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Anole lizards are highly territorial and typically stick close to their home tree. So, what happens when a team of researchers carries them far away into the forest? Will they find their way back? Dr. Manuel Leal and colleagues designed an experiment to find out. They displaced the lizards from their home territories and then tracked their movements using radio transmitters. Most of the lizards were able to orient themselves and head in the right direction, with some making a beeline back to their original tree in less than 24 hours.
(Source: DCMP)
Snakes certainly make it look easy when they slither forward, leaving perfect S-curve tracks behind them, but scientists have long been puzzled by the mechanics of their locomotion. Now, after a series of experiments and some computer modeling, David Hu has cracked the case. With funding from the National Science Foundation, he’s using math to determine how snakes slither and it turns out they move in a much different way than scientists have long thought.
Recapping themes from the prior modules and previewing the junco research of the future, this closing segment reinforces the broad range of important scientific findings involving the Junco. Featuring sound bites from more than a dozen diverse scientists who study juncos, this segment emphasizes the importance of emerging genetic and genomic research tools to complement research in the field. Viewers are reminded to consider all that can be learned from a little backyard bird. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Outro).
Climb aboard the Cyclops, a microscopic research vessel, and investigate an amazing hidden world on which all living things depend. The Cyclops houses a team of scientists known as the Micronauts and guides them through their discoveries of biological classification, diversity, and ecology. In this episode, the Micronauts take to the air and discover that lawns and flower gardens are home to a variety of insect pollinators and predators. From the air, they witness the role insects play in the backyard ecosystem. Part 11 of Microscopic Monsters Series.
New research led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the shape of some animals' pupils could reveal whether one is hunter or hunted. An analysis of 214 species of land animals shows that a creature's ecological niche is a strong predictor of pupil shape. Species with pupils that are vertical slits are more likely to be ambush predators that are active both day and night. In contrast, those with horizontally elongated pupils are extremely likely to be plant-eating prey species with eyes on the sides of their heads.
Researchers hitch a ride with the Mexican Navy to visit the breathtakingly beautiful but critically endangered island habitat of Guadeloupe Island. Led by Drs. Borja Mila and Ellen Ketterson, the team sets out to collect some of the first modern data and genetic samples from the juncos found on the remote island, with the goal of learning the origins and evolutionary history of this mysterious species. What they find could have important implications for the future of this fascinating but imperiled population of juncos. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 5).
The Magic School Bus is an award winning animated children’s television series based on the book series of the same title by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. It is notable for its use of celebrity talent and being both highly entertaining and educational. The class transforms into lizards in an effort to save Liz, who the class thinks is in trouble after leaving school. They find him at the mysterious "Herp Haven." Will the class be able to save Liz, or is she even in any danger in the first place?
In contrast to the peaceful wildlands featured in the prior segments, the urban campus of the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) seems like an unlikely place to find field biologists studying juncos. But in the early 1980s, some juncos decided to make this atypical urban and coastal habitat their year-round home. Since then, scientists have documented a remarkable array of changes in the physical traits, behaviors, and physiology of the colonist population of juncos at UCSD when compared to juncos from the nearby native range. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 6).
Hummingbirds live only in the Americas, and their diversity numbers 350 species. They are part-time carnivores that must catch animals that compromise ¼ of their diet. Demonstrates how they can hover, fly backward, and move their wings in figure eights at 200 wind-beats per second in slow and stop motion images. Also reveals that every night their bodies go in torpor (mini-hibernation) so they don't starve while they can't consume nectar. Also sees how they co-evolve with flowers through pollinating mutualisms, and acquired their aerial skills by evolving from ancestors of swifts, their nearest relatives.
The Curiosity Quest crew travels to Alaska to learn about salmon. During their visit, host Joel Greene interviews an Alaska Fish and Wildlife Specialist, who explains why Alaskan creeks are bursting with salmon. They also discuss why salmon travel thousands of miles to revisit the place they were born. Joel also visits a salmon hatchery and learns the role it plays in preserving the few species of salmon by protecting the newly hatched salmon eggs. Part of the Curiosity Quest Series.
