Tomorrow's forecast here is for a balmy 37^oF!

Jenn at Invasive Species Weblog wisely stays clear of sending me any of her mussel posts. Instead, she paraphrases one of my favorite Good Will Hunting lines in a report on the Apple Moth and its likely lack of invasive potential here in the U.S. She also sent along a photo of a member of one of the coolest groups of insects - the Prodoxidae or yucca moths (my grad work was on the population genetics of yuccas and yucca moths, so I may be a bit biased)

Class Arachnida

Troy over at Ramblings Around Texas has a brief introduction to spiders in general and wolf and orb-weaving spiders in particular. Be sure to click on the images for some stunning shots.

Class Malacostraca

Ed joined the Great Invertebrate War with his post on the phenomenal vision of the mantis shrimp. I guess mantis shrimp are pretty cool...in a thuggish, Whitey Bulger sort of way - check out the video at the end of Ed's post to see a mantis shrimp terrorizing fellow crustaceans. Not just spineless, but heartless, I tell you.

Andrea was buzzing about her garden during the vernal solstice equinox this year, but only managed to find some roly-poly pill bugs. For some reason, these guys have always grossed me out. I can't even imagine carrying them around in my pockets.

Phylum Mollusca:

Kevin Z has some drivel about snail mucus as a wonder cure for wrinkly skin. See, aren't molluscs just the coolest? Pah-lease.

Budak highlights how to catch octopus in Singapore. So much for the supposed brainiacs of the spineless. Stupid molluscs. (note: as always with Budak's posts, be sure to follow the links for some nice photos)

In what I can only fathom was an attempt to be true to his blog's title (why else would an intelligent person blog about molluscs?), Christopher at the Catalogue of Organisms, gives us a description of those quirky gastropods, the struthiolariids, aka "ostrich foot shells". Man, nothing cooler than snails named after, yet lacking any resemblance to, the appendages of large flightless birds. If this doesn't prove Craig's case, I don't know what will.

Well, that's all folks. Hopefully, I've managed to do my part in the Great Invertebrate War and convinced all of you how uncool molluscs are. If not, you can send your rebuttal to the April edition of the Circus to be hosted by Deep Sea News - you're sure to find a sympathetic ear there. On a another note, I'll be hosting the April edition of Linnaeus' Legacy in a few days or so, so send me your posts!

RFP: Circus of the Spineless

I'm making one last request for posts for this month's Circus of the Spineless. I should have it up in the next couple of days, but I have relatively few submissions. Please send all your invertebrate-themed writings to me at jim{dot}lemire{at}gmail{dot}com

Please note that Echinoderm posts will be given top priority, followed, in order, by posts on Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Annelida, Arthropoda, Platyhelminthes, Porifera, Nemertea, Chaetognatha, Sipuncula, Bryozoa, Tardigrada, Onychophora, Brachiopoda, any non-Mollusca phylum not already mentioned, and finally, if there is room and I have time for them, the tragically uncool Mollusca.

Also, I noticed over the weekend that at least one CoS submission was delivered to my spam folder. I normally do not check my spam and erase it all unseen, so it is possible that some submissions have been unwittingly deleted. I generally send an email confirming that I received your submission, so if you sent something to me and I did not reply, please resend. Thanks.

Carnival overload

I may have gotten myself in over my head. I signed up to host the March edition of the Circus of the Spineless and the April edition of Linnaeus' Legacy. Two carnivals in two months. No problem right? So I thought.

However, I did not do my homework. It seems that Circus of the Spineless comes out at the end of the month and Linnaeus' Legacy comes out at the beginning of the month. So, instead of hosting two carnivals a month apart, I will be hosting two carnivals days apart. This didn't hit me until I started getting emails for both carnivals. Oops. The killer too is that I remember specifically asking not to host the March edition of LL so as not to double up.

Well, the carnival(s) must go on, so send in those posts - all things invertebrate for Circus of the Spineless and all things taxonomic for Linnaeus' Legacy. And for all you invertebrate taxonomists out there, you may pick either or both (but not neither). I'll keep up as best I can.

