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Encountering the Wild in Us and Us in the Wild Norwegian and Pacific Northwest salmon industries remain largely overlooked and Martin Lee Mueller cleverly weaves the stories of artificially inseminated and reared salmon to highlight the long-standing notion of human exceptionalism and creates a critique of the widespread idea that non-human animals are little more … More Book club: ‘Being Salmon Being Human’ by Martin Lee Mueller
over a year ago

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More from Marine Madness

Fear factor: How sensationalised shark documentaries undermine conservation efforts

Experts explain why misleading documentaries about sharks can be problematic. When Brendon Sing first encountered sharks he was as a young boy behind the safety of aquarium glass in his native South Africa. Like many children of his generation, Brendon’s limited knowledge about sharks came from the 1975 smash-hit movie “Jaws,” which meant he was … More Fear factor: How sensationalised shark documentaries undermine conservation efforts

over a year ago 29 votes
Book Club: ‘How To Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea’

In this absolute must-have for all walkers, sailors, swimmers, divers, photographers, and nature lovers, Natural Navigator Tristan Gooley shares his knowledge and skills to help you navigate and interpret the water around you. Combining elements of natural navigation history, tips for observing the weather and behaviour of water bodies, and a personal narrative to encourage … More Book Club: ‘How To Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea’

over a year ago 43 votes
Book Club: ‘Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia’ by Christina Thompson

Who first settled the islands of the remote Pacific? Where did they come from? How did they get there, and how do we know? The answers to these and more questions are all explored in this mesmerizing novel by Pacific historian Christina Thompson.  For over a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the most secluded islands in … More Book Club: ‘Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia’ by Christina Thompson

over a year ago 40 votes
Penguin Problems: Are human-induced food shortages driving population declines?

We all love penguins. Clumsy and awkward on land, stealthy and precise underwater- these charismatic creatures have captured our hearts ever since the release of March of the Penguins. Unfortunately, penguin populations across the globe (especially in South Africa and Antarctica) are facing hardship. Researchers have recently concluded that African penguin populations, as well as other … More Penguin Problems: Are human-induced food shortages driving population declines?

over a year ago 34 votes
Farming Fiasco: The world’s first commercial octopus breeding programme

It seems ironic that shortly after an amendment to the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill stating octopuses to be ‘sentient beings’ capable of a range of human-like emotions such as joy, pleasure, excitement, as well as pain, distress, and harm, plans of the word’s first commercial octopus farm arose. Yet that is exactly what happened with … More Farming Fiasco: The world’s first commercial octopus breeding programme

over a year ago 35 votes

More in science

A Month In Northern Peru, Part 18: Wattled Curassows at Muyuna Lodge (February 26, 2024)

February 26, 2024 As dawn broke, Laura, Moises and I slowly cruised along a quiet watercourse. The dawn chorus was active and included species like Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Zimmer's Woodcreeper and Black-tailed Antbird, but I stayed focused on the treeline, hoping that a curassow-shaped bird would appear.  The dawn chorus quieted as the sun rose above the horizon. Early morning is the best time to find the curassow, and we were running out of time.  Domain of the Wattled Curassow - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru And there it was! It was the bright red bill that first caught my attention and 0.05 seconds later, my brain registered that I was staring at a female Wattled Curassow. Wattled Curassow - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru But it was better than I had imagined - the female was accompanied by a tiny chick! For a few magical minutes we watched the duo in their element.  Wattled Curassow chick - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Wattled Curassow chick - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Wattled Curassows are closely associated with these rivers in the western Amazon basin and that has led to their downfall. The rivers are the highways, and curassows have a lot of meat. But in a few areas like here, hunting of the curassows does not occur and encounters with this secretive species are possible. The curassows like feeding on the fruits of mahogany trees that line the watercourses, and that is likely what this female was on the hunt for.  Wattled Currasow - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru We were on cloud nine after such an epic start to the day! I was pleased that I even managed some mostly in-focus photos with my broken lens.  For the next few hours we cruised around by boat, checking out different waterways in search of some of our target birds. We were successful with Black-tailed Antbird and Short-tailed Parrot.  Black-tailed Antbird - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Short-tailed Parrot - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru It was a very birdy morning and we cleared the hundred species mark before returning to the lodge for breakfast.  Bluish-fronted Jacamar - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Black-tailed Tityra - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris nasa) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru After breakfast, we searched by boat for some of the few remaining target birds I had in mind such as Purple-throated Cotinga, Gray-eyed Greenlet and Wing-barred Seedeater, but were unsuccessful.  Unidentified katydid - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru We were also on the lookout for Dusky-billed Parrotlets, a potential lifer for Laura and a new photographed bird for me. Moises claimed sightings on a few occasions, but each time my photos revealed that they were the more expected Riparian Parrotlets.  Band-tailed Antbird - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru At one point during the afternoon we entered an area of higher ground where there was a small walking trail. After spending most of the day in a boat it felt great to feel the earth beneath our boots, even though this meant that we were accompanied by a swarm of mosquitoes. Amazonian Trogon - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Methona confusa - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru We found several groups of Eastern Pygmy Marmosets, one of the smallest species of monkey! Eastern Pygmy Marmoset (Cebuella niveiventris) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Eastern Pygmy Marmoset (Cebuella niveiventris) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Our guide, Moises had a stake-out for Nancy Ma's Night-Monkey (Aotus nancymai) that was visible from the main watercourse.  Nancy Ma's Night-Monkey (Aotus nancymai) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru During the mid-afternoon, Moises took us down a channel choked with vegetation to look for some herps. We kept a close eye on the vegetation until Laura spotted the first snake, as she is known to do! Giant Parrot Snake (Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru While we have seen this widespread species before, this was a new subspecies for us. The extensive black markings between the scales are quite distinctive.  Giant Parrot Snake (Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Even better than the parrot snake was this next species: a Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis)! I have wanted to see this huge species of lizard for many years but had never gotten lucky. As the name suggests, particularly large individuals somewhat resemble caimans, and they share similar aquatic habitats. Caiman lizards feed on snails, fish, amphibians and other creatures that they find underwater.  Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru As the sun set, we found ourselves slowly paddling in a different wetland after another unsuccessful Purple-throated Cotinga search. We enjoyed watching a pair of Yellow-chinned Spinetails. This species is widespread in South America but is fairly localized in Peru.  Yellow-chinned Spinetail - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru You would be hard-pressed to find an activity that Laura likes more than a night-hike in the tropics, and tonight's walk was a good one. We only stayed out for a short while but came away with some nice sightings, including several snakes! Smoky Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Ancylometes sp. - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Unidentified net-casting spider (family Deinopidae) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Crowned False Boa (Pseudoboa coronata) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Pierella hortona - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Leptodactylus sp. - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Sais rosalia - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Garden Tree Boa (Corallus hortulana) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru I think my favourite sighting of the walk was this Slender Opossum (Marmosops sp.). It was extremely confiding and didn't mind my close approach for photos.  Slender Opossum (Marmoseps sp.) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru Though they may resemble a rodent to some (Moises confidently identified it as an "Amazonian Mouse", whatever that is), these are actually a tiny genus of neotropical opossums, meaning that they are a marsupial. Slender opossums typically live in the viny, dense understory where they search for insects, arachnids, flowers and fruit.  Slender Opossum (Marmoseps sp.) - Muyuna Lodge, Loreto, Peru My final post from Peru will include our last couple of days at Muyuna Lodge.

9 hours ago 2 votes
How a Problem About Pigeons Powers Complexity Theory

When pigeons outnumber pigeonholes, some birds must double up. This obvious statement — and its inverse — have deep connections to many areas of math and computer science. The post How a Problem About Pigeons Powers Complexity Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine

12 hours ago 1 votes
Is Planned Obsolescence Real

Yes – it is well-documented that in many industries the design of products incorporates a plan for when the product will need to be replaced. A blatant example was in 1924 when an international meeting of lightbulb manufacturers decided to limit the lifespan of lightbulbs to 1,000 hours, so that consumers would have to constantly […] The post Is Planned Obsolescence Real first appeared on NeuroLogica Blog.

13 hours ago 1 votes
Why Did Korea Split?

The crazy story of a few days that changed Korea forever

14 hours ago 1 votes
What Is the True Promise of Quantum Computing?

Despite the hype, it’s been surprisingly challenging to find quantum algorithms that outperform classical ones. In this episode, Ewin Tang discusses her pioneering work in “dequantizing” quantum algorithms — and what it means for the future of quantum computing. The post What Is the True Promise of Quantum Computing? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

2 days ago 2 votes