It's a Fox, It's a Deer, It's a ... Wolf?

The South American Maned Wolf is one of those animals you look at and think that it looks familiar, but can’t quite place it. It has the body shape and overall features of a fox, with long legs that resemble a deer. Along with containing the name of a wolf, what exactly is this creature mash-up?

The Maned Wolf is technically not a wolf, or a fox, but it is a member of the canid family, which relates it to a wolf. A huge difference between the Maned Wolf and other wolves is that they are solitary in nature, meaning they will not typically travel in groups and prefer to be alone. Even though these creatures typically care for themselves, a male and a female typically share a home range and remain monogamous throughout their lives. Even though they live in the same area, the male and female will only come together during the mating season in which the female delivers up to 5 adorable pups (picture below). The pups are cared for primarily by the female for about 2 and a half months before becoming independent. After the pups grow to a year old, they typically leave to find their own home range and mate.

Although these creatures look majestic, they have a side that is not so glamorous as well. Each monogamous pair “owns” a territory that is about 10square miles, so how do they defend this if they never see each other? They pee and poop. That’s right, every night they make sure that they deposit their extremely powerful urine and feces around the edge of their territory to warn others to stay away. It has been said that this herbal smell is so strong it is often compared to the smell of marijuana or a skunk. The smell is so similar to cannabis that Netherlands police were once searching the Rotterdam zoo for a pot-smoker, only to find out that it was the urine of the Maned Wolf.

These creatures can still be found in the wild near the central part of South America, usually in the thick brush. The Maned Wolf is an omnivore that has an extremely diverse diet consisting of small mammals, fish, fruits, insects, and even road kill. There are no natural predators to the Maned Wolf, however humans are the main source in their decline in population. Since these animals require such a large home range, they often venture into agricultural areas and onto highways. Even though there are preserves for these animals, about half of the pups each year are killed on highways that border these preserves. Another major reason for population decline is human sport. There are some people in South America who believe that this animal holds medicinal or magical purposes which leads to an increase in hunting. Who knows, maybe the natives are onto something and this “fox-on-stilts” is magical after all.

Sources and Picture References 

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/maned-wolf-pee-demystified/

http://seancrane.com/2011/02/maned-wolf-2/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/7326646/Animal-pictures-of-the-week-26-February-2010.html?image=8

http://www.arkive.org/maned-wolf/chrysocyon-brachyurus/

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/amazonia/facts/manedwolves.pdf

Water Bears - The Invertebrate that is Out of This World

Tardigrades have been named the most resilient animal both in and out of this world.  You read right, these creatures, also known as water bears, can happily survive in space as well for a period of time.  The only way to see these tiny, water-dwelling creatures, is under a microscope.  A scanning electron micrograph shows the water bear up-close and personal, which in my opinion looks less like a bear and more like a headless Heimlich, the caterpillar from A Bug’s Life.

                These invertebrates have four pairs of stumpy legs which allow them to move very slowly.  Water bears only reach half a millimeter on average, yet research shows these creatures have anatomy and physiology similar to larger animals.  Its tube-like digestive system begins with a pharynx which leads to an esophagus, stomach, intestine and anus.  Below is a picture that shows more internal structures, indicating the water bear is much more complex than what meets the eye. 

                Many water bears have been found to live in areas with dense moss and ferns, where they feed off of plant cells, algae, and other microscopic animals.  Yet, because water bears are able to adapt and survive almost any environment on earth, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that these creatures have been discovered all over the world, from the arctic poles to the equator, the deep ocean and the top of forest canopies. 

                These extremophiles can also withstand a lack of oxygen, exposure to harmful chemicals and pollution, temperature extremes, even in chilled liquid helium that approaches absolute zero, high levels of radiation, and no food or water for a decade.  The unique characteristic that contributes to the resiliency of the water bear is known as cryptobiosis.  This is considered to be a state which shows no signs of life and limited or ceased metabolism, yet they are not dead.  This adaptation is reversible and protects the water bear from extreme conditions.  Anhydrobiosis is the best understood type of cryptobiosis, and is triggered in an environment of extreme dryness.  During this period, the water bear dehydrates itself while synthesizing proteins and sugars that serve to protect its cells.  Once these preparations have been implemented, the water bear stops metabolism and is practically indestructible.  When the time is right and the water bear comes into contact with even a drop of water, they are able to resume normal metabolism and mosey along on their stubby legs.

                Current research involves the water bear’s role in extraterrestrial exploration.  Astrobiologists and molecular biologists are particularly fascinated in discovering how their genetic information stays intact even under harsh conditions, such as the high levels of radiation that exist in space.  Some scientists even believe understanding the survival tactics of the water bear could be the key to unlocking a way to protect humans from space as well.

               

References

Brennand, E. (2011, May 17). Tardigrades: Water bears in space. BBC Nature. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/12855775

Clegg, J.S. (2001, April). Cryptobosis: A peculiar state of biological organization. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol. 128(4): 613-624. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11290443

Miller, W.R. (2011, October). Tardigrades. American Scientist. Retrieved from http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/2011/5/tardigrades/1

Clownfish : Twisted and Confused

  

    

     One of America’s most famous and adored marine fish, the Clownfish, may be even goofier than their name suggests.  These cute orange and white fish that we have grown to love, thanks to the Disney movie “ Finding Nemo”, actually live a very twisted sexual life.  You see, the clownfish is hermaphroditic, meaning that they can play the role of both male and female fish.  Although this seems very strange to us humans, it is actually a fairly common practice in the aquatic world. There are said to be as many as 21 families of fish that behave in this kinky manner (Stephens). I don’t know about you but that makes me think twice about the cleanliness of the ocean we swim in.

     The clownfish specifically is known as a protandrous sequential hermaphrodite, not to be confused with the protogynous sequential hermaphrodites.  To break this down, sequential hermaphrodites are those which “develop as one gender before changing to the other gender” later in life (Cooney).  Of the sequential hermaphrodites there are the two types.  The protandrous start out as males and can later switch to females, while the protogynous develop as females first and then switch to males.  So let’s tie this all together in terms of the clownfish. 

     Imagine you are a clownfish that just hatched from its egg.  You start off life as an undifferentiated male with just your mom and dad around.  Sadly, something happens to the mother and she’s gone which just leaves you and your dad living in this small hypothetical population.  In the name of procreation your dad changes into a female to allow for spawning.  As if it isn’t weird enough, you now must breed with your female father to start a new generation.  This happens and a new generation of undifferentiated males is hatched.  Tragically, after the spawning season is over a shark swam in and ate the father! Being the oldest male you take a long look around and find that there aren’t any clownfish ladies swimming around and thus it becomes your turn to become a female.  This is the reproductive behaviors of the clown fish and in general for any sequential hermaphrodite (Cooney). 

     Although this seems very strange to us humans who don’t naturally change genders, it is both commonplace and beneficial for these fish.   For a small clownfish, it is a truly a “fish-eat-fish” ocean out there.  Living this type of hermaphroditic lifestyle ensures that there are always both male and females around to safeguard the population density.  

Sources:

BeckmanInstitute. “Sex-Changing Clownfish.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27 September 2012. Web. 23 February 2014.

Chow, Samuel. Clownfish and Anemone. 7 October 2010. Ask Nature. Web. 23 February 2014.

Cooney, Patrick. “Finding Nemo Lied…” The Fisheries Blog.” The Fisheries Blog.com Web. 18 February 2014.

Stephens, Christina. “List of Hermaphrodite Animals.” Animals. Demand Media. Web. 18 February 2014.

The Misunderstood Killer

Everyone knows the ominous tone; the string quartet playing the bit that represents the approach of one of the world’s most feared and misunderstood creatures. Of course, the creatures that I am speaking of are sharks, and the tone is made infamous from the 70s classic Jaws. People all around the world know about these creatures. A good majority of them have a fear of them, some so great that they refuse to step foot into the ocean. While this fear is not unfounded, there were 82 unprovoked shark attacks in 2010, it is not as pressing as many other life threatening events. In fact, there is a greater possibility of dying from other things that many would think are much less likely. Marine scientists would argue that sharks deserve respect as they are a very important part of our oceans and almost a quarter of our shark species are currently threatened with extinction.


Sharks are often the apex predators of the ocean. In other words, this means that they are at the top of the food chain. Apex predators are very important in their habitats. They maintain the natural order of things by keeping the population of the organisms on which they prey from growing out of control. If you take an apex predator out of a community the effects can be devastating. Unfortunately, this is what is happening today in many cases in the Earth’s oceans.


Sharks are being killed on purpose and for a variety of reasons. They are currently being killed at the alarming rate of one-hundred million sharks per year. That is roughly a quarter of the population of the United States worth of sharks that are dying, many needlessly, every year. Some sharks are killed


Once they reach a certain size to prevent them from attacking humans. This is more common on continents such as Australia and is a much more plausible reason than some of the other reasons that the sharks are dying. Another big way in which the sharks are dying is from bycatch. There are many ways that have been researched to minimize the problem of shark bycatch, but none of them are being used. Sharks also are being killed for their fins. There is a large global market for shark fins and some other types of fish that are used for shark fin soup. Another major factor is that some people just kill sharks simply because they see them, and they do not understand that sharks are not the evil creature that many believe them to be.


Sharks are a very slow growing species, and it is very easy to wipe a shark species out because they are not able to bounce back very quickly like some fish species. Any time that a quarter of the species of a certain type of organism is endangered it is alarming. I cannot imagine a world where some of the most fascinating creatures such as the great white are wiped out. Even the people that enjoy sharks for purely commercials reasons, such as shark week would lose out. This is not an article to make you feel you should protest outside a fishery or become an activist for the cause. But next time you go to an aquarium, drop some spare change in the save-the-sharks box. Trade a little of the fear that you have the next time you step into the ocean for respect; you are after all in their world.

 --- Zak Palmer


Harris, Richard. "Ancient And Vulnerable: 25 Percent Of Sharks And Rays Risk Extinction." 

NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.


"Next Generation Diving - Underwater Vehicles..." Shark Quest – Best Sharks Place. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://best-diving.org/adrenalin-diving/139-shark-quest-best-sharks-place>.

It’s a fish…it’s a gator…it’s a Hellbender??

Imagine, the next time you go fishing in the local river you latch on to something big, something slimy, something that belongs on the SyFy channel! You just caught an Eastern Hellbender, a 25 inch aquatic salamander! Perhaps you’ve heard of these gargantuan amphibians referred to as “snot otters”, “mud-devils” or the “Allegheny alligator”, but their true name is the Eastern Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis.  If this sounds more like a prehistoric monster than a modern day salamander, well it sort of is.  The hellbender has been roaming the most pristine rivers for the past 65 million years.  It takes these monsters about 60 years to reach their impressive maximum length of around 25 inches.  To put an age relationship on this, a full grown adult hellbender today was probably hatched near the end of the Korean War! When this baby boomer was hatched from under a large rock in a very clean river it had large external gills that it used to get oxygen from the water in order to breath.  After about two years our salamander underwent a small change where it lost its external gills and developed lungs (like us) to breathe with.  By age 5, our salamander learned all about “the birds and the bees” and soon after began its reproductive life.

Although you may think it seems like a glamorous life for any salamander to live an amazing 60 years, our friend the Eastern Hellbender has undergone many challenges and sorrowful times.  You see, hellbenders require the very cleanest and pollution free waters to live in.  However, the effects of general pollution, putting dams on waterways and poor farming habits (like overuse of fertilizers, herbicides/insecticides, and removal of trees along waterways) have lowered the quality of much of the waterways in Ohio.  Consequently, the population of the eastern hellbender has plummeted.  The once well-established populations of hellbenders has been recently placed on the list of the endangered species by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and has presumed it to be completely extirpated from the western part of the state, of where it once thrived.  Luckily though, there are groups who are trying to help with the conservation and recovery of the Eastern Hellbender in Ohio. 

One group trying to help the hellbender is “The Ohio Hellbender Partnership”.  This group is working to survey the rivers so they can keep tabs on the status of the giant salamanders.  When they do catch a hellbender they give it a stress test by looking at their blood and they test the immune abilities of the salamander.  The researchers are also collecting eggs so they can hatch young in captivity, in hopes of increasing the success rate.  Some researchers are even placing radio chips in the adult salamanders so that they can be monitored without being caught/disturbed again.  After 65 million years of roaming the rivers of Ohio and the eastern United States it would be a shame to lose these amazing animals.  Although joining a hellbender conservation group may not be your thing, you can still help by just limiting pollution.  So quit polluting and help raise a little hell-bender!

This is a picture of Greg Lipps, one of the leading researchers on the Eastern Hellbender. He is measuring an adult hellbender around 23 inches that we caught in Captina Creek, Ohio. There were EPA members present also who took blood samples and inserted the radio chips.

Written by Scott Spreng

           

Hellbender. Department of natural resources. Retrieved from http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/hellbender/tabid/6659/Default.aspx

Lipps, Greg. The Ohio Hellbender Partnership. Retrieved from http://home.greglipps.com/surveys/eastern-hellbender/ohio-hellbender-partnership