Queen Bees are not actually in charge of anything. Their job is to lay eggs, not to rule the hive. With support from the National Science Foundation, entomologist Gene Robinson and mechanical engineer Harry Dankowicz at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign have teamed up with psychologist Whitney Tabor at the University of Connecticut to study how coordination emerges in leaderless complex societies, such as a bee hive. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
Invasive animals are often most abundant in habitats impacted by humans. Understanding why this is true may reveal important insights about the ecological impact of many invasive species. The invasive fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is a notoriously pesky species that benefits when humans disturb natural areas. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Joshua King at the University of Central Florida and Dr. Walter Tschinkel at Florida State University have been exploring the underlying causes and consequences of the association of fire ants with human-altered ecosystems. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
Scientists have recently discovered that the California mantis shrimp can talk. Well, it’s not the same as human speech, but it is audible communication. Researchers studying sounds on the ocean floor had long suspected that burrow-dwelling creatures made noise, and they decided to spy on a group of shrimp by dropping recording devices into their habitat. What they heard was fascinating. The California mantis shrimp not only made noise, but each individual seemed to have its own unique voice. Part of the "News of the Day" series.
The species of Goby fish, Sicyopterus stimpsoni, also known as the inching climber, thrives in the waters off Hawaii. To reach the safe haven of its freshwater spawning area, this Goby must scale a waterfall, or at least the rock behind it, using suction cups on its body. With support from the National Science Foundation, scientists at St. Cloud and Clemson Universities study these extraordinary fish to better understand how they’ve adapted and evolved in order to achieve such vertical feats. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
The arctic ground squirrel has developed highly specialized adaptations to extreme environments. This species maintains circadian rhythms throughout the arctic summer, despite the almost ceaseless daylight during this period. The squirrels’ body clocks have evolved to work just fine without the help of the day/night cycle. With support from the National Science Foundation, physiological ecologist Cory Williams of the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and a team of researchers traveled to the Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska to study the arctic ground squirrel on its home turf. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
In less than a second a sandfish lizard can dig its way into the sand and disappear. The sandfish's slithering moves are inspiring new robotic moves that could one day help search and rescue crews find survivors in piles of rubble left from disasters. With support from the National Science Foundation, physicist Daniel Goldman and his team at Georgia Tech are studying the lizard’s movements, using x-rays to track it underground. Their findings will contribute to engineering designs for deployable robots that could one day help canine search and rescue teams find survivors more quickly.
The Hawaiian bobtail squid and its resident bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, have a powerful and still somewhat mysterious symbiotic relationship. The luminescent bacteria populate a small pouch on the squid’s underside called the light organ, and provide a sort of “Klingon cloaking device.” They produce light at night to offset the squid’s shadow and hide it from predators when it approaches the ocean’s surface to feed. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, microbiologist Margaret McFall-Ngai studies this unusual relationship. An understanding of these creatures’ rhythms could lead to new ways to treat disease. She is also studying how the squid and bacteria communicate, so they don’t harm each other.
Throughout North America, the species known as the dark-eyed junco exhibits striking differences in feather color, body size, and behavior from place to place. These variations among subspecies have caught the attention of biologists interested in diversification, evolution, and speciation. This segment features footage from junco habitats across the continent as researchers try to decode the riddle of the Junco’s evolutionary history. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 3).
Scientist William Rowan is renowned for his research on the dark-eyed junco. Before Rowan, it was unknown what environmental cues animals used to time the seasonal changes in their biology. Through a groundbreaking experiment with the junco, Rowan discovered the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night. Shot as an historical re-enactment, this segment provides a glimpse into the history and human dimensions of scientific research and reveals one of the first studies that made juncos well-known to biologists. Part of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco (Chapter 1).
Leaf cutter ants could be called the overachievers of the insect world. They are farmers, medicine makers, and green energy producers. With support from the National Science Foundation, bacteriologist Cameron Currie studies the complex evolutionary relationships between the ants, the fungi they cultivate and eat, and the bacteria that influence this symbiosis. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Currie works with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center on campus to explore how the ants manage to degrade cellulose. Her goal is to discover new ways humans might break down biomass into biofuels. The bacteria component of the ant colony could also help scientists develop more effective antibiotics for human health and agriculture.
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