tags: Meet Paul, Germany's Prognosticating Octopus, soccer, football, World Cup 2010, fun, offbeat, weird
tags: The Laryngeal Nerve of the Giraffe is Proof of Natural Selection, animals, giraffe, evolution, creationism, intelligent design, dissection, necropsy, autopsy, recurrent laryngeal nerve pathway, vagus nerve, cranial nerve X, evolutionary legacy, Richard Dawkins, streaming video
This video, including comments by Richard Dawkins, documents a necropsy (an autopsy on an animal other than a human) carried out in a classroom on a giraffe. In this video, we follow the pathway of the recurrent (inferior) laryngeal nerve, an important nerve that is a branch of the Vagus nerve (tenth cranial nerve). The recurrent (inferior) laryngeal nerve, which branches off the Vagus nerve at the base of the brain, travels down the neck, around the arteries of the heart and travels back up the neck to ennervate the larynx, or voice box, thereby providing motor function. The purpose of doing this exercise is to show that there is no so-called "intelligent designer" because the pathway of this nerve is completely illogical -- unless, of course, you accept that evolution is the reason for this nerve's convoluted pathway through the body.
tags: The Intriguing Sound of Marine Mammals, sounds, songs, communication, language acquisition, noise pollution, shipping, acoustic environment, vocal imprinting, marine mammals, dolphins, whales, Peter Tyack, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
Bird watchers (especially those who do most of their birding by ear) will particularly enjoy this video: Peter Tyack of Woods Hole talks about a hidden wonder of the sea: underwater sound. Onstage at Mission Blue, he explains the amazing ways whales use sound and song to communicate across hundreds of miles of ocean.
tags: Earthworm Porn, animals, annelids, mating habits, reproductive behavior, sexuality, Isabella Rossellini, streaming video
This video is a look at Isabella Rossellini's bizarre and hilarious look at sex in the natural world as she explores the mating habits of those naughty earthworms.
tags: ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, endangered species, habitat preferences, Northern Bluefin Tuna, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus, Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares, fisheries, PLoS ONE, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, journal club
A recently published study, intended to provide data to commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico so they maximize their catch of Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares, whilst avoiding bycatch of critically endangered Atlantic (Northern) Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus, suggests that the Deepwater Horizon oil leak may devastate the endangered Atlantic bluefin population, causing it to completely collapse or possibly go extinct.
tags: A Bird's Eye View of the BP Oil Spill, oil drilling, oil spill, oil wells, petroleum, BP, British Petroleum, TransOcean, environment, animals, streaming video
This news report of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico features a "bird's eye view" of the spill, including footage of the pelican rookery filled with oiled adult birds and a dead dolphin. Nothing like taking a close look at the REAL victims of this disaster!
tags: Care for Some Crude With Your Sushi?, toro sushi, maguro sushi, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus, Gulf of Mexico, pollution, oil spill, Deepwater Horizon, BP, British Petroleum, overfishing, endangered species, conservation, marine biology, streaming video
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the worst environmental disaster the US has faced. Toxic oil from the Deepwater Horizon well threatens the region's sensitive shorelines and the nesting birds along the Louisiana coast. But there's another species at serious risk: the Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus. This disturbing video tells you more about their plight, and how this oil spill could be the last straw that pushes them over the edge ...
tags: Obsession for .. Animals?, perfume, Obsession for Men, Bronx Zoo, Wildlife Conservation Society, conservation biology, behavioral ecology, animals, mammals, big cats, weird, strange, wow, streaming video
This fascinating video shows that Calvin Klein's "Obsession for Men" is NOT just for men! This is a great example of how careful observation of captive animals' behavior is directly impacting research with wild animals. When biologists at the Bronx Zoo started spritzing "Obsession for Men" cologne near heat-and-motion-sensitive cameras, the tigers, snow leopards, jaguars and cheetahs became curious ... very curious. And snuggly.
tags: Dawn dishwashing liquid, television commercial, advertising, oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, BP oil spill, British Petroleum, streaming video
Experiments have shown that Dawn dishwashing liquid works best to save oiled wildlife and doesn't burn their tender skin and eyes. According to the information I've found, Dawn is donating all the detergent used to clean oiled Gulf of Mexico birds, and is also raising funds to help with the clean up effort.
tags: Brian Skerry Reveals Ocean's Glory -- and Horror, conservation, marine biology, fish, marine mammals, oceans, sharks, leatherback sea turtle, right whale, overfishing, photographer, Brian Skerry, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
Professional photographer Brian Skerry shoots life above and below the waves -- as he puts it, both the horror and the magic of the ocean. Sharing amazing, intimate shots of undersea creatures, he shows how powerful images can help make change.
This is an experiment by Grrlscientist and Bob O'Hara. it may work. It may not. But we should really clean the place up.