Linnaeus' Legacy #3

Linnaeus' Legacy is "a monthly blog carnival devoted to the study of life's diversity, and the science of describing and understanding this diversity." The latest edition is up over at Greg Laden's Blog. My little rant on species naming rights is included in this edition, as well as a plethora of more intellectually enlightening posts (not written by me).

Enjoy!

Circus of the Spineless #28

The latest edition of the Circus of the Spineless is up and running over at Catalogue of Organisms. Head on over for all sorts of invertebrate fun.

Next Tagled Bank

I read somewhere that one of the responsibilities of hosting the Tangled Bank is to announce the next location one week ahead of time. So, in fulfillment of my duties (a day late), I hereby inform you that Tangled Bank #94 is to be held over at Life Before Death. The last post over there is over a month old (rather ironically titled "Don't worry, I'm still here"), so I hope Felicia is ready for the multitude of submissions that will be coming her way.

I can't seem to find an email for Felicia, so please send an e-mail message to host[at]tangledbank[dot]net containing the words "Tangled Bank" somewhere in the subject line, and a link to your article, along with a sentence or two of descriptive summary. PZ will take care of the rest.

Tangled Bank #93

Ahoy me mateys and welcome to the 93rd edition of the Tangled Bank, humbly hosted by yours truly. For those of you returning to from Archaea to Zeaxanthol, welcome back. For those new to my blog, let me give you a quick introduction.

from Archaea to Zeaxanthol started out as a space to share all things biological with my AP Biology class during the stage of my life when I was crazy enough to try my hand at teaching high school science. I lasted one semester before I ran, almost literally, screaming from the profession. I have now thoroughly entrenched myself back in academia at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island as part-time biology faculty and coordinator of the Undergraduate Center for Marine Life Sciences, where I am involved in various projects that revolve around supporting undergraduate research in the life sciences. And yes, I am a pirate. Two hundred years too late. Please feel free to peruse the site - you'll see a variety of posts ranging from reports on "pure" science to rants about students and teaching to the joys of being a sports fan in New England.

As for this edition of the TB, I've decided not to break submissions into topic categories. Instead I am posting them in the order that I received them. First come, first served. This way your promptness or procrastination are clearly displayed for all to see. So without further ado, please enjoy this Thanksgiving/Lebanon Independence Day/Feast of St. Cecilia edition of the Tangled Bank. (and forgive me for my one-liners)

Greg Laden wins the award for being this edition's first submission. Greg, your prize is in the mail, just like the iPod I won from Seed. Anyways, Greg has two interesting posts reviewing some recently published work. This first post tells you everything you ever wanted to know about glial cells but were afraid to ask. The second post explains why your sister smells kinda funny - it's those darn MUP proteins helping you avoid any incestuous urges. By the way, you probably smell just as funny to her.

John at a DC Birding Blog helps us answer the age-old question, "Which came first, the chicken or the blue jay?". Ok, not quite, but he does show us what claws can tell us about bird evolution.

GrrlScientist continues the avian theme with a review of some recent work on the importance of blue-light photoreceptors in bird migration. In another post, GrrlScientist reports on genetically engineered Supermice. We should start stockpiling Kryptonite now.

Archaeozoology offers a thorough description of the pathology of two similar bone diseases, osteomalalcia and rickets. Now get out of your house, go outside in the sunshine and get yourself your daily dose of vitamin D!

Alvaro at SharpBrains reminds us that our greatest asset as a human species is not our intelligence per se, but the flexibility of our intelligence. Flexibility is always a good thing, isn't it?

Coturnix blogs about the newly described Nigersaurus taqueti, one of the most morphologically interesting dinosaurs I've ever seen. I just stared at those photos of the skull shaking my head in amazement. A must see if you haven't already (and even if you have, go see it again).

Speaking of being awed by biological variety, Stephen at Quintessence of Dust reviews a recent paper that addresses the question of why there isn't even more diversity out there, in particular in plant's inflorescent morphology. It's an interesting piece that shows how evolutionary theory can be used to create a testable developmental model. It also introduces us (or at least me) to the concept of "evolutionary wormholes". Mr. Darwin may I introduce you to Dr. Einstein?

Over at Metamagician and Hellfire, Russel gives us an excellent rant about science being a major part of "rational inquiry" and not merely "a way of describing the world, among other ways". I particularly like his statement that

At this stage of human understanding, it would simply be irrational to reject such scientific findings as that certain diseases are caused by bacteria or viruses, that the Earth revolves around the Sun (not vice versa), that our own species, Homo sapiens, evolved from earlier life forms, that DNA encodes for proteins in a way that provides a mechanism for biological heredity - and many others.

Hear, hear!

On a completely different topic, Russel touches upon the relationship between "binge" drinking during pregnancy and fetal neurolodevelopment. Not quite Russel's take, but this reminds me of when my wife likes to say (rather Darwinisticly), alcohol only kills the weak brain cells and we don't want our kids having weak brain cells do we?

(Russel has also provided a couple of good posts concerning irrational and unfounded calls to morality in issues of bioethics - see here and here )

Tara Smith gives a concise description of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (aka MRSA) and its growing prevelence in non-hospital communities. While some grim details are discussed, Tara's presentation is a far cry and a refreshing change from the Armageddon-like press MRSA has been receiving lately. Tara also discusses a disturbing finding that shows MRSA infections spreading rapidly in swine populations - and the ability of these infections to easily jump to humans. Please, please, tell me I can still eat bacon.

Ed at Not Exactly Rocket Science has an interesting post on cooperation and communication in bacteria and the evolutionary pressures on bacterial slackers. Apparently, bacteria have their own versions of Jeff Spicoli to worry about. Ed seems to have a thing for cheaters too - he provides us with a post about the multiple disguises used by the bluestriped fangblenny. I bet his next post involves awkward, misunderstood porcupines that dress in black and listen to the Cure.

Ouroboros discusses potential problems with calorie restriction. Sure, you may live longer and avoid getting diabetes, but you'll probably have worms. I think I'll go eat a cheeseburger now.

CL at planet doom? (aka the Scourge of the Southern Seas) invokes the Law of Unintended Consequences in questioning the sensibility of seeding the ocean with iron to counteract global warming. Next thing you know, he'll argue against importing Cane toads.

The Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog discusses some newly discovered traditional planting techniques in the Amazon that facilitate cross-pollination in casava, which results in "making the casava stronger". ABW also has an interesting post about the intersection of culture and nutrition that explains why Kenyans don't eat polenta.

Mike at 10,000 Birds has some great photos and a description of the Northern Gannet. Some day I hope someone refers to me as 'pulchritudinous'.

The physics arXiv blog reveals a new medical toy in our near future - the micro MRI. It's sure to be the hot item next Christmas.

Science and Reason has a really nice piece that describes the role of sirtuin proteins and the sirtuin-encoding gene sir2-1 in extending the lifespan of C. elegans. Too bad they haven't found a gene that increases nematode pulchritude.

A Mad Tea Party provides us with all the nauseating details of Norovirus, aka the Cruise Ship Virus. I suggest reading this one before you sit down and gorge yourself on turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

Unbelievably and with amazing symmetry (I'm not making this up), Greg Laden, who started us off with the first post, finishes us up with the last. In this one, Greg discusses Neutral Theory and the Adaptionist Program in relation to some new work on the evolution of the nematode vulva. I think I best let that one alone.

Well, that's all folks. Hope you've enjoyed this edition of the Tangled Bank. I've certainly enjoyed writing it. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, Lebanon Independence Day, Feast of St. Cecilia, or just another day in November as appropirate. Stay tuned for Tangled Bank #94 to be hosted by Life Before Death

Tangled Bank coming soon

Congrats to Greg Laden for being the first to submit a post for the next Tangled Bank (and thanks for reminding me that I'm hosting it!).

TB #93 will be up just in time for Turkey Day (if you're in the U.S.) or Independence Day (if you're in Lebanon) or the Feast Day of St. Cecilia (if you're a musician, poet, lover of Church Music, or a parishioner in Albi, France or Omaha, Nebraska). The rest of you will just have to enjoy the Carnival sans holiday.

So, submit away oh bloggers of science and medicine. jim.lemire[at]gmail[dotcom]

(or you could leave submissions in the comments)

All things Spined and Spineless

I'm still working on getting my sea photos up. In the meantime, here are two carnivals for you:

the Circus of the Spineless is ready over at Naturalist Notebook

Tangled Bank #87 is up over at Balancing Life

Happy Reading!