Nature

Inter-Species Diplomacy

~ Cheryl ~ 2 Comments

We all know that chimps can be taught sign language, right? So a chimp can learn the sign for banana and the sign for ball and can make the right sign when shown the particular object. But is that language? Isn’t language something more than information transfer? Well, yes it is. We humans are very clever apes and we do all sorts of things with language. Can chimps argue a point, or negotiate for what they want? It appears that they can. This article describes a paper by Janni Pedersen of Iowa State University. It analyzes a video of a conversation between a bonobo chimp, Panbanisha, and a human, Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh. Pedersen has this to say about Panbanisha:

“She was using language to get at what she wanted,” Pedersen said. “She is very, very clever and is fully capable of following the conversation the same way a human does. This tells me that Panbanisha’s knowledge of language is far beyond understanding the words, to understanding how to use them in a conversation to get what she wants.”

And one of these days a chimp is going to learn the sign language for “vote”.

Pining for Academia

~ Cheryl

When I was at college there was no money at all in oceanography. That’s why I never finished my doctorate. By global warming and over-fishing have changed all that. Now we urgently need to know all sorts of things about our oceans. And now my former colleagues get to go on expeditions like this. Which is exactly the sort of thing I dreamed of as a kid, and why I signed up for the course in the first place.

Ah well, if I was spending my life swanning about the Caribbean in research vessels I probably would never have won a Hugo, or met Kevin.

Six Arms, Two Legs

~ Cheryl ~ 1 Comment

The limbs of an octopus all look pretty much alike to us, but that doesn’t mean that they are all the same to their owner. Recent research at the Sea Life Centre in Brighton suggests that while the limbs can all be used interchangeably, the normal pattern of behavior fits a pattern of six arms and two legs. The researchers are also turning up other interesting aspects of these marvelous creatures:

Gerard conducted tests on Popeye, a Lesser Octopus at the Brighton centre.

“Octopuses do have very strong personalities. They do develop their own favourite toys,” he explained.

“My octopus hates the colour red — that’s quite a natural response in nature — but he particularly likes yellow. We’re starting to build a profile for different octopus,” Gerard added.

And during the tests, the octopuses got to play with some particularly challenging toys, namely Rubik’s Cubes — though none have managed to solve one yet.

Yet.

Huge Step Forward for Simian Rights

~ Cheryl

I quote from Nature:

The Spanish parliament’s environment committee last week approved resolutions for chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans to gain some statutory rights currently applicable only to humans. It is thought to be the first time a national legislature has taken such action.

More here.

Farewell, Caribbean Monk Seal

~ Cheryl

After being presumed missing for many years, the Caribbean monk seal has officially been declared extinct. It is, of course, sad when any species becomes extinct, and being large mammals ourselves we tend to feel it more when another large mammal goes. This time, however, we have even more reason to be sorry, because the Caribbean monk seal has a starring role in one of the best fantasy novels of 2007. It has won the Aurora for best novel, and is currently shortlisted for both the Sunburst and Mythopoeic Awards. If you want to know more, you’ll need to read The New Moon’s Arms by Nalo Hopkinson.

More Tentacle Porn

~ Cheryl ~ 7 Comments

The phrase “tentacle porn” is one of the top searches by which people find this blog, so I try to keep using it. Fortunately I don’t need to come up with subjects myself. Over at Pharyngula, PZ Myers posts a picture of a new tentacled beauty every week. I try not to link to all of them, but this week’s is particularly spectacular. Nautilus.

Lesbian Albatross?

~ Cheryl

Here’s a story guaranteed to set off alarm bells in fundamentalist churches. The albatross is a famously monogamous bird, with pairs staying together for years to raise chicks even though they spend much of their lives roaming the oceans on their own. But what is a girl albatross to do if there are not enough guys around? On the island of Oahu, female Laysan albatross outnumber males by almost 2:1. Does this stop the girls breeding? No it does not. Raising an albatross chick is hard work, and normal couples only ever manage one per year, so this isn’t a single-parent scenario. So the female albatross pair up together, and raise the chicks between them. Currently around 31% of baby albatross on Oahu have two mommies. Obviously the girls need to find a male to get pregnant, but aside from that the commitment to monogamy appears to hold, with female:female pairs staying together for years and raising each other’s chicks. More details here.

Attack of the Mutant Squirrels

~ Cheryl

I have reported before about the attempts of the House of Lords to save the unfortunate British red squirrel from Evil American Immigrants. Now, however, there seems to have been an escalation in the squirrel wars. A new breed of mutant black-furred gray squirrels is expanding across south-east England, wiping out the grays as they go. Money shot:

They have higher testosterone levels, which is thought to make them more domineering and territorial, while their colouring makes them more attractive to female greys.

There are just so many ways the tabloids are going to get inappropriate and offensive over this. However, perhaps their Lordships will save the day by suggesting a campaign to dose the black squirrels with estrogen.

Logan Was Here?

~ Cheryl

Wildlife experts in California have been all excited of late because of some confirmed sightings of at least one wolverine in Tahoe National Forest. The animals have supposedly been extinct in California since the 1920s. Now I see we have a photograph of one of the animals. Also someone has done DNA analysis of the hair and scat that has been found, and that suggests that the creature is an immigrant rather than a survivor of the native population, though where it has come from is unclear. I am waiting for some politician to suggest that it stowed away on a truck from Mexico.

Still, one more thing to be wary about when we visit Kevin’s folks up in the Sierras. Hopefully this one doesn’t have adamantium claws.