The Eagle's Aerial Perspective: Zoology

Showing posts with label Zoology. Show all posts

30 April, 2013

A To Z Challenge: Zoology And Zebras

Zoology, a branch of biology, is the study of animals. It is a wide-reaching field and includes--but is not limited to--biochemistry, biological systematics, ecology, embryology, ethology, evolution, genetics, molecular biology, morphology, and physiology.

Looking up a recent development involving animals and zoology was a strange experience. Almost all the articles I found were depressing pieces about animal abuse or some other horrible cruelty (and I found out I'm apparently not human, since I don't have any special attachment to cute pictures), so I hope you won't mind if I repeat what I did last year and this year for Lepidopterology: Post images. Because it's the last day of the A to Z Challenge (so okay, partly because I'm worn out), it doesn't wear at one's faith in humanity, and who doesn't like good pictures? (Even if they're not really "cute".)

I sort of lied. Kittens and puppies don't affect me, but I would
vote for Frogmouths as one of the cutest animals in the world. Seriously.
Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/zoology
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657959/zoology

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What is your favorite animal? Or do you just like a certain category of animal, like birds or reptiles or insects?

-----The Golden Eagle

17 April, 2013

A To Z Challenge: Ornithology And Observing Raptors

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that focuses on birds. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN, there are 9,865 species of birds within class Aves in the world. The earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx lithographica, existed 150 million years ago and had feathers, wings, and a reptilian face--birds are evolutionary descendants of reptiles.

Normally I'd give you a recent development in the field of ornithology, but instead I'll link to this live webcam of Bald Eagles in Washington, D.C. The juveniles--hatched last March--are the dark-colored ones in the nest, which is situated on the grounds of the Metropolitan Police Academy. There is also a highlights video on the right side of the page if you want to watch more exciting bits like the parents feeding the chicks.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ornithology
http://animals.about.com/od/birds/a/bird-facts.htm
http://birdwatchersdigest.com/youngbirders/coolbirdfacts/

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What are your favorite birds?

-----The Golden Eagle

13 April, 2013

A To Z Challenge: Lepidopterology And Lepidopterans

Lepidopterology is the study of the order Lepidoptera, which includes moths and butterflies. It's a branch of entomology and, in turn, zoology and biology. The name originates from the Latin words "lepido", or scale, and "ptera", or wings. It refers to the fine scale-like materials that cover a lepidopteran's wings. There are over 100,000 species (perhaps as high as 174,000 depending on who you cite) and there is no technical difference between moths and butterflies--only some moths are nocturnal, with the rest being closely related to their "butterfly" counterparts.

I was going to continue with the recent discovery of the history of pygmy moths, but then I decided hey, it's the weekend, and I just gave you guys a complicated post yesterday about patenting genes and upcoming court cases. How about enjoying some pictures of lepidopterans instead. If you do want to know about pygmy moths (some named after Casanova and the Minotaur) the link is above.

All images here are public domain, found either on Pixabay or Wikimedia Commons.

Please excuse all the whitespace. I'd have added a third image, but Blogger won't let me put anything except text here.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lepidopterology
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/library/compendium/lepidoptera.html
http://www.esc-sec.org/butterflies-lepidopterology/
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/uniramia/lepidoptera.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Lepidoptera/

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What's your favorite butterfly or moth? Do any lepidopterans flit around where you live?

-----The Golden Eagle

10 April, 2013

A To Z Challenge: Ichthyology And Invisible Fish

Ichthyology is the study of fish. It is a branch of zoology, which is in turn a branch of biology. Fish are thought to have evolved some 500 million years ago and are typified by having scales, gills, and fins, and being cold-blooded ("cold-blooded" is also known by the scientifically-correct terms ectothermic or poikilothermic).

Before you run away to something that sounds more interesting and less niche than studying fish (there weren't a whole lot of scientific fields beginning with "i" that I could dig up) give me a moment to get to the invisibility.

The pirate perch, or Aphredoderus sayanus, has been found to be capable of making itself functionally invisible to its prey, probably through a chemical means know as chemical crypsis. The experiment demonstrating the fish's abilities went along these lines: Frogs and beetles that don't lay their eggs around predators they recognize were placed in the vicinity of pirate perch. Instead of not laying eggs and avoiding the perch as they normally would, they acted as though the fish were not present at all. Scientists aren't absolutely sure it's chemical crypsis pirate perch are using to disguise themselves, but if it is, they would be the only known species to camouflage themselves that way.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ichthyology
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/zoology
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1516418/ectotherm
http://www.briancoad.com/main.asp?page=fishdictionary.htm
http://www.arkive.org/fish/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130329085941.htm
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/weird-crafty-fish-can-make-itself-invisible-and-we-dont-know-how
http://www.fishbase.org/FishOnLine/English/index.htm

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Have any favorite fish species (either to eat or to look at)? Do you or did you ever own any aquatic animals?

-----The Golden Eagle

30 April, 2012

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Zoology

Aquila chrysaetos, golden eagle, by Juan Lacruz, CC-BY-SA-3.0. SOURCE.

Zoology (pronounced zo-ology; the first syllable rhymes with "toe") is the study of animals and their biology, including physiology, development, and classification.

Aristotle was one of the first to classify life, at around 400 BCE. He separated plants from animals, red-blooded creatures from those who didn't have red blood, animals that walked from those that flew, etc., etc. Now animals are classified much more specifically into Kingdoms, Phyla, Classes, Orders, Families, Genera, and Species. Charles Darwin was another influential figure in the field of zoology; his theory of evolution crystallized the relationship between animals, including (perhaps especially) humans.

It is a very wide field encompassing many other disciplines, such as those focused on specific animals, a few examples of which would be arcinology (crustaceans), cetology (whales), lepidopterology (butterflies), ornithology (birds), and zoophytology (zoophytes, or animals that appear to be plants). The International Society of Zoological Sciences recognizes 17 sub-fields. Zoology can be an applied science, meaning that research is sometimes conducted for a specific purpose, rather than just for its own sake.

By Jim Harrison, CC-BY-2.5. SOURCE.

Notable Zoologist/Entomologist:

Edward Osborne Wilson

E. O. Wilson is a Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, who obtained a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. from Harvard and has been on the Harvard faculty since 1956. He developed the theory of biogeography, or that the immigration and extinction of species (and therefore their biodiversity) on islands is related to the distance those islands are from the original source of the species. He also coined the word biophilia--love of life--in his book Biophilia, which had a great impact on conservation, and in his book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, he connected animal and human behavior, sparking much controversy.

He has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize twice for his books On Human Nature and The Ants written with Bert Holldobler, the National Medal of Science, Japan's International Prize for Biology, and Sweden's highest award for non-citizens of Commander, First Class, Royal Order of the Polar Star, among others. He was chosen as one of Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Americans in 1995.

Video of E. O. Wilson explaining biogeography:

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And because zoology is all about animals (plus, it's the last day of the A-Z Challenge and you all deserve a break from the scientific facts I've been bombarding you with for the last month) I thought I'd give you something to look at from Wikimedia Commons's Featured Pictures, in no particular order